• The median pay per course, standardized to a three-credit course, was $2,700 in fall 2010, and ranged from a low of $2,235 at two-year colleges to a high of $3,400 at four-year doctoral or research universities. 
• Part-time faculty respondents saw little, if any, wage premium based on their credentials. 
• Professional support was minimal for part-time faculty members' work outside the classroom and for their inclusion in academic decision-making. 

Colleges and universities are relying ever more heavily on part-time faculty while failing to support them adequately. The extent of that failure-and its impact on the majority of the higher education instructional workforce-is documented in a new survey released this week by the Coalition on the Academic Workforce.

Currently, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education, 1.3 million of the 1.8 million faculty providing instruction in two- and four-year institutions are part-time or adjunct faculty, teaching off the tenure track. 

Yet, according to CAW, higher education employers pay part-time faculty poorly, fail to provide them the kind of academic and work supports that most professionals rely on to do their jobs, and don't attach rewards or incentives to the credentials their academic employees hold or earn. They also continue to offer part-time employees work deemed "temporary," despite the fact that their reliance on part-time faculty seems to be a permanent trend. 

The survey, "A Portrait of Part-Time Faculty Members," was conducted during the fall semester of 2010 and was open to any faculty member or instructor who wished to complete a questionnaire. CAW received 28,974 responses. Faculty members in part-time positions were the largest group of respondents, providing 10,331 of the 19,850 valid responses by contingent faculty members and instructors who were teaching at least one course in fall 2010.

The survey's key findings include:

• The median pay per course, standardized to a three-credit course, was $2,700 in fall 2010, and ranged from a low of $2,235 at two-year colleges to a high of $3,400 at four-year doctoral or research universities.
  
• Part-time faculty respondents saw little, if any, wage premium based on their credentials.
• Professional support was minimal for part-time faculty members' work outside the classroom and for their inclusion in academic decision-making. "Clearly, part-time faculty are undersupported," says Bonnie Halloran, president of the Lecturers' Employee Organization at the University of Michigan. "Part-time faculty [at the University of Michigan] have phones, offices and access to support staff through our collective bargaining agreement. But we have less access to professional development opportunities, even though we make up 33 to 50 percent of the faculty across the University of Michigan's three campuses."
• Part-time teaching is not necessarily temporary employment, and those teaching part time do not necessarily prefer a part-time to a full-time position. More than 80 percent of respondents reported teaching part time for more than three years, and more than half, for more than six years. And 75 percent of respondents said they have sought, are now seeking, or will be seeking, a full-time tenure-track position.
• In addition to gathering information about their academic background and other personal characteristics, the survey asked part-time faculty respondents to provide data for each course they taught-a total of 19,615 courses. Course loads varied significantly among respondents. Slightly more than half taught one or two courses during the fall 2010 term, while slightly fewer than half taught three or more courses.

CAW is a group of higher education associations, disciplinary associations and faculty organizations committed to working on the issues associated with deteriorating faculty working conditions and their effect on the success of college and university students in the United States. The AFT is a leading member of the group and a chief supporter of the survey.

One of the primary features of the academic staffing crisis, says CAW, is that information available on the working conditions of part-time faculty is minimal. The Department of Education used to collect significant data on faculty, but funding has dried up. As a result, the large and growing majority employed in contingent positions are rendered largely invisible, both as individuals on the campuses where they work and collectively in the ongoing policy discussions of higher education.

 "In order to a solve a problem, you have to understand it," says Sandra Schroeder, chair of the AFT Higher Education program and policy council, president of AFT Washington and an AFT vice president. "The plight of contingent faculty is one of the most urgent problems we face in higher education. This survey will give us crucial information about the next steps to take toward systemic improvements so that students are better served in our colleges and universities."

In Arizona, the attacks on anything to do with immigrant rights are escalating.

First it was the "papers please" law, which allowed law enforcement agents to demand proof of immigration status from anyone they felt might be undocumented.  That law drew strong condemnation from the AFT Executive Council .

Then it was State Superintendent John Huppenthal and his predecessor, state attorney general Tom Horne going after the widely admired Mexican American Studies program in the Tucson Unified School district.  Citing a law he was instrumental in getting passed, Huppenthal has banned MAS in the schools.

Now, Huppenthal is trying to censure the University of Arizona faculty who helped design the innovative MAS program.

If you believe faculty and teachers should be free to design and teach a curriculum that meets the needs of students, show your support and sign this petition!

An independent evaluation published by the Annenberg Institute shows the MAS program's  student-centered approach is working.  Students in the MAS program far outperformed their peers on Arizona's state standardized tests in reading (by 45 percentage points), writing (by 59 percentage points), and math (by 33 percentage points), and they enroll in post-secondary institutions at a rate of 67 percent, well above the national average.

Yet Huppenthal says such study promotes racial resentment.

Arizona faculty and professional staff are circulating a petition that calls on Huppenthal  and the Arizona state legislature to cease and desist with their attacks on university faculty and to reinstate the Mexican American studies curriculum in the Tucson schools. They will deliver it June 14^th.

Please join the AFT in its support of Arizona colleagues and sign on to the petition.

Let's hear a great big AFT welcome to the part-time faculty at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Michigan. The Michigan Employment Relations Commission counted the ballots yesterday, and by a 162-38 margin, contingent faculty members overwhelming chose representation by the KVCC Federation of Teachers, AFT-Michigan's newest affiliate.

Part-time faculty members at KVCC heralded the win as a step forward in gaining respect for the work that they do:

"The term ‘part-time' or ‘non-tenure-track' does not denote ‘inferior,'" said Dr. Catherine Barnard, a part-time psychology instructor of 15 years. "Years of service and dedication to our students should be rewarded. We have earned the right to fair compensation, academic freedom, and timely semester appointments. Our level of education, professionalism, and commitment to our students is equivalent to that of the full-time tenured faculty." 

Congratulations to the KVCCFT organizing committee on a job well done, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with you as you prepare to negotiate your first contract!

The response to our Just Ask! college guide (which we produced with the American School Counselor Association) has been overwhelming, and we certainly hope that many of your are finding it useful in determining which college is right for you or your loved ones. Now, we are pleased to announce a Spanish language translation of the guide: ¡Sólo Pregunte!: ¿Qué Universidad es la adecuada para usted? We hope that Spanish-speaking prospective students and their families, as well as education professionals who work with Spanish-speaking prospective students, find this to be a useful tool for selecting an institution of higher education.

You can find both the English and Spanish versions of the Just Ask! college guide on the Just Ask! link under the FACE Toolkit tab above.