Today, over 50 percent of faculty serve in part-time appointments, and non-tenure-track positions of all types account for 68 percent of all faculty appointments in American higher education. Both part- and full-time non-tenure-track appointments are continuing to increase. (See a chart showing Trends in Faculty Status, 1975-2007).
Excessive use of, and inadequate compensation and professional support for, such contingent faculty exploits these colleagues and undermines academic freedom, academic quality, and professional standards. It is essential to improve the compensation and professional support opportunities for contingent faculty. Listen to some of our members talking about why: Marc Bousquet, Jeanette Jeneault, Marcia Newfield.
The AAUP works for contingent faculty in multiple ways. The AAUP's Committee on Contingent Faculty and the Profession studies issues relating to contingent faculty appointments and works to improve conditions for contingent faculty members and to help all faculty fight the trend towards part-time and non-tenure-track appointments. AAUP staff and members of the committee participate in a number of national and local coalitions on academic workforce issues including Campus Equity Week, the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, and the Coalition on the Academic Workforce.
In October 2009, the AAUP's standing Committee on Contingent Faculty issued a draft report on the conversion of contingent appointments to the tenure track. Your comments are welcome on the report, which will be revised in early 2010.
In January 2009, we released an investigating report on the case of Jessica Bryan, an adjunct instructor of English whose appointment was discontinued at the whim of administrators after she had taught part time at the institution for thirteen consecutive semesters. April 2008, we released a report on accreditors' guidelines pertaining to part-time faculty, and in May and November, reports of investigations involving alleged violations of the academic freedom and due process rights of full-time contingent faculty members. Also in 2008, the entire November-December issue of Academe was devoted to contingent faculty issues.
In December 2006, we released a report, the AAUP Contingent Faculty Index 2006, which provides data specific to individual college and university campuses on the number of full-time faculty with and without tenure, the number of part-time faculty, and the number of graduate student employees.
In November 2006, the AAUP adopted as policy a new recommended regulation dealing with part-time faculty appointments. The policy, which is now regulation 13 of the Association's long-standing Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure, describes basic protections that should be afforded to all part-time faculty members and additional protections for long-term part-time faculty members.
Our major statement on contingent faculty remains the 2003 Contingent Appointments and the Academic Profession. The statement makes recommendations in two areas: increasing the proportion of faculty appointments that are on the tenure line, and improving job security and due process protections for those with contingent appointments.
The AAUP does not provide legal representation to faculty, but attorney referrals are available from legal.dept@aaup.org.
If you have questions about contingent faculty issues, please e-mail Gwendolyn Bradley.