Adjuncts

The erosion of full time tenure-track lines is even more extensive than I realized. According to the New York Times:

"Three decades ago, adjuncts — both part-timers and full-timers not on a tenure track — represented only 43 percent of professors, according to the professors association, which has studied data reported to the federal Education Department. Currently, the association says, they account for nearly 70 percent of professors at colleges and universities, both public and private."

Although tenure may be flawed in some ways, unexploited, full time professors have more time for students, for preparing courses, and for grading. If you're grading actual written papers, the more students you have the less time you have to give feedback. There is a class system built into the situation. If you're at a highly rated or expensive school, as a student you will have quality, full time teachers. It's students at lower tier schools, which have come to rely on adjuncts more and more, that suffer the most from the situation. (The statistic above may not even count all the graduate students also teaching courses part time.) The average adjunct receives about $1500 to $2000 per course. At four courses per semester that's $16,000 per year. Do you want your child's education valued at $16,000 a year?