The Impact of Industry Expert Adjuncts on Students' Course Experiences

Introduction

The issues related to the use of adjunct instructors in higher education, as evinced in discussions of the financial, logistical, or organizational impacts, are often defined by the necessity of their use and the constraints of their positions as itinerant labor (Casto, 2017; Evans, 2018; Pankin & Weiss, 2011; Swartzlander, Garcia, Sweeney, Dayton, Hunter, Stoll, Meija, Bob, Hahn & Hoffman, 2006). Discussions of the effects on student success of having adjunct instructors have thus far provided conflicting messages. Existing studies on the impact of adjuncts on student success have produced findings ranging from positive to negative results, and even finding no significant differences across instructors (Figlio, 2013; Flaherty, 2013a, 2013b; Harris, 2017; Keller, 2015; Ran & Xu, 2017, Smith 2010). These findings provide an unclear portrait for those at the institution tasked to support, collaborate with, and manage adjunct instructors.

Although important, the administrative decisions regarding the use of adjunct instructors are not the focus of this study. This work begins with the existence of the phenomenon as the baseline. The institutional context for this research is one where adjunct instructors are already in use, with no plans to limit or end the practice. Given that reality, this work contributes to better understanding how to improve adjuncts’ effectiveness in the classroom by exploring their impact when teaching courses related to their professional work. This paper shares student perspectives on their experiences in these types of courses with industry professionals as adjunct instructors.

This study is the first in an ongoing, design-based research and curriculum development project focused on how to support the needs of industry expert adjuncts. Industry expert adjuncts are adjunct instructors with full time employment in a non-academic position who enter academia with the intent to instruct and mentor students within their particular industries. Understanding students’ beliefs about how and what they learned during their course taught by an industry expert adjunct provides useful feedback for revising aspects of instructional design like classroom culture and experiential learning, as well as out-of-class issues such as outreach and marketing to prospective students. How students feel about the technical skills that they gained is an essential piece of the overall portrait of their experience; however, those skills should be something students gain with any instructor, hence the focus on those aspects specific to courses with industry expert adjuncts. Where the difference lies, is in the application of knowledge by different instructors. Through this process, students learn when and where the instructor applies their professional expertise in the context of typical industry workflows. This gives students the opportunity to refine their knowledge toward authentic situations they may encounter in their future work.

Admittedly, industry-related skills can be developed and maintained by full-time faculty members at the institution who teach similar courses to the industry expert adjuncts. However, full-time faculty instructors do not benefit from the timely and situated nature that those working full-time in the industry experience. Industry expert adjuncts are constantly reinforcing and updating their knowledge in the professional context. While full-time faculty members who are employed by the institution and work as instructors may have recent industry experience, the focus of their work at the institution has shifted and potentially lessens the quality of the knowledge that they bring to the course with respect to current industry expectations. This example of how knowledge can become less useful over time occurs when the underlying understanding is no longer timely in its appropriateness and applicability. The belief here is that the industry expert adjunct can provide a timely perspective on professional work environments, which students replied was a valued aspect of their participation in these courses. The research team sees value in students having classroom experiences with both types of instructors, full-time academics and industry expert adjuncts, as they bring complementary skill sets and expand the growth and preparation of students as they work toward their degrees.