The article addresses the effective use of full-time and part-time faculty in transforming an institutionalized marginalized professional studies unit into an academic unit with greater academic credibility, as perceived by traditional colleagues and accreditors. Recommendations are supported by a case study narrative from the experiences of the…

It is important to understand existing research on the connections between non-tenure-track faculty and student learning and to continue to research these issues. Although working conditions vary across the academy and even within a single institution, many faculty--particularly part-timers--are not permitted to contribute to curriculum planning…

This paper discusses the issues around the professional development needs of sessional teaching staff in the UK. The introduction of the UK professional standards framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education in 2006 raised the issue of engaging the wide range of staff, faculty, and learning support in professional…

Research on student retention has given limited attention to the role that introductory, or gatekeeper, courses play in students' decisions to remain enrolled at an institution. Gatekeeper courses refer to classes with high enrollment that generally represent the introductory courses required for matriculation into a major field of study (Tobias,…

Critical thinking is an important outcome of a college education. Assessment techniques that require students to demonstrate their understanding of course concepts are referred to as authentic assessment and promote the development of critical thinking. Little research exists on the types of assessment and grading practices utilized by community…

A combination of destructive trends in higher education--shrinking state budgets, stagnant student aid, the growth of corporate-style management, the overuse and exploitation of contingent faculty, increasing workloads and attacks on academic freedom--is weakening the educational integrity and professionalism of American colleges and universities.…

This qualitative study examined perceptions of part-time faculty who teach classes during the evening at three Midwest community college campuses. Through the use of semi-structured, one-on-one interviews, perceptions of part-time faculty were explored in the areas of in-classroom experiences, out-of-classroom experiences, and institutional…

As community colleges rely on part-time faculty and offer more online courses, faculty teaching in those capacities may not be as connected to the college as their full-time, on-campus counterparts. They may know very little about the library; in turn their students may not learn what the library has to offer. This article provides suggestions for…

The Adjunct Advocate @ FIT is an online, faculty development program at FIT, part of the State University of New York. This convenient new resource, developed by the Center for Excellence in Teaching, reaches out to adjunct and off-campus faculty with professional development that includes printable materials, video, discussion boards, and…

This article describes the impact of sustained professional development programs in two Jewish congregational schools. This research suggests that contrary to common assumptions, part-time teachers in Jewish congregational schools will invest time in professional development when it is of high quality, interactive and engaging and based at their…

American higher education is in transition and if there ever was a "golden age" for faculty, it probably is behind us. The best historical data on the composition of faculty is collected annually by the American Mathematical Society. Between 1967 and 2009, the share of full-time faculty with PhDs remained constant at about 90 percent at…

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. With a duration of eighteen months, this recession was almost double the length of the average post-World War II economic downturn. Although the worst recession since the Great Depression is now technically over, this analysis…

Women are not tenured at the same rate they are receiving PhDs, and less likely to be tenured when compared to their male counterparts. Reasons women have difficulty achieving tenure include not discussing important information about an academic appointment with colleagues, working part time or as adjunct faculty, being involved in "pastoral or…

The nature of the American academic workforce has fundamentally shifted over the past several decades. Whereas full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty were once the norm, more than two-thirds of the professoriate in non-profit postsecondary education is now comprised of non-tenure-track faculty. New hires across all institutional types are now…

Providing instructor manuals for part-time faculty is not a new practice. Post-secondary institutions often produce manuals filled with everything from the college calendar to the procedure for obtaining a parking pass. However, in the age of stretched budgets and waning support from their institutions, developmental education programs are looking…