Adjuncts: The Slave Labor of Higher Education
(The first article in a series)
This month, May 2013, I completed 15 years of teaching and decided to stop. As I reflect on my reasons, the basic reason is lack of respect---from the system administration, the college administration, and students. This lack of respect shows up particularly in how adjuncts are paid and treated by college leaders and department chairs.
Adjuncts’ Pay and Respect
It has been said that “Adjuncts are the slave labor of higher education.” This is factually true beyond doubt. Adjuncts are disrespected as teachers, as individual human beings, and as professionals in terms of what adjuncts are paid and in how they are treated by their supervisors.
College Adjunct Pay
At each of the nine colleges where I taught, with the exception of USM, I was paid approximately $1800 dollars for a one-semester course that met three hours a week for 15 weeks. Nominally the pay was $35 to $38 per hour of class time, plus perhaps a small stipend not part of the base-pay. The actual pay was a little over $12 or $13 an hour.
Teaching Expectations of Adjuncts
Teaching for forty-five hours in the classroom is only a part of what adjuncts do. They also must develop a syllabus; prepare course materials; prepare for class; counsel and tutor students on academic skills; teach students how to organize and present their ideas; teach them critical thinking skills; create and grade fair tests; and grade essays---some of which may take 20 to 25 minutes a piece if they need a lot of work.