December 1998

Related Links State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

SCHEV Survey Ranks Mason Third in Use of Adjuncts By Daniel Walsch George Mason University is the third largest employer of part-time faculty among four-year colleges and universities in the commonwealth, according to a new study by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). A total of 544, or 41 percent, of George Mason's 1,313 faculty members teach part time. The current state average among four-year institutions of higher learning is 29 percent. Christopher Newport University, located in Newport News, leads the pack with 46 percent of its total faculty teaching part time. Number two in the state is Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, located in Wise, with 43 percent. Virginia Commonwealth University is tied with George Mason, with 41 percent of its faculty teaching part time. The study, titled "Study of Policies Regarding the Use of Adjunct Faculty," was coordinated by Peter Blake of SCHEV. It was triggered by a request from the 1998 General Assembly directing the council, in conjunction with the Department of Personnel and Training and the Department of Planning and Budget, "to study policies regarding the use of adjunct faculty at Virginia's public colleges and universities." "Our use of adjunct or part-time faculty is something we are now looking at," says Provost David Potter. He notes that one of the recommended action items listed in the university's recently released "Engaging the Future" report calls for George Mason to "increase the relative proportion of teaching faculty who are full time and tenure line in appropriate academic programs." Generally, George Mason employs three kinds of adjunct faculty members, says Potter. One group, such as those found in the university's Institute for Computational Sciences and Informatics, works at federal labs. Mason contracts for part of their professional time. A second group, Potter adds, consists of what he terms "working professionals," who enjoy the challenge of teaching at a local university while maintaining their full-time jobs. He refers to the third group as "gypsies." These people are able to create full-time teaching loads for themselves each semester by teaching several courses at several different colleges or universities. According to SCHEV's study, it is estimated that fewer than 5 percent of the adjunct or part-time faculty in Virginia fall under this category. George Mason's use of part-time faculty has remained consistent over the past six years. In 1992, 40 percent, or 449, of its 1,114 faculty members (excluding graduate assistants) were part time. This is only 1 percent less than what George Mason currently employs. However, over the same period of time, collectively, the number of part-time faculty members employed by Virginia's colleges and universities has increased by approximately 7 percent. In Virginia, Blake says, over the past 25 years, the ratio of adjunct to full-time faculty has doubled. Blake adds that this study originated, in part, out of a concern that an adjunct faculty member could have appointments with more than one institution and teach a full course load, yet not have the salary and benefits of full-time faculty members. National research has suggested that increasing enrollment without a commensurate rise in institutional revenue has been an important factor in reallocating faculty positions from full to part time. "These conditions made it harder to hire more full-time faculty, given the lower salaries paid to part-timers, the shorter time commitment to them, and the fact that part-timers mostly need not be paid benefits," reports researcher David Leslie, a professor at the College of William and Mary who has studied the adjunct faculty issue nationally for nearly 20 years.