By Valerie Velikaya
As the college continues to barrel its way through a financial slump, certain members of the faculty are determined to have their voices heard around campus.
Although adjunct professors make up a majority of the institution, many instructors appear in the form of a mirage. Office hours are sparse as many part-time instructors leave after class to travel 20 miles or so to teach at another college. Some are retirees, dedicating their free time to the sheer enjoyment of advancing the minds of their pupils, whereas others have full-time careers on the side and others are in search for full-time careers.
In spite of working aggressively to provide a better learning environment for students, adjunct professors are met with meager compensations.
Vincent Clark, professor/chair of history and political science and Faculty Senate president, said, “They’re paid depending on the amount of time they’ve spent here and the degree they have […] so if they have a PhD rather than an MA, they’re paid a little more.”
Once an instructor has taught 11 semesters, they’re considered to have reached “top scale.” This moderately increases the pay rate, usually with the exemption of any benefits.
Irene Schmidt, adjunct professor of foreign language and secretary of Faculty Senate, said, “I don’t even qualify for KPERS, the State of Kansas Retirement System. A part-time regular staff person is KPERS eligible.”
These limitations contribute in the growing tensions between the upper administration and part-time faculty members. On the other hand, the hostile interplay between the two groups also relay in many other issues.
“I think one of the things that’s happened is during the past semester, the administration and the [Board of Trustees] said they needed to cut over $3 million out of the salary and benefits line […] nobody really knew how that was going to happen. Many people were afraid that they might lose their jobs as a result of that,” Clark said. “I think there was a lot of unhappiness and anxiety over that.”
Based on evaluations made by other colleagues, Schmidt believes the full-time faculty members play a part in spreading the negative energy at the college.
“Some adjuncts would even argue that we’re in this situation precisely because of the full-time faculty […] sometimes they feel the most ostracized by their own full-time colleagues,” said Schmidt, who’s been teaching at the college for 15 years. She adds that, if anything, the administration treats adjuncts “in a more collegial, more professional, [and] more respectful way than full-time faculty.”
Adjunct professors, however, are not planning to surrender anytime soon. Organizations such as New Faculty Majority (NFM) are gaining momentum across the nation, specifically along the east coast. On its website, NFM states that its mission is “dedicated to improving the quality of higher education by advancing professional equity and securing academic freedom for all adjunct and contingent faculty.”
A lot of their goals have been making headway across the nation. Colorado has recently proposed a bill to increase salaries and provide benefits to their adjuncts.
“There has been a huge movement nationwide to bring more attention to that […] try to get across to students, and trying to get across to parents of college students – whoever is paying for the college,” said Schmidt. “Where is that money coming from [and] where is that money going? What’s it paying for and do we go down that path of […] it affect[ing] your perceptions of quality?”
Schmidt said whenever Campus Equity Week, a national campaign, comes around within the next couple years or so, her senate and the college’s faculty members will “all rally together so that we can put [the college] on their national website,” which ranges from colleges to universities and two-year to four-year, public and private institutions.
The lack of training given to adjunct professors may consequent in them being just as oblivious to the college as new community members on campus, which could warp the students’ perception of the quality of their instructors. Schmidt wishes to bring this to light.
“Adjuncts might be just as qualified, just as experienced, […] the quality is there, but let’s also consider that some of our adjuncts, […] they are all over, and so if students want to try to have an office time with the instructor, that’s going to be hard,” said Schmidt.
Andy Anderson, interim vice president for academic affairs, served as the dean of English, enabling him to gain insight on both sides of the issue.
“It’s eye-opening in a sense,” said Anderson. “I mean you see things from a much different perspective.”
Anderson stated that, in terms of authority, most discussions oversimplify complex relationships. The challenge for both the faculty and administration is to “see the relationship in almost a conversational dimension.”
Despite possessing the power to create new goals and set the direction for the college, Anderson hasn’t forgotten the hardships pertaining to a part-time faculty role. Once an adjunct himself for nine years, Anderson instructed at two community colleges at once, making the trek from here to Longview. Based on personal experience, Anderson continues to sympathize with adjunct professors, attempting to work with the system in order to see if they can get paid for mandatory training or committee work.
“[The role of the adjunct is] probably the most difficult issue facing community colleges,” said Anderson. “The role and the rights and so on of the contingent faculty is just a huge issue, and it’s one, frankly, that I’d seen very little change in the 40 years that I’ve been in education.”
It’s simply a financial reality, expressed Anderson.
“To pay full-time salary and benefits, you would have to raise the budget of the college, and that would be an increase in taxes,” he said.
Without benefits, adjuncts will continue to struggle if they’re not provided with healthcare in some way.
Some of the upper administration is trying to work with faculty members to ensure they’re provided with some compensation for their work. When the constitution was written on the Faculty Senate, there were requests made to get some sort of compensation. Nonetheless, most expected to get a flat fee for serving on the senate.
“Andy Anderson I credit with pulling through and making good on that […] to find money to help all five of our part-time senators […] be compensated for their time served on the senate,” said Schmidt. “We’re just happy. We’re thankful that he was able to recognize that’s an important task and an important role and should be met with some compensation.”
“At this college, there are a number of ways the administration actually solicits faculty opinion, […] there’s a Faculty Senate [which] debates all sorts of issues and says whatever it wants. [Sopcich] usually comes to that, […] he supports having a Faculty Senate,” said Clark. “The current president has gone out of his way to provide opportunities to hear from faculty members.”
In fact, there are a number of similar groups at the college that welcome their opinions, and there are numerous paths a faculty member can take in order to work with the system. Clark believes in shared governance, which would allow both faculty members and the administration to receive equal power.
“The administration should exist as a way to facilitate the teaching and learning at the college,” said Clark.
With budget cuts, turnovers and influxes in tuition and taxpayer costs, it’s difficult to see a change happen in the near future for the adjuncts at the institution. If benefits were to be instated for adjuncts, programs might get cut and the financial road would only get more tumultuous, Anderson said.
“It would be desirable, I would think, if one could have all full-time faculty – if you could have all the programs you wanted […] but it costs more than the money that’s available,” said Anderson. “I don’t see it changing anytime soon and that’s a reality.”
Contact Valerie Velikaya, staff reporter, at vvelikay@jccc.edu.