The Realities of Adjunct Faculty: Why Investing in Faculty Means Investing in Students

As a first year college student, my English professor gave me the opportunity to write an OpEd. As part of the assignment, she provided a sample OpEd that she co-wrote for our college newspaper (Holcombe & Gopinath, 2022). In the article, she explained that many instructors, herself included, were not actually considered faculty at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I was shocked to learn not only of the dismal treatment experienced by adjuncts like herself, but also the fact that most of the faculty at our institution were adjuncts (Holcombe & Gopinath, 2022). My concerns went beyond the issue of job security. I wondered where their short-lived contracts left adjuncts when it came to academic freedom, student-faculty relationships and engagement, and student outcomes. I also reflected on how value-centered efforts grounded in care, that support both faculty and students, might lead to more positive outcomes for all.

The Prevalence of Contingent Contracts

Colleges and universities across the U.S. have steadily hired more adjunct faculty than tenure-track faculty over the past several decades. Today, nearly 70% of faculty at US colleges and universities are hired contingently, up from 47% in 1987, according to data from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP; American Association of University Professors, 2023). While this increase in part-time hiring is not new, the treatment and status of adjunct faculty has not changed. Due to the terms of their employment, these faculty have been refused adequate pay, job security, academic freedom, and even the title of faculty (Holcombe & Gopinath, 2022). As funding for colleges becomes increasingly more austere, college administrators use contingent contracts to lower labor costs. On the surface, this decision appears to address unpredictable government funding and enrollment. But the practice shields students from the knowledge that contingent hiring allows colleges to strip their faculty of bargaining power, forcing them into exploitative contracts. As colleges collectively hire mostly adjuncts, this establishes a status quo; there is no pressure on administrators to change the system. 

Must college administrators cut labor costs rather than invest in their faculty? Ultimately, no. Even in this time of uncertainty for colleges, responsibility for their students’ best interest falls squarely on the institution’s decision-makers. Supporting students is impossible without fully supporting faculty, who–day after day, week after week, assignment after assignment–directly shape students’ education, the very thing that students pay their tuition to receive. 

The Fallout from Adjunct Contracts

Adjunct faculty, with their lack of job security or status, are constrained in their ability to shape students’ education. Non-tenured to tenure-track faculty ratios have increased in recent years, but that trend is decades-old. In fact, the first notable increase in the 1970s was impactful enough for the AAUP to raise issues associated with the trend in their 1980 report, The Status of Part-Time Faculty (American Association of University Professors, 1980). Everything they sought to address, from job stability and adequate compensation to academic freedom and professional acknowledgment, was echoed by my professor’s OpEd. The concerns around the prevalence of adjunct faculty contracts have not remotely improved. Take Mary-Faith Cerasoli, an adjunct professor working for multiple colleges in New York, living out of her car. For teaching several courses one semester, she calculated that she was earning $3 per student with no benefits (Kilgannon, 2014). Holcombe and Gopinath (2022) stated that some adjuncts at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities were paid just $2000 per credit hour, a rate that had not changed in decades. The American Federation of Teachers (2020) surveyed adjunct faculty and found that over 25% rely on public assistance and nearly a third make under $25,000, the federal poverty line (Dinino, 2024). Adjunct faculty do not receive any benefits if they teach less than three courses per semester, and administrators can cancel courses at any time. If hired for the fall semester, adjunct faculty must design the curriculum, update their syllabi, and prepare for their courses before their contract begins, without pay (Mehlhoff, 2022). Additionally, this preparation work must be accomplished within a very short period– it is not unusual for faculty to be informed in July that they will teach a course in September (Mehlhoff, 2022). Each adjunct contract is non-renewable, meaning there is no guarantee of future employment, and no opportunity for tenure (Holcombe & Gopinath, 2022). 

Due to the tenuous nature of their employment, adjunct faculty must consider their academic freedom as they carry out their courses. Tenure codes do not apply to adjunct faculty, who are therefore at a higher risk for scrutiny. It is becoming more common for extremist political groups to monitor professors, seeking an opening for political conflict and putting faculty jobs on the line. However, controversial discussions in the classroom are an essential part of learning in college (Eisgruber, 2025). Without them, students do not develop the deeper critical thinking and perspective-taking required to coexist and learn with people of differing backgrounds and opinions. Without institutionally-backed academic freedom and support of free speech, adjunct faculty may not feel they can safely facilitate dialogues on controversial topics, degrading the quality of their students’ education (Schuman, 2024). 

