For every hour spent in the classroom, college students are expected to spend double the time on homework. It's easy to imagine professors putting in about the same hours, but with the use of adjuncts-- or part-time professors--on the rise some wonder whether these adjuncts are capable of putting in the same amount of time. Adjuncts are part-time professors who could potentially work full-time hours, but do not receive the benefits or the office space. Matthew Marx is a journalist teaching the Otterbein and Columbus State community. A few weeks ago, he also had classes at Capital and Ohio Dominican. "There have been times in the past where I've had six classes and times where I've only had one," said Marx. "The numbers vary. I've never been full-time but I have had a full- time load." Marx is one of 144 total part-time faculty at Otterbein, compared to 162 full-time faculty. Of those 144 part-time, 93 are professors. "It's hard to tell exactly how many adjuncts we have because we consider them 'part-time staff,'" said Alma Holl, assistant to the vice president of Academic Affairs for Students and Academic Services. Susan Millsap, chair of the communication department, said adjuncts are generally hired because more course sections are available than faculty to teach them. "The communication department relies heavily on adjuncts because we're so big," she said. At Otterbein, part-time professors must have at least a master's degree or have extensive professional experience. "We want good professors teaching classes," Millsap said. The health and sport sciences department has 18 classes taught by adjunct professors, followed by music with 16 and theatre and dance with 14. According to Holl, this is because each of those disciplines has specialized classes and therefore more professors are required. "While dance professionals have experience, they typically are an expert in one aspect. In order to have specialists in each technique, we have to hire adjuncts," said John Stefano, chairperson for theatre and dance. "It's the same with theatre. We just don't have full-time positions, but we hire part-time faculty for their expertise in a certain area," he said. The Associated Press published an article pertaing to the increasing use of adjunct professors by colleges. "In many fields, there are already too many PhDs awarded for the full-time academic posts available, creating a surplus of likely job seekers. That pool becomes adjuncts, who command wages and benefits so low that universities find them irresistible hires," it said. While hiring adjuncts may financially benefit colleges, it could have a negative effect on students. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (The Chronicle) said that first-year college students are more likely to drop out if their gatekeeper, or beginning, courses are taught by part-time professors. Adjuncts are often running back and forth between different campuses, don't have set office hours and cannot be found around campus. The Integrative Studies program, which usually covers many of the beginning courses, currently has 11 classes taught by adjuncts, compared with 29 in the fall. In the Integrative Studies composition and literature classes especially, flexibility is necessary to deal with varying class sizes, said Alison Prindle, English and Integrative Studies professor. Freshmen classes are capped at 18 students and sophomore classes at 25, so it's important to have enough professors available to cover all sections. The educational debate concerning part-time professors brings to light both the downside and the upside of having non-permanent professionals on staff. "I can bring real world experience to the position that full-time professors cannot," said Marx. t&c;
Part-time profs may cause problems
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