Dive Brief:
- The average salary of full-time ranked faculty members across the country for the 2016-17 school year is $80,095, representing a .5% increase over the previous year when adjusted for inflation, according to a new analysis by the American Association of University Professors released Tuesday. Full professors average $102,402 annually, while associate and assistant professors average $79,654 and $69,206, respectively.
- For part-time faculty, who continue to make up the largest percentage of the higher ed workforce, the single-institution average is $20,508, or $7,066 per section for those paid by the course.
- The number of tenured or tenure-track professors has steadily decreased over the last 40 years, as the number of non-tenure track and part-time professors has increased. The share of graduate student employees, however, has decreased.
Dive Insight:
As appropriations to higher education declined in recent decades and institutions looked to make cuts to cover the gaps, decreasing the number of tenure or tenure-track positions on campus became a popular fix. But recent reports have highlighted the realities of the other side of this, and the numbers in the new AAUP report underscore the difficulties facing contingent faculty. At $20,000 per institution, part-time faculty members likely have to teach at three or more institutions to make a living, depending on the cost of living in their areas, and most aren't earning benefits. These factors impact student success and, ultimately, the institution's bottom line when contingent faculty can't host sufficient office hours or because they're running between institutions, creating a vicious cycle of cuts and balances.
Unionization efforts among contingent faculty and graduate students may complicate the issue further for institutions. Scenarios like the faculty lockout at Long Island University are worst-case scenario, but higher ed leaders would do well to get in front of labor negotiations and find ways to offer added value to contingent faculty members. While salaries may not be flexible, perhaps making allowances for faculty to teach more courses remotely, and even host virtual office hours, may be one way to meet in the middle. Providing for travel support and time off for faculty to attend conferences and professional development events is a way to ensure skills stay sharp and faculty feel supported. And including contingent faculty members in conversations about curriculum and other academic affairs shows their expertise is valued, even if they are not full-time employees.