Interchangeable with adjunct, university instructors who are part-time and non-tenure-track. They are hired by schools on a contractual basis and rarely receive benefits, but they are exempt from the service and scholarship responsibilities of full-time faculty.
Published in Chapter:
Access, Relevance, and Inclusivity: Assessing What Matters Most to Virtual Faculty
Copyright: © 2019
|Pages: 34
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6322-8.ch007
Abstract
As institutions have expanded their virtual learning options to reach a broader community of learners, they have also increased the number of virtual faculty—largely adjunct or otherwise contingent—working remotely from the primary institution's location. Supporting the professional growth of these geographically dispersed faculty members presents complex challenges for faculty developers, who, often with limited resources, must adopt new approaches. Against this backdrop are increasing expectations for all faculty to gain proficiency in new teaching methodologies, modalities, and learning analytics to increase student retention. This chapter reports on a comprehensive, multi-modal, and multi-perspective study undertaken by one institution regarding the needs of this changing faculty demographic, including virtual and face-to-face adjunct and full-time faculty. The research yielded insights from the student, faculty, and administrator perspectives. Recommendations are presented for creating accessible, relevant, and inclusive faculty development that integrates faculty at all ranks.