Adjunct Faculty

Howdy all,

My name is Rachel. I teach ESL & direct an intensive English program at a univ. in Missouri.

I was an adjunct from 2002-2006. Now I hire some adjuncts.

Anyone else in the group?

I have this student who does phenomenally on pretty much everything, but will NOT write a paper. It was just proven today, during the final, when a 5 page paper was due (the second of the class). He didn't turn in the first paper, and chose not to turn in the second. I don't get it....

Attention folks in the Mid-Atlantic region:

I'm a full-time faculty member at the Community College of Baltimore County where we're currently experiencing a record-breaking surge in enrollment (perhaps you saw the related article in the Chronicle of Higher Education just a couple of weeks ago).   Our pool of adjuncts is drying up fast, yet students are still knocking down the doors trying to get into classes that we simply can't staff.  Adjuncts are now being allowed to take on four courses each semester instead of the usual cap of three.  We're desperate for adjuncts in all areas but particularly in math, English, and reading.  If you hold a master's degree in any of these fields, experience or no, we'll welcome you with open arms.  Please contact me at stellalunag at gmail dot com, and I'll put you in touch with the appropriate department coordinators.

Pay is $690 a credit hour with no benefits (well, they do let adjuncts use the gym and whatnot), so it's the usual highway robbery, but it's pretty much a guaranteed gig if you aren't on the FBI's Most Wanted list and have the MA/MS. 

Full disclosure:  The need is so urgent that staff and faculty are being offered a $100 "finder's fee" for bringing new adjuncts on board, so there really IS something in it for me, aside from staving off increased class sizes.

I'm sorry that I didn't respond to each of you individually, but I wanted to say a huge thanks to all of you for all the great advice on my last post. I've spent the last few weeks on a feverish job hunt, and so far I've turned up one potential interview. I'm a bit discouraged, mostly because I'm impatient and partially because the budget seems to be keeping a lot of places from hiring. Oh well. Hopefully it'll work out.

Hi adjuncts,

My MA should be in my hands in a matter of months, and I'm fretting about finding work at a community college or two for fall. I feel lost and unsure of where to start. I know many of my colleagues sent e-mails to department chairs to inquire about where to send the CV off. What do you recommend as a first step? And if you e-mail someone, to whom do you direct your inquiries? I don't want to be a bother but I also don't want my CV to be lost under a desk.

     Hi, Everyone.  I believe that as an adjunct, having a good organizational system for all of your materials etc... is half of the battle. Lately, I believe that my system might be slowing me down.  In other words, I'm slowing myself down because of my less than efficient organizational system. What do you find works? It seems that all of  my computer files start to pile up ,and I can't find anything. Do you spend the time each week or each month organizing your files? It's my least favorite thing in the world to do, so I barely get to it. When I do, it takes forever just to file and throw out all the extra stuff I inevitably end up with.  I also have file cabinets full of materials, but my husband is really trying to get me to put all of my paper handouts etc. on the computer, so they don't clutter up our life in our small apartment. Have any of you gone anywhere close to paperless when it comes to your materials? I also use an accordion  folder for each class, dived into sections -corrected work, work to be corrected, journals etc... I'm sure having a website with links to handouts would be of great help, but I haven't tackled that project yet. Does anyone have a good system and a consistent way to maintain it? Or better yet, do you have a system that doesn't need much maintenance? 
 

     I'm preparing for a hopeful interview for a full-time English position at the city college where I work now, and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, tips, advice in regards to the ten minute teaching demonstration. Ten minutes is not much time to work with, and I want to show that I know my stuff, that I'm creative, and that I'm student-centered. This feels like a tall order. I have done one other teaching demonstration at the same school and, needless to say, I don't feel like I knocked their socks off. If I nail the teaching demonstration this time around, I feel like I have a fairly good chance at getting this position. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

I need tips for time-saving because I have a huge adjunct load this semester. So share on!


Here are some of mine:

1. For revised drafts, have students underline all changes made (for deletions and movement of information they comment about what they did in underlined text in square brackets). Then the two drafts are much easier to compare.

2. On grading rubric include a code for grammar comments. (Ex: CS = comma splice, RO= run on sentence, etc.)

3. To minimize redundancy with comments in essays and at the end of essays, place numbers in the margins and then at the end of the essay write the number and the related commentary.

***

Now give me some time saving tips because I have 2-3 preps and about 150-200 essays/month to comment on!

I've been wondering: is adjuncting easier or harder during the recession? Conventional wisdom would say "easier" for several reasons:

- if you do happen to lose a full timer, it'scheaper to replace him/her with 3-4 adjuncts
- the pool of adjuncts might have shrunk as people in distress seek something more permanent
- a number of laid off people run like crazy to college, meaning enrollments are up
- education tends to be "recession proof"

However, I was also thinking:

- people scrambling for money might be seeking more part time work to compliment the full time
- state funded schools might not be able to support as many adjuncts
- the likelihood of a full timer leaving during a recession (and thus making my first "pro" possible) is highly unlikely
- a lot of "dump outs from grad school" who don't have jobs might be turning to adjunct work

I was terrified for the spring; I only request one class and I thought I would have trouble getting it.  However, I not only got a spring course, but a winterim course, and a second spring course if I so chose.

What are other people's thoughts/experiences?

After reading "The Adjuncts' Mandate" in a recent edition of Inside Higher Ed, I have come to realize that I am not an appropriate maintainer for the group.  I am no longer working as an adjunct having been hired nearly three years ago as full-time faculty.  Certainly, I am still acutely aware of and sensitive to the needs and concerns of adjunct faculty members, but I feel that the moderator of this group really should be an adjunct.  I began this group so that my fellow adjuncts would have a voice and could build a sense of community; to have someone who is a non-adjunct trying to guide and shape that community appears to run counter to the spirit of the group.  

Our group hasn't been terribly active of late, but we still have adjuncts post important questions and observations from time to time.  As long as that is happening, this group really should continue.  I am asking for a volunteer to step in and take over moderator/owner responsibilities for adjunctlife  so that it can go on.  My responsibilities at work are increasing, and I don't think I can give this group the time and effort it deserves to help it become even more vital.  

If you would be interested in assuming leadership for this group, please leave a comment below.

Thanks to all of you for your insights and your support of one another and of me for the past few years.