Adjunct faculty provide significant contributions to their departments and fields, just as tenured faculty do. Like their tenured peers, adjunct faculty must undergo years of education and experience to become educators. They are just as passionate, interested, and invested in their subjects, and many spend significant time doing research and development in their fields. Not only do adjuncts deserve to be cared for and respected just as their tenured and tenure-track peers–it is vital to their students that faculty are supported– regardless of their contract types.

Ripple Effects on Students

Without job stability, adjunct faculty necessarily devote time and energy during a given semester to determine their job status for subsequent semesters. Constant employment insecurity befalls the educator. Repeatedly, research has found that increased part-time employment in colleges has led to lower graduation and retention rates and higher failure rates despite the quality of the faculty themselves (Guthrie et al., 2019). In a study examining instructor quality, Zhu (2021) found that factors such as “an instructor’s conditions of employment and teaching and working environment” (p. 1) may impact student outcomes. This is important as many consider teaching quality as static and imbalanced between adjuncts and tenured or tenure-track faculty (Zhu, 2021). Adjunct faculty allow colleges to take on more diverse perspectives–they bring with them a wide range of experiences and education, adding value to the classroom and the institution. In short, adjunct faculty are valuable and should be treated as such (Childress, 2019). 

When adjunct faculty are not well-supported, it impedes their ability to support students. When hired term-by-term, adjunct faculty have less incentive and opportunity to build meaningful connections with students. Some instructors do not have space in which to hold office hours. This limitation makes it difficult to get ahold of an adjunct faculty member, especially when simultaneously teaching at other institutions. Students cannot rely on adjunct faculty to advise on thesis work, collaborate on independent study, or collaboratively conduct research. Also, students may not have access to adjunct faculty beyond the semester in which they teach. When faculty are not truly academically free or supported on campus, they are unable to teach to their full capacity. Students pay top-dollar for invested and engaged instruction from their educators; they deserve to have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with them.

The Adjunct Conundrum 

Relying on adjunct contracts takes advantage of educators and jeopardizes student outcomes. Facing financial austerity, administrators must not let faculty support go by the wayside. Administrators hold responsibility to support their students’ education, which cannot be done without supporting faculty. 

College administrators have prioritized their own salaries over providing support to faculty and students (Uzuner-Smith & Englander, 2015). For example, at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, administrative hires have outpaced faculty hires and student enrollment for the past decade (Dinino, 2024). The university president’s salary has risen by 80.5% in the past twenty years while the average employee’s salary has only risen by 56% (Ward, 2025). Hiring procedures and job-title determination have remained confusing. Colleges hire via complicated systems, allowing administrators to defer hiring responsibility to departments– with wildly varying funding– dodging accountability for faculty contracts (Mehlhoff, 2022). Increasing adjunct faculty appointments– often made without consulting faculty or students– causes significant ripple effects impacting faculty and students. What may seem like a simple cost-cutting effort puts integrity and quality of education–including my education–at risk. 

Dr. Andrew Wall, former dean of the education program at the University of Redlands, California, provided a real-life model on how colleges can effectively take care of their faculty in a manner that is both ethically and fiscally responsible. I spoke to him about his execution of this mission during his visit to one of my classes this past semester, an honors seminar about the purpose of higher education (A. Wall, personal communication, November 13, 2025). Tasked with improving student-faculty relations, ensuring mission-alignment in the classroom, and increasing student retention and enrollment– all within tight financial constraints– he decided to hire only full-time faculty. He found that this investment in his faculty led to higher involvement, allowing them to more fully contribute to the curriculum and gain higher capacity for teaching. This initiative led to higher performance and engagement from students, and allowed the program to expand their enrollment. Improving their reputation among students and increasing enrollment capacity led to increased tuition dollars, in turn providing resources to better support and further invest in faculty and students. Dr. Wall’s decision shows that investing in faculty results in improved outcomes for both students and the institution. The overwhelmingly positive effects of adequately supporting faculty may also suggest the inverse is also true. In settings where faculty are not adequately supported, negative consequences may extend beyond student success, including stagnating enrollment, and limited tuition revenue. 

Recommendations for Investing in Adjunct Faculty

The best investment colleges can make in their students is to invest in their faculty. In addition to supporting unionization, the AAUP’s aforementioned 1980 report recommended thoughtful, viable practices to ensure increased job security and opportunities for full-time contracts, protections of academic due process, and compensation for course teaching as well as advanced preparation before the semester begins (American Association of University Professors, 1980). Contemporary reports also support the AAUP’s suggestions of more robust inclusion of adjuncts in course curricula work and department decision-making (Zarrow, 2018). These structural changes are further reinforced by interpersonal and cultural changes– offering the same resources and training for adjuncts as full-time faculty, providing needs-based training, and finding ways to give meaningful recognition to adjuncts (Tegtmeier, 2014). 

Conclusion

The recommendations above promote and enhance the engagement and success of educators, and in turn, students. What colleges offer their students depends on the educational value their faculty provide. It is, therefore, critical for college administrators to adequately support their educators. To students like me, faculty contracts matter.

 

References

American Association of University Professors. (1980, November). The status of part-time faculty. (1980, November). AAUP. https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/aaup-policies-reports/policy-statements/status-part-time-faculty

American Federation of Teachers. (2020). An Army of Temps. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/media/2020/adjuncts_qualityworklife2020.pdf

Artze-Vega, I. (2025). Prioritizing faculty well-being during politicized times. Change , 57(6), 22–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2025.2568349

Bonaparte, R. (2022). Colleges must support adjuncts in order to support students (opinion). Inside Higher Educatoin. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2022/04/01/colleges-must-support-adjuncts-order-support-students-opinion

Chatterjee, A. (2023, October 26). Adjunct professors face a “constant struggle to not give up,” report says. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/adjunct-professors-face-a-constant-struggle-to-not-give-up-report-says

Childress, H. (2019). The adjunct underclass: How America’s colleges betrayed their faculty, their students, and their mission. The University of Chicago Press.

Dinino, L. (Ed.). (2024, February 7). Death By a Thousand Emails: How Administrative Bloat is Killing American Higher Education. Bowdoin.edu. https://students.bowdoin.edu/bowdoin-review/features/death-by-a-thousand-emails-how-administrative-bloat-is-killing-american-higher-education/

Eisgruber, C. L. (2025, September 30). The myth of the campus snowflake. The Atlantic Monthly. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/college-students-free-speech/684352/

Fuller, R., Marie Kendall Brown, & Smith, K. (2023). Adjunct Faculty Voices. Taylor & Francis.

Guthrie, R., Wyrick, C., & Navarrete, C. J. (2019). Adjunct faculty can increase student success: Create opportunities for them to lift graduation and retention rates. Planning for Higher Education, 48(1), 18–24. https://www.scup.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/PHEV48N1_PlanningStory_Adjunct-Faculty.Guthrie.Wyrick.Navarrete.pdf

Holcombe, H., & Gopinath, S. (2022, November 6). Opinion: Your professor may be a gig worker. The Minnesota Daily. https://mndaily.com/274370/opinion/opinion-your-professor-may-be-a-gig-worker/

Kilgannon, C. (2014, March 28). Without tenure or a home. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/nyregion/without-tenure-or-a-home.html

McClure, K. R. (2025). The caring university: Reimagining the higher education workplace after the great resignation. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Mehlhoff, S. (2022, December 14). Episode 108: Why your professor might be a gig worker. The Minnesota Daily. https://mndaily.com/274977/podcasts/episode-108-why-your-professor-might-be-a-gig-worker/

Schuman, R. (2024, January 8). The disposable, indispensable faculty member. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-disposable-indispensable-faculty-member?emailConfirmed=true&supportSignUp=true&supportForgotPassword=true&email=youn3052%40umn.edu&success=true&code=success&bc_nonce=t6230tpv3jaglq5orqiu6s

Tegtmeier, C. (2014, February 26). The 5 Forms of Support Your Adjunct Faculty Need. Academic Impressions. https://www.academicimpressions.com/the-5-forms-of-support-your-adjunct-faculty-need/

Uzuner-Smith, S., & Englander, K. (2015). Exposing ideology within university policies: a critical discourse analysis of faculty hiring, promotion and remuneration practices. Journal of Education Policy, 30(1), 62–85. https://doi-org.ezp3.lib.umn.edu/10.1080/02680939.2014.895853

Ward, H. (2025). Hiring of administrative employees outpaces faculty, enrollment. The Minnesota Daily. https://mndaily.com/294316/campus/hiring-of-administrative-employees-outpaces-faculty-enrollment/#

Zarrow, S. E. (2018). How tenured and tenure-track faculty can support adjuncts (opinion). Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/08/24/how-tenured-and-tenure-track-faculty-can-support-adjuncts-opinion

Zhu, M. (2021). Limited contracts, limited quality? Effects of adjunct instructors on student outcomes. Economics of Education Review, 85, 102177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102177