What is the American Federation of Teachers?

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is a labor union representing more than 1.3 million workers, including: preK-12 teachers; paraprofessionals and other school staff; nurses and other health professionals; and federal, state and local government employees. In addition, the AFT represents 165,000 higher education faculty, professional staff and graduate employees.

What does the acronym FACE stand for?

FACE stands for the Faculty and College Excellence campaign.

What is the FACE campaign all about?

FACE is a nationwide effort by state and local affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers. The FACE campaign is focused on achieving two goals:

• The first goal is to ensure that all faculty members receive the financial and professional support they need to do their best work.
• The second goal is to establish a better balance between the number of full-time tenured faculty, and part- and full-time nontenure-track faculty.

The campaign's slogan, FACE Facts: Investment Counts, is a call to policymakers to address key issues in higher education staffing that affect not only faculty members, but students, families and our nation's future.

What are the trends in higher education staffing?

Colleges and universities in the United States have increasingly turned away from filling full-time tenured jobs. In 1960, 75 percent of college faculty members had full-time tenured positions or were on a tenure track. Today, fewer than 30 percent of the instructional workforce in colleges and universities hold full-time tenured or tenure-track jobs. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of nontenure-track faculty members, especially part-time/adjunct faculty, have been hired and then denied such fundamentals as proportionate salaries, decent benefits and paid office hours.

Why is the FACE campaign so important?

The integrity of the U.S. higher education system is at stake, and with it, the nation's global competitiveness. The primary resource of any institution of higher learning is its staff. An investment in that staff is one that truly counts. After all, quality instruction begins with education professionals who are respected and whose work is supported by the administrators of the college or university. America cannot continue on this slippery slope. There are fewer professional and financial supports for faculty and fewer full-time faculty positions.

How do higher education staffing trends affect students?

The existing trends have led to high turnover in the ranks of higher education workers, especially part-time faculty. That means fewer experienced professors and a disappearing core of trained professionals who are not just experts in their fields, but also experts in teaching. Despite high qualifications and unwavering commitment to their students, most part-time faculty members are paid very low salaries. Many of them must string together classes at various institutions just to make ends meet. That means spending hours as "freeway flyers", driving from one campus to the next-rather than devoting that time to their primary concern, the educational success of their students. Despite rising tuition costs, every day there are more higher education employees who lack basic professional supports, such as offices and office hours so they can meet with their students. That means students are frequently left without long-term mentoring relationships with these faculty members, and without access to the letters of recommendation and professional contacts that are of great value to graduating students.

Is this a campaign to replace adjunct professors with full-timers?

No. This campaign is about creating better part-time positions. It is also about restoring a higher education staffing structure that is based on appropriate levels of full-time tenure-track jobs. We want to create more full-time tenurable positions, better supported part-time positions, and real opportunities for those part-time, adjunct faculty who are looking to move into the full-time ranks. Adjuncts and other nontenure-track faculty members do a tremendous job of teaching and make important contributions to the institutions and students they serve. But as long as these faculty members are denied such basic things as health and pension benefits, and the ability to participate in college governance, our colleges and universities will continue wasting crucial human resources and will find it more difficult to deliver a world-class quality education.

Which states have introduced FACE legislation thus far?

For copies of bills that have been introduced in the states, see the FACE and Related Legislation page.

This is great, but can we afford it?

It's time we face facts. This type of investment really counts. FACE is about keeping and growing the principal resources of academia - our faculty and staff. FACE is about giving our students a higher education system that is more stable and on which they can continue to rely to help them learn and succeed. In short, FACE is about ensuring a healthy future for America. That's an investment we can all agree on.

How can I get more information and support the FACE campaign?

Either send us an email at highered@aft.org or call the AFT Higher Education offices at 202/879-4426.