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Hiring more Adjuncts is not the solution. Having good teachers is, though. Sometimes an adjunct is a good teacher, and when a university finds someone willing
by coreyp_1 9y ago
Hiring more Adjuncts is not the solution. Having good teachers is, though. Sometimes an adjunct is a good teacher, and when a university finds someone willing to be an amazing teacher for such abysmally low wages, then they hire that person.
For perspective: I used to work at Walmart as a cashier and then a Customer Service Manager. 15 years later, I'm finishing my PhD in CS. Let's just say that my mental capacity far exceeded the requirements of the job. Walmart, however, was not willing to pay me more, though, just because I was smart, because there were others that were willing to do the job for that amount of pay.
You are right in that many see adjuncts as a way to save money. The only way to combat that, then, is for no good teachers to take a position as adjunct.
Thankfully, many Universities have recognized this problem with adjuncts (and some are even embarrassed by their part in it), and have begun to move away from the Adjunct model, except in cases of emergency, and even then for only a limited time (e.g., one semester or academic year).
The most important thing for a university (from their perspective) is to have good researchers. The most important thing for students (from their perspective) is to have good teachers. Sometimes these two overlap in a single professor, but often not. Should a teacher be paid less than a researcher? Universities historically have thought so, which is why they have paid teachers so little. I don't know what it will take to change the tide, but I'm really, really positive that the solution is not for more people to become adjuncts.
- yourapostasy 9y ago> I don't know what it will take to change the tide... If student tuition revenue vastly outweighs research grant funding revenue, then the students as an aggregate have the leverage to demand the change to better teaching outcomes through re-allocation of their high tuition costs to better teaching compensation. As for whether or not students in aggregate can sufficiently organize and pursue such a demand however, is an entirely different kettle of fish. Considering current revenue split [1], I don't see that leverage emerging anytime soon. Furthermore, much of what currently passes for "good teaching" evaluations in the short-term (a few years) gets compressed down to the signaling function yielded by a university diploma, or gamified teaching staff popularity rankings. No real substitute solution than putting in the grind over a long period of time to embed quality into the system through lots of changes small and large, but donors don't like to hear that message. [1] https://www.amacad.org/content/publications/pubContent.aspx?d=22071 https://www.amacad.org/content/publications/pubContent.aspx?...
- organsnyder 9y agoI think adjuncts only work when there are people that have a well-paying full-time job, but who would also have to teach part-time. Their motivations could include earning a bit of supplemental income, furthering their own skills (teaching is a great way to learn), making connections with students (perhaps their day-job employer allows them to teach in place of some of their normal responsibilities)... Adjuncts don't work, IMHO, when the faculty is hoping to use the position as their sole source of income.