The key findings included in the CAW report, for part-time faculty, are as follows: • The median pay per 3 unit course was $2700 in fall 2010. • Part-time faculty believed that there was little relationship between their credentials and their pay. Their pay was lower than the pay of others with similar credentials in other lines of work. There was little opportunity for increased pay over time. • Part-time faculty received very little support for work outside of the classroom and were generally not involved in academic decision-making in their institutions. • For many, their part-time position was not temporary, and many would prefer a full-time position. More than 80% reported teaching part time for more than three years and more than 50% reported teaching part-time for more than six years. More than 75% said that they had sought, are seeking, or intend to seek a full-time, tenure-track position and nearly 75% said they would definitely or probably accept a full-time, tenure track position at the institution where they currently teach. As the report states, these data shed some light on the working conditions and experiences of this group of (often invisible) faculty. The CAW emphasizes that these data are only a beginning. They encourage interested researchers to continue to study the working conditions of contingent faculty. Some of the survey data remain unanalyzed and the CAW may make the dataset available to qualified researchers. If interested, you may email the CAW. Fellow task force member Grace Deason and I have conducted a study on stress and coping among contingent faculty. We are beginning to analyze the data and hope to report some of the results in the next newsletter article. Please contact me if you would like to discuss any issue regarding contingent faculty.
—Gretchen Reevy |
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