While content and pedagogical knowledge are the foundation of quality instruction, there are a number of administrative, policy, and operational factors that influence instructional behaviors. Understanding the influence (positive or negative) of operational functions on teaching and learning can help inform policies, procedures, and support to…

The role that part-time faculty play in higher education is changing. No longer are part-time faculty used on an occasional basis at a few institutions. These individuals now play a critical part in the delivery of higher education to students. This study was developed to answer questions regarding how the performance of adjunct faculty is…

First-year college students are significantly more likely to drop out if their high-stakes "gatekeeper courses" are taught by part-time instructors, according to the findings of a study presented during the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association last week. The paper is the latest in a long parade of studies suggesting that…

The limited resources of most colleges and universities and the efforts of most higher education programs, including those in educational leadership, to comply with state and national standards mean that adjunct professors play a vital role in the success of an educational leadership program. This paper offers suggestions for maintaining the…

Non full-time faculty--whether adjunct, part-time or contingent--has become the lifeline of a vast majority of colleges and universities. They teach many of the foundation and core courses taken by first- and second-year students, teach professional courses in which their own life experiences are invaluable, and step in at short notice to fill-in…

When a practicing school business official teaches a college course, students can learn much about the real world of schools. Part-time or adjunct teaching at a college or university provides the official with a chance to refresh and extend his or her knowledge in the field. Offers suggestions for getting started, what to expect, and tips for…

Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics 1993 survey of colleges and universities, this report reviews the frequency of part-time employment in higher education in the context of concerns about the culture of the institution and important finance issues. Part-time workers receive a lower pay rate than full-time employees, and…

This inquiry is an analysis of the trend toward infusing practitioners into the preparation of school administrators. Motives for increasing the number of part-time employees in higher education are identified and specific problems associated with the deployment of these instructors are discussed. The argument is made that the merits of this trend…

Affiliate clinical faculty are increasingly important in the evaluation, discipline, and dismissal of pharmacy students. The implications of two recent Supreme Court decisions are highlighted. Schools' readiness to defend the professional judgments of their faculty is paramount to prevailing in court when students challenge academic or…

Over the last generation, the instructional staffing system in American higher education has experienced a significant reduction in the proportion of jobs for full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members and a dramatic growth in fixed-term full- and part-time instructional jobs without tenure. About 70 percent of the people teaching in…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This May 21, 2004 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "In New York, Unaccompanied" (Fogg, Piper); (2) "Why They Pirate: Study says Students aren't in it for the…

Tompkins Cortland Community College (TCCC) in Dryden, New York, opened the College Teaching Center (CTC) in 1988 to address the professional development needs of full- and part-time faculty. The CTC is an autonomous, faculty-directed, professional development program with its own budget and Board of Directors. Activities sponsored by the CTC are…

Describing the various forms evaluation can take, this book delineates problems in evaluating writing faculty and sets the stage for reconsidering the entire process to produce a fair, equitable, and appropriate system. The book discusses evaluation through real-life examples: evaluation of writing faculty by literature faculty, student…

Ten years ago higher education scholars predicted a major faculty turnover in the late 1990s and into the twenty-first century--a prediction based on demographic data on an aging faculty. The turnover is under way, accelerated by early retirement policies. Currently blocks of faculty positions are opening up at regional colleges and universities,…

Part-time faculty, once a rare breed among teachers, are stepping into an increasingly critical role in higher education. Just as traditional colleges are relying on adjunct faculty to a degree unheard of just a decade ago, non-traditional programs are coming to rely on the flexibility, broader skills sets, and "real-world" knowledge that that…