Dive Summary:
- A new report from the Center for the Future of Higher Education titled "Who Is Professor Staff And How Can This Person Teach So Many Classes?" says that the 'just-in-time' staffing model--hiring adjunct professors at the last minute--is unfair to faculty and students.
- Based on the results of an online survey of 500 contingent faculty members conducted last fall by the New Faculty Majority Foundation, the report also lists lack of access to personal office space, computers, library resources and curriculum guidelines among the other conditions that limit adjunct faculty in providing a better learning experience for students.
- According to the report, 38% of respondents reported that they received less than two weeks' notice between being hired and the start of class when asked about the least lead time they received for a course, and 25% said they received between two and three weeks' notice.
From the article:
Colleges that want to set the stage for their students to succeed should stop hiring adjunct professors at the last minute and then denying those instructors access to the technology and resources they need to teach effectively, a new report suggests. "The 'just-in-time' staffing model is unjust for faculty and for students and clearly compromises education quality," says the 26-page policy report from the Center for the Future of Higher Education, a virtual think tank of the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education. (The center plans to post the report on its Web site today.) ...