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Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts) Fri Dec 13, 2013, 01:18 AM Dec 2013

The New Working Poor: Adjunct Professors

http://progressive.org/theres-a-growing-army-of-highly-educated-working-poor

by Jim Hightower

There's a growing army of the working poor in our USofA, and big contingents of it are now on the march. They're strategizing, organizing, and mobilizing against the immoral economics of inequality being hung around America's neck by the likes of Walmart, McDonald's, and colleges.

Wait a minute. Colleges? You go there to get ahead in life. More education makes you better off, right? Well, ask a college professor about that – you know, the ones who earned PhDs and are now teaching America's next generation.

The sorry secret of higher education – from community colleges to brand-name universities – is that they've embraced the corporate culture of a contingent workforce, turning professors into part-time, low-paid, no-benefit, no-tenure, temporary teachers. Overall, more than half of America's higher-ed faculty members today are "adjunct professors," meaning they are attached to the school, but not essentially a part of it.

It also means that these highly-educated, fully-credentialed professors have become part of America's army of the working poor. They never know until a semester starts whether they'll teach one class, three, or none – typically, this leaves them with take-home pay somewhere between zero and maybe $1,000 a month. Poverty.

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11 replies

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Highlight:

The New Working Poor: Adjunct Professors (Original Post) Starry Messenger Dec 2013 OP

Been there, done that. Coyotl Dec 2013 #1

I did it for a while when I relocated from New York to Las Vegas brush Dec 2013 #2

I was hoping to become a professor at one time Art_from_Ark Dec 2013 #3

I gave up on the concept quaker bill Dec 2013 #4

Makes one wonder just what these universities do RedCappedBandit Dec 2013 #5

Check the salaries of those at the top malaise Dec 2013 #7

Coaches are not paid with tuition. former9thward Dec 2013 #11

Also, the administrative sector at colleges has Starry Messenger Dec 2013 #10

why should they pay more greymattermom Dec 2013 #6

Last place I worked, a Catholic College, called adjuncts 'partial people' HereSince1628 Dec 2013 #8

Adjuncts get paid less primarily because they do less. aikoaiko Dec 2013 #9

Coyotl

(15,262 posts)

1. Been there, done that.

Reply to Starry Messenger (Original post)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 01:50 AM

Dec 2013

They limit the number of credits too to avoid paying any benefits and it is all contractual, so you pay your own social security. To make a living, you need to commute between different colleges to gain enough work.

brush

(53,922 posts)

2. I did it for a while when I relocated from New York to Las Vegas

Reply to Starry Messenger (Original post)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 01:59 AM

Dec 2013

I had never taught before, having been an art director in New York. I taught publication design, graphic design and a pre-press class — for one quarter that is. The next quarter it was just two classes separated by 3 hours (do I go home and come back and waste gas or hang around for 3 hours) and less income. I knew then I had to get the hell out of there.

I started sending out resumes and was fortunate to get a staff designer, non-teaching position at another college.

I was one of the lucky ones as some colleagues with mucho credentials were stuck there with low pay and no stability or income, health insurance or pension benefits.

Adjuncts are so taken advantage of and I'm so glad the dirty little secret of higher education is coming out. These "great" institutions of higher learning are preserving their "hallowed" and sterling reputations on the exploited backs of adjunct professors.

Art_from_Ark

(27,247 posts)

3. I was hoping to become a professor at one time

Reply to Starry Messenger (Original post)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 02:29 AM

Dec 2013

But then universities started focusing on "publish-or-perish" policies for the tenure-track profs, and the ones who perished *might* get offered an adjunct professorship instead. Bleah.

quaker bill

(8,225 posts)

4. I gave up on the concept

Reply to Art_from_Ark (Reply #3)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 06:58 AM

Dec 2013

when I found out how much of a pay cut would be involved.

RedCappedBandit

(5,514 posts)

5. Makes one wonder just what these universities do

Reply to Starry Messenger (Original post)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 07:22 AM

Dec 2013

with all the money they extract from their students

malaise

(269,212 posts)

7. Check the salaries of those at the top

Reply to RedCappedBandit (Reply #5)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 07:49 AM

Dec 2013

Check the salaries of the sports coaches.

former9thward

(32,097 posts)

11. Coaches are not paid with tuition.

Reply to malaise (Reply #7)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 10:52 AM

Dec 2013

At least the ones with high salaries. They are paid off of game revenue, tv revenue, ads, etc.

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)

10. Also, the administrative sector at colleges has

Reply to RedCappedBandit (Reply #5)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 10:27 AM

Dec 2013

been expanded.

greymattermom

(5,754 posts)

6. why should they pay more

Reply to Starry Messenger (Original post)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 07:24 AM

Dec 2013

if folks will work for so little? Adjunct was supposed to be for someone with another job or someone retired, not a full time gig. We need to stop training so many graduate students, or at least PhD students. For STEM students, we need a path to a teaching license. My daughter, as an example, is qualified to teach in any college but only private high schools. Even low end temporary graphic design jobs pay about 13/hour, better than being an adjunct.

HereSince1628

(36,063 posts)

8. Last place I worked, a Catholic College, called adjuncts 'partial people'

Reply to Starry Messenger (Original post)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 09:06 AM

Dec 2013

a term that revealed a lot about how their board of directors viewed gypsy PhDs.

aikoaiko

(34,185 posts)

9. Adjuncts get paid less primarily because they do less.

Reply to Starry Messenger (Original post)

Fri Dec 13, 2013, 09:46 AM

Dec 2013

Although there are exceptions, adjuncts are not required to have a research program, publish and present with regularity, serve in regional or national academic organizations, advise students, serve on committees, create and maintain curriculum, write and receive external funding (grants), or respond to president/board of trustees/regents initiatives.

Sure, there may be as many adjuncts are faculty, but thats because it takes 2 - 8 of them to equal the teaching load of full-time faculty.

Universities don't always need another full-time faculty member when they really only need a few sections taught. Also, some full-time faculty (i.e., in business) are too expensive and having a couple of adjuncts teach is a reasonable alternative.

Having said all that I think most adjuncts should be paid more, but not equivalent to full-time tenure-track faculty, and many depts rely on adjuncts when they could employ full-time faculty.

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