Colleges and universities in the United States have embraced the "gig" economy with use of non-tenure track and part-time faculty. However, much of the work on job satisfaction in academia focuses on tenure-line professors. This study seeks to answer the question of whether adjunct faculty look more like independent gig workers or…

Higher education institutions are heavily reliant on part-time adjuncts to teach their students. These part-time adjuncts now account for the majority of faculty in the United States. This qualitative study utilizes a phenomenological approach to explore the essence of the lived experiences of part-time adjuncts who travel to more than one…

Since 2008, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has been conducting a survey every few years on campus sustainability staffing. This report presents the results of the 2015 Higher Education Sustainability Staffing Survey. It examines the nature of sustainability positions at colleges and universities…

Earlier research published in this journal examined factors associated with various forms of job satisfaction among part-time faculty, both at four-year institutions and community colleges. This research forwarded conclusions at odds with popular accounts regarding part-time faculty. Specifically, it was demonstrated that part-time faculty were…

Among the most visible indicators of a shift toward sustainability in higher education is the increase in new staff positions dedicated to sustainability, along with support staff and offices. To provide our members with a greater understanding of these new positions, AASHE has been conducting a biennial survey of campus sustainability staff since…

How do part-time faculty members in community colleges view their roles? Data from part-time faculty responses regarding their experiences in higher education vary. Valadez and Antony (2001) analyzed data from 6,811 part-time faculty collected from the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) 1992-1993 National Survey of Postsecondary…

This chapter explores community college faculty satisfaction related to four specific variables.

Over the last sixteen years, part-time teachers have become the coolies, or the burden bearers of the academic community. Used mostly to teach lower-level basic classes, they have increased in number from 36,420 in l968 to 330,000 in l985. Research about part timers began in the late l970s with Howard Tuckman, who tried to find systematic and…

Ways in which colleges can meet the needs of part-time faculty are suggested, based upon the experiences of community colleges. Recommendations concern basic needs, orientation, and staff development and evaluation. Advice for institutions includes: establish a salary scale for part-time faculty equal to that for full-time faculty teaching…

This survey, distributed to adjunct faculty at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in December 1997, attempts to: (1) determine the relative importance to adjunct faculty of salary and certain benefits; (2) identify the optimum times for staff development; and (3) develop a profile of JCCC's adjunct faculty. A total of 159 completed responses…

This report provides statistical information on faculty in colleges and universities collected through a national survey conducted in 1987-88 by the National Center for Education Statistics. The data were collected from institutional academic officers, department chairpersons, and faculty members. This report focuses on five topics around which…

The nature and characteristics of part-time faculty members in the state of Ohio were studied, based on a survey of 22 institutions, including four-year public and private and two-year or community colleges. Questionnaire responses were analyzed from 1,590 part-time faculty members and 335 administrators. Case studies also were conducted to obtain…