Do any states require their colleges/universities to offer some sort of equal pay for adjuncts? I just did some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. Given the difference in what I make for teaching two classes and what a starting prof at my school makes for teaching three classes, plus advising, attending meetings, etc, my college thinks the non-classroom activities are worth roughly $38,000 a year!
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ReplyDelete"Do any states require their colleges/universities to offer some sort of equal pay for adjuncts?" I would be shocked is the answer is yes. I'd settle for a state law that mandated adjuncts make half per hour of what FT HS teachers make.
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ReplyDeleteMark are you doing service etc? That the regularly employed people are doing? I hope not.
ReplyDeleteCranky, I believe that is included in the "non-classroom activities." Therein lies his point: That apparently the school values those activities with money but (probably) not tenure and promotion.
ReplyDeleteI am mentoring a student on their senior project. I don't get paid, but am doing it because I like the student., They're one of the best students I've had so far.
ReplyDeleteI worked as an adjunct under the best of circumstances. I had a baby, worked part time for seven years, then got a full time job. Too bad it does not work out that way for everyone!
ReplyDeleteI went from making 12,000/year to 43/year plus benefits for EXACTLY THE SAME WORKLOAD. Eventually, they did add in 'administrative duties' but at my place of employment, that does not happen until year two. So at that point, with my step and cost of living increases, I went up to 47. So...yes, those administrative duties are apparently worth about $35,0000 per year!
I don't know what can be done about it. I was working the most I could at the time I was an adjunct (they have limits within the system put in place to protect the part timers) because I needed the money. Nothing could have stopped me from taking those low paying jobs. So isn't it almost like the drug trade problem? One of the big problems is demand for these jobs. If people would stop taking them, the U's would have to offer more money. But people are NOT going to stop taking them, and I completely understand why.
"But people are NOT going to stop taking them, and I completely understand why."
ReplyDeleteAren't they?
What happens when the news finally feeds through into the mass consciousness that these jobs really *aren't* a stepping stone to anything better for the vast majority? What happens if (likely when) the conditions of the grand prize of tenure continue to deteriorate? What happens if (likely when) the understandable trends in student attitudes toward college and colleges' attitudes and behaviour toward adjunct stuff continue to eat into the perceived qualitative benefits (I heard a rumour some people love teaching)?
I think there'll be a market reaction in the medium term which will be to everyone's benefit, even if the bean counters won't recognise it as such.
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ReplyDeleteOur adjuncts (who are nearly 50% of our faculty) finally unionized. The university wasn't happy about that but agreed to minimum compensation ($850-1200 per credit, depending on seniority) and health insurance. That is probably half what the full-time faculty make, for poorly-compensated subjects like fine arts. For better-compensated subjects like business or law, probably not even a quarter of what the full-timers make.
Our place is actually pretty good for full-time adjuncts; they pull a base-salary equivalent to the base-levels of tenure-track faculty at the same rank, and receive the same health and conference-travel benefits, plus office and administrative support.
ReplyDeleteBut take away one class per semester, and their annual salary drops by $36,000, and with no benefits.
drdrdr...and what position do most adjuncts get? Are the full-time adjuncts like hen's teeth or am I just being needlessly cynical. ;)
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