Does Higher Ed Have an ‘Adjunctification’ Problem?
Rob Jenkins of the Chronicle of Higher Education seems to think so.
Straight Talk About ‘Adjunctification’
It’s unclear precisely when the term “adjunctification” was borne. It’s mentioned as far back as 2000 in articles about the job market in the humanities. Linda Collins used the phrase in a speech in 2002 when she was president of the California Community Colleges’ Academic Senate. Since then, the condition she so succinctly described—academe’s overreliance on adjunct faculty members, especially at two-year colleges—has only gotten worse. More than half of all U.S. faculty members now hold part-time, contingent appointments.
That situation and what to do about it have become frequent topics of conversation in The Chronicle and elsewhere. Having followed the discussion closely, and having dealt directly with part-time faculty members for many years as a former department chair and academic dean (not to mention being a former part-timer myself), I’ve concluded that there is no single solution. Perhaps we can take steps to alleviate it over time, but only if we come to fully comprehend its various nuances.
Unfortunately, much of the rhetoric surrounding the hiring of contingent faculty members remains emotionally charged, which is understandable, perhaps, but not particularly helpful. Bitterness and frustration, however justifiable, lead to impractical demands, unrealistic expectations, and, in some cases, further inequities. As a counterpoint, I’d like to offer some dispassionate observations based on my 30 years of experience in higher education:
Yes, an overreliance on part-time instructors harms the academic enterprise. It’s no surprise that many studies have concluded as much, and I’ve seen the damage firsthand.
Straight Talk About 'Adjunctification' (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Comments
Full Timers, we are your future. And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
The Adjuncts
I love that line: “Not everybody is tenure-track material”. More like ‘not everybody can be an aristocrat’.
It’s simple economics. There are more college educated people and more people wanting a college education. The 19th century education model doesn’t function anymore. Those trying to save it might as well be trying to save the steam train or the steam ship. Great inventions that have been surpassed by greater inventions belong in a museum, not of the state dole.