The rise of contingent faculty: its impact on the professoriate and higher education

Abstract

Purpose -The faculty, as higher education's most valuable asset, is being dramatically altered. Changes in appointment status drive this alteration, resulting in the essential work of faculty being transformed. Given this change in faculty composition, this study seeks to examine how faculty appointments relate to the production of faculty work in teaching, research, and service. Faculty appointments affect faculty work and it implies that the function of higher education also is altered. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the rise of contingent faculty on the professoriate and higher education. Design/methodology/approach -The National Study of Postsecondary Faculty of 2004 provided data for analyses. There were faculty and instructional staff participants (26,110) from a sample of 980 institutions in the USA and the District of Columbia. The National Center for Education Statistics provides access to its Data Analysis System (DAS) for public use. Basic calculations can result in straight counts, percentages, means, correlation coefficients, and tables. Complex analytic capabilities include covariance using both weighted least squares regression and logistic regression. The DAS was used to examine how changes in faculty composition were related to teaching, research, and service. Findings -Overall, the results indicate that tenured and tenure-track faculty out-perform contingent faculty on all major items of teaching, research, and service. With few exceptions, contingent faculty can be viewed as less productive faculty members within the historical function of higher education to promote inquiry and advance the sum of human knowledge, provide general instruction to the students, and develop experts for various branches of the public. If faculty are the heart and health of colleges and universities, the future of higher education may be bleak if the reliance on contingent faculty continues to soar. Practical implications -The gap between performance levels of tenure/tenure-track and contingent faculty in teaching, research, and service indicates the quality of higher education is rapidly eroding. This study indicated that the contributions to promoting inquiry and advancing the sum of human knowledge are diminished with increasing use of contingent faculty. It suggests that not only is the work of faculty threatened by a contingent faculty approach but the well-being of higher education is threatened also. Social implications -Overall, tenured and tenure-track faculty out-performed other types of faculty appointments according to essential values of faculty -teaching research, and service. Faculty appointments play a significant role in the overall performance of higher education. The function of higher education cannot help but be affected. Society relies on higher education for not only career training but an educated citizenry. If left to contract and part-time help, it raises concern for the overall well being of society. Originality/value -Although there is literature discussing concerns ...

Supporting Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Well-Being

“…An equally important implication is the simple fact that, as this sample demonstrated, NTT faculty can attain well-being in their positions. This goes against the characterizations provided by some scholars (e.g., Bowden & Gonzalez, 2012) of NTT faculty as lacking satisfaction and commitment to their institutions and is consonant with previous findings (e.g., Antony & Hayden, 2011) that NTT faculty generally display overall satisfaction at similar levels to their T/TE peers.…”

Reducing Intellectual Poverty of Outsiders within Academic Spaces through Informal Peer Mentorship

“…Therefore, those who have followed alternative career trajectories or who are not in traditional tenure-track positions, increasingly find themselves positioned as outsiders within their institutions and/or the broader academic community. These academics may find that traditional organizational structures and processes fail to offer them professional support for their academic career progressions with respect to teaching, research, and/or administrative service (Anderson, 2007;Bowden & Gonzalez, 2012;Nicol, 2000). Therefore, academics in these positions may be unable to access resources, engage with other faculty members, participate in research projects, or access research opportunities that other academics within the institution are able to access.…”

How adjunct faculty understand and apply learner-centered pedagogy

“…Scholars have expressed concerns about the impact of adjuncts on the quality of teaching and student learning outcomes (AAUP, 2010;Benjamin, 2002Benjamin, , 2003Hagedorn et al, 2002;Schibik & Harrington, 2004). Others have warned that excessive adjunct reliance is a threat to academic quality and risks the integrity of higher education (Bowden & Gonzalez, 2012;Kezar & Maxey, 2016b;Maxey & Kezar, 2015). Adjunct teaching effectiveness has been measured by student course evaluations and rates of student persistence, transfer, and graduation.…”

“…Adjuncts typically invested less time in course preparation, were less available to students, and were more likely to rely on lecture over learner-centered teaching methods (CCCSE, 2014). Bowden and Gonzalez (2012) revealed that adjuncts were more likely to rely on standardized testing than on assignments requiring writing and critical thinking and less likely to utilize student presentations and group work in class. CCCSE (2014) observed that adjuncts were less likely to rely on highly-impact educational practices than full-timers.…”

“…Adjuncts were also less likely to use activelearning and collaborative teaching techniques than full-timers and less likely to rely on high-impact practices that encourage student-faculty interactions and engage students more fully in their learning (CCCSE, 2014;Umbach, 2007). Lastly, adjuncts were more reliant on standardized tests than on assignments requiring writing and critical thinking and less likely to utilize student presentations and group work in class (Bowden & Gonzalez, 2012).…”