Best Practices for Treatment of Adjunct Faculty

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 08:07:38 -0400

Best Practices: A preliminary checklist

The list below is a work in progress. When completed, it will show how well academic departments at UMBC treat adjunct faculty. All items are to be understood as criteria and as positive recommendations where applicable. Some items might be N/A for individual departments. Departments already doing these good things are shown in bold-faced font.

Pay, stipend, raises:

Regular pay increases/[cost of living] adjustments for adjunct faculty: SOC, CSEE

Department advocacy for adjunct stipend improvement, raises: SOC, INDS

Complementary registration to conferences, etc.: Econ, INDS

Workload:

Ability, feasibility of choosing classes: CSEE, INDS, SOC

Input into scheduling process of classes: English, Math, Econ

Department sensitivity to time expended on new course prep: SOC

Advance notice/planning re course scheduling: English, Math

Job longevity, security, promotion:

Opportunities to teach Summer/Winter: English, Math, INDS, Econ, SOC

Hiring into full-time positions: American Studies, SOC, PHIL

Year-long planning

Scholarship/research:

Adjunct faculty can be primary investigators: CSEE

Adjunct faculty can qualify for research grants: CSEE

Opportunities for research: CSEE

Professional development opportunities:

Ability to request own TA when applicable: SOC

Collegiality:

Mentoring, orientation for adjunct faculty

Included in department meetings: English

Opportunities to serve on committees

Included in the social life of the department: English

Support by department office support staff: English

Facilities:

Have own office or sufficient privacy if sharing office: English

Access to computer/s, mobile devices, equipment as needed: English

Telephone access: English

INPUT ? If you know of items to consider, or departments to mention, please add a comment below, or get in touch with any member of AFAC.

We will continue updating this informal survey.