Dive Brief:
- A new study finds underemployment is less detrimental to adjunct job satisfaction than the perceived lack of respect from their colleagues.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education reports the study found adjuncts who wanted to work full time felt less respected by other faculty members and administrators than adjuncts who specifically sought out part-time positions.
- Even though the adjuncts who wanted to work full-time had greater access to offices and computers on campus, that wasn’t enough to raise job satisfaction rates among them, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
Adjunct professors traditionally taught a single class or perhaps two classes at an institution as a side job. Many worked full time in their field and then taught outside of work hours. As institutions have sought to find cost-savings in tight budget years, adjunct instructors have taken on a larger role in the system. They don’t get health benefits or tenure, they generally don’t have their own offices or need administrative support staff, but they are teaching an increasingly large portion of courses on some campuses. Many are organizing for union representation. Institutions nationwide must figure out how to proceed in this emerging crisis.