Significant growth in online programs has created demand for online courses and therefore opportunities for employment for online educators. The vast majority of these employment opportunities have been filled by online adjuncts. A special category of online adjunct has surfaced that leverages the autonomy of working online with freedom from…

With no physical walls, the online classroom has the potential to house a large number of students. A concern by some is what happens to the quality of instruction in courses with high enrollments. The purpose of this research was to examine online class size and its relationship to, and potential influence on, an instructor's performance.…

There continues to be a lack of congruence in the attitudes of faculty and administrators with respect to online or distance education. The authors developed and administered a questionnaire to assess pertinent attitudes and perceptions of full and part-time faculty (n= 421) toward online instruction at their private university in a U.S. Middle…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of occupational education officers concerning the willingness of part-time instructors in community colleges in the United States to attend professional development opportunities and the best methods and times to deliver these activities. The findings indicate that community colleges should…

Are part-time faculty members satisfied with their roles in higher education? 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…

Drawing on findings from three qualitative studies, this article explores the distinct professional identities of two-year college English faculty. We examine full-time faculty patterns of engagement with professional organizations, their assertion of professional authority in institutional decision making, and the role of organizational…

Quantitative methods and secondary data informed by critical realism and a feminist standpoint provide a contemporary snapshot of academic gender ratios in Australian universities, along with historical data, for the entire population of interest. The study is set in the context of the well-researched, worldwide gendered nature of higher education…

A major proportion of teaching in UK universities is undertaken by a diverse and large group of sessional staff, in common with many HE systems around the world. This articles reviews efforts over the last decade to support and develop such staff and to improve their situation. Improvement in this area is very slow. The article concludes by…

Part-time faculty in nursing programs are increasingly being hired as a supplement to the deteriorating pool of full-time nursing faculty. There is a growing need to fill the many vacant slots in nursing academe at the same time that there is substantial growth in prospective students inspiring to become nurses. While these "expert"…

This article draws on qualitative classroom observation and interview data from a case study of one native-English speaker teacher (NEST) teaching in a Hong Kong kindergarten. Features of the NEST's teaching are identified, namely their professional limitations, their part-time involvement in teaching, and their limited collaboration with the…

In an effort to support college conversations regarding strengthening the role of part-time faculty, this brief document presents the job description for a Valencia College part-time/adjunct professor (revised as of July 19, 2013). The description includes essential functions, qualifications, and knowledge, skills, and abilities. This is followed…

For decades, higher education institutions have been increasingly reliant upon part-time faculty. As the role of part-time faculty in colleges and universities has evolved and gained prominence, it is increasingly important to gain a deeper understanding of their perceptions of job involvement considered as potential predictor of turnover and…

Based on Yackee's (2000) study of the perceptions of chief instructional officers (CIOs) at community colleges accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), this study identified, described, and compared the perceptions of CIOs at institutions accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on…

In 1988, California lawmakers enacted legislation designed to increase the ratio of full-to part-time faculty in community colleges. Twenty years later, college leaders in this study report the legislation has had little success in increasing the number of full-time faculty due, in part, to confusion regarding the intent of the legislation and the…

Across the Australian Higher Education sector a focus on quality is driving a new paradigm for learning and teaching: quality standards. One challenge is to engage all academics with this progress towards systematic quality enhancement and assurance. Sessional staff, who provide most of the face-to-face teaching in Australian universities, remain…