This paper presents the case of an adjunct university professor to illustrate the dilemma of using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to grade student papers. The hypothetical case discusses the benefits of using a commercial AI service to grade student papers--including discretion, convenience, pedagogical merits of consistent feedback for…

Using the rights contained in the Freedom of Information Act, we collected data on the teaching undertaken by staff at 52 UK universities. In contrast to workload modelling, our data reveals the extent of the variation in contact hours by institution, subject, and seniority. We provide for the first time an accurate measure of the teaching…

Scholars in higher education have been researching to better understand adjunct faculty instructor experiences. One of the foci is the onboarding experience of adjunct faculty, as there are concerns about whether faculty are onboarded, given that adjunct faculty make up a sizable portion of the teaching population at higher-education institutions.…

This phenomenological qualitative study has been designed to explore and describe the lived workplace experiences of adjunct faculty who have been employed for at least one academic year at a single district, multi-campus community college, and who are not seeking full-time employment. The focus of their lived workplace experiences is on their…

The importance of the study lies within the gap in practice where online education focuses primarily on the student experience and technology, leaving little focus on the successes and challenges of the instructors. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to look at the perceptions of adjunct faculty towards the successes, challenges, and…

Sessional academic staff form most of the teaching staff cohort in Australian universities. The available literature supports that this important staff cohort often experience precarious and insecure work, restricted access to training, support and development, and limited opportunities for career progression (compared to their colleagues in…

There is a need to understand sessional staff experiences of professional development in universities, and as academic developers play a key part in university teaching and learning, they are well placed to provide this insight. The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore academic developers' perceptions of support and development for…

This exploratory study investigated Tuskegee University contingent faculty's integration of technology in instruction, their knowledge of tech-related pedagogy, and self-efficacy regarding learning and integrating technology in the classroom. The data consisted of eight thematic interviews with items derived from the modified HE-TPACK and…

A large and increasing proportion of teaching in UK universities is being fulfilled by staff on casual, rather than permanent, contracts. This paper examines how the proportion of teaching by casual staff affected student satisfaction in 2014-15. We find that an increased proportion of casual teaching leads to lower student satisfaction, even when…

Over seventy percent of teaching faculty in America's higher education system is done by contingent faculty or adjunct faculty. Contingent faculty could be part-time faculty, non-tenure track teaching positions or their better-known name adjuncts. Articles are written about the mounting concern for the use of adjunct faculty to teach our students,…

This paper aims to further explore the impact of need and culture as they relate to orientation, training, development, and administrative policies on regional university adjunct faculty. The use of adjunct faculty has risen considerably over recent years making their university experience more relevant in today's higher education climate. Adjunct…

Corrections education (CE) faculty Lauren Zavrel reflects on the vacuum of graduate-level programs and professional development (PD) that prepare teachers for the specific work of teaching adults in prisons and jails. Citing her own unique journey into the field of CE, similar stories from colleagues, and literature on the topic, she argues that…

Instructors in the Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) work within the Diagnostic Laboratories and volunteer as adjunct instructors for the educational program. Instructors do not receive training when they assume this role and must learn how to teach while actively creating and modifying…

Adjunct faculty at colleges and universities in the U.S. are quickly outnumbering full-time faculty. This new faculty majority often struggles with low pay and sub-par working conditions. Recognizing this issue has a number of negative impacts for higher education, researchers at a comprehensive university in the southeastern United States…

In this brief, the authors argue that creating avenues to support VITAL faculty is an essential role for leaders within academic affairs, and particularly those in faculty affairs. While the authors review a host of supports needed, they argue for the importance of sustained professional development opportunities like faculty learning communities…