Comments on: A Path Forward on Adjuncts at MU http://gop3.com/2009/05/12/a-path-forward-on-adjuncts-at-mu/ Fighting Like Warriors and Thinking Right. Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:53:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: sideline observer http://gop3.com/2009/05/12/a-path-forward-on-adjuncts-at-mu/comment-page-1/#comment-365003 sideline observer Thu, 14 May 2009 01:31:27 +0000 http://gop3.com/?p=3448#comment-365003 The referenced article is a pretty damning indictment of the Marquette education. Relying on non-faculty members for 41% of the teaching is the hallmark of a weak university. This issue has been talked about quietly for at least 10 years; putting it out in the open in the newspaper is a blow to the university's prestige. MU has put a lot of effort in recent years into building up its image. Being compared unfavorably on this issue to UWM is very harmful. Ouch. When you consider what it costs to go to MU, this is shameful. Hope it is corrected. The referenced article is a pretty damning indictment of the Marquette education. Relying on non-faculty members for 41% of the teaching is the hallmark of a weak university. This issue has been talked about quietly for at least 10 years; putting it out in the open in the newspaper is a blow to the university’s prestige. MU has put a lot of effort in recent years into building up its image. Being compared unfavorably on this issue to UWM is very harmful. Ouch. When you consider what it costs to go to MU, this is shameful. Hope it is corrected.

]]> By: Jane http://gop3.com/2009/05/12/a-path-forward-on-adjuncts-at-mu/comment-page-1/#comment-365002 Jane Wed, 13 May 2009 16:15:35 +0000 http://gop3.com/?p=3448#comment-365002 Nice post, Daniel. I have a few friends who are trying to eke out a living teaching in higher ed, and the truth is, that's just not an advisable career path anymore due to over-reliance on adjuncts and the demise of full-time teaching positions. In order to make anything resembling a living, adjuncts have to patch together 5-7 courses per semester, usually at different institutions all over a geographical region. And then there is no guarantee that next semester there will be <em>anything</em> for them because full-timers get first pick and then it goes by seniority among adjuncts. It's a terrible system for anyone building an academic career, not to mention it's certainly not ideal for students to have teachers who are over-worked and under constant career stress. But it's so much cheaper for institutions than providing stability that I don't see it changing any time soon. Nice post, Daniel. I have a few friends who are trying to eke out a living teaching in higher ed, and the truth is, that’s just not an advisable career path anymore due to over-reliance on adjuncts and the demise of full-time teaching positions. In order to make anything resembling a living, adjuncts have to patch together 5-7 courses per semester, usually at different institutions all over a geographical region. And then there is no guarantee that next semester there will be anything for them because full-timers get first pick and then it goes by seniority among adjuncts.

It’s a terrible system for anyone building an academic career, not to mention it’s certainly not ideal for students to have teachers who are over-worked and under constant career stress. But it’s so much cheaper for institutions than providing stability that I don’t see it changing any time soon.

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