A Field Study: The Business Of Engaging Higher Education Adjunct Faculty

Abstract

Competition among higher educational institutions has increased especially among public and private institutions; this is exacerbated by demographic changes whereby the number of high school graduates continues to decrease. Additionally, colleges and universities face daunting competition challenges retaining students; therefore, they are reexamining their long-established business models. As a result, to offset costs, higher education institutions continue to increase the hiring of adjunct faculty. Currently, adjunct instructors account for more than half of all faculty appointments and that number is expected to increase. To amplify the situation, college and university accreditation organizations are requiring student retention and faculty work engagement as part of the effectiveness and accreditation process. Customarily, compared to full-time faculty, adjunct faculty are less engaged with their work as effective coaches and mentors for students outside the classroom. Thus, a quantitative study using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale questionnaire sought adjunct faculty feedback in terms of engagement with their work for academic and student success and how the results could be used to increase this engagement.

An investigation of the relationship between self-efficacy levels and technology integration and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) among contingent faculty at Tuskegee University

“…Contingent faculty role is important for each college and school; they can bring enriching expertise in particular areas (Ridge & Ritt, 2017). College accreditation organizations are requiring evidence of contingent faculty work engagement as part of the effectiveness and accreditation process (Henkel & Haley, 2020). At some point I have provided LMS usage data to department heads and research areas to complete their accreditation process to each college and school.…”

“…Despite a well-developed understanding of the need to prepare all faculty to utilize best practices of technology to enhance learning outcomes, contingent faculty remain a fringe group when it comes to institutional support and investment in their teaching concerning technology knowledge, skills, and ability (Meloncon, 2017;Sprute et al, 2019). This is despite the more prevalent use of contingent faculty, increasing from 22% in the 1980s to 67% in the 2010s and 70% in 2014-and steadily growing (AAUP 2014a, Henkel & Haley, 2020, Bok, 2015. A decade ago contingent faculty did not have as many opportunities for institutionfunded/sponsored technology training, particularly in online and extension courses, as their fulltime counterparts (McNaughtan et al, 2017;Rizzuto, 2017;Slade et al, 2017).…”