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…

Higher education institutions are relying more and more on part-time faculty, and are inclined to hire them instead of full-time tenure track faculty. It is important to retain this group of faculty therefore making it necessary to understand how teaching part-time impacts them. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine burnout among…

Community and technical colleges (collectively referred to as associate's institutions throughout this brief) serve an important role in the U.S. higher education system. They are often an option for students who: (1) need skills development, an associate's degree, or training for specific jobs in their community; (2) need a more affordable…

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…

This chapter explores recent legal challenges and victories brought forth by part-time community college faculty in Washington State in an effort to attain equity and social justice.

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.

In the 2007 Legislative Session, House Bill 384 (HB 384) directed the New Mexico Higher Education Department to produce an Annual Accountability Report in collaboration with each public postsecondary educational institution in the state of New Mexico. The report contains information pertaining to: (1) faculty compensation and benefits practices;…

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…

The first and most often cited problem of part-time teachers is the question of remuneration. Most part-timers are paid a per-course amount which almost never represents a true pro-rata proportion of a full-time salary at the same institution. Another problem which often concerns part-timers is that they are not eligible for health insurance or…

This article discusses employment of part-time faculty at the community college level, including historical reasons for their current status, alternatives to this status, and specific steps to change it.

This document outlines the proposals in Chapter 738 of Assembly Bill 420, including: (1) the California Postsecondary Education Commission should conduct a comprehensive study of the part-time faculty, employment, salary, and compensation patterns of the California Community Colleges; (2) the schedule of salaries should be paid based on a uniform…