precarious life & times

Saturday, June 30, 2012

What is equity for adjuncts? Will it ever become a reality?

New Faculty Majority Treasurer & (founding) board member William Lipkin asks, explaining,

I am currently 'celebrating' my 50th years of adjuncting. Why would I subject myself to such exploitation for such a long period of time? Well for the first 35 years I had a 'real' job in the private sector, not teaching, which allowed me to raise 2 sons and give me and my wife a good lifestyle. During that period I taught a couple of courses a semester at night or on Saturday and had very little interest in pay, benefits, support, governance, etc.?

Once I realized my real passion was in teaching I left my other job and became a professional adjunct, or as we call ourselves in New Jersey - 'Roads Scholars' - traveling the state between schools in order to earn a living.

Then came the wake up call!

Could the Affordable Care Act Help Cure HigherEd of Adjunctivitis?

NFM VP Matt Williams explores the implications of the Affordable Care Act for Adjuncts at AkronAdjunct, reposted below in full.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld healthcare reform today, and the decision promises to change the landscape of the healthcare industry in America. While much of the focus of the debate has been on the individual mandate, the employer mandate may have some surprising (and potentially positive) implications for the nation’s nearly 1 million adjunct faculty who often teach for poverty wages and are frequently denied access to employer sponsored health insurance.

The controversial health care law includes an employer mandate that requires large employers (i.e., those with more than 50 full-time employees or full-time equivalents) to provide health insurance to its employees or pay a penalty.

Does anyone out there have a working adjunct mentoring program in place in their College? We have been trying to get one in my Community College but have met with resistance by our Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA). When I first mentioned this to the VPAA last semester she responded by saying that it might be a good idea for full time faculty to mentor new adjuncts!!!

NO!!!

That shows how little the administration understands us. I told her that our proposal was for seasoned adjuncts to mentor new adjuncts. After all who knows better? After hearing many stories from new adjuncts who were hired, given a generic syllabus, and told to teach, without out any further direction, our adjunct local decided that we needed to step in and help. We created a model based on mentoring programs in other Colleges and Universities. Our plan called for a structured program of orientation, mentoring, observation, and evaluation.