Issues around adjuncts came up in the small group discussion I was in last week.
I saw this article, and thought it should be shared.
While I have not seen all the things listed in this article, I have seen quite a few of them. Course cancellations come down literally a few days before classes start. I’ve seen adjuncts get screwed over by that more than once.
Once, it almost happened to me, except one of our full timers decided to up and resign, so I got one of her classes.
Full disclosure: I have two different positions at LaGuardia: I am a Sr. College Lab Tech and an adjunct lecturer.
In fact, in the Spring semester, the course I usually teach, Voice and Diction, is taught as a hybrid class. I took the seminar on how to teach in that environment and altered the course to work as a hybrid partially because I would be the only person on staff who can both teach V&D and teach it as a hybrid.
Still, I’m lucky. My supervisor does his best to take care of all of us, and, since I’m already on campus, I’m almost always going to get a class. It might start at 8:00 pm or 7:30 am, but I’ll get one.
So, on top of the pay issue, adjuncts have to worry about the things discussed in this article.
I’m not saying don’t be an adjunct. I love teaching. I’m saying go in with your eyes open.
Thanks for the link! It is going on the CUNY Adjunct Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PSCCUNYCAP/
The CAP FB is a closed group for all things CUNY adjunct. Join, if you want to keep up with actions we are taking. Speaking of which on December 3 the Board of Trustees will be hearing testimony from the CUNY community. They are scared little muffins and don’t like too much controversy, so I say that we show up and protest about the pay, criticize the lack of respect, and tell them about the poor working conditions. Let me know if you are interested.
Thanks for the article, Sean. I’ve occasionally thought about leaving the corporate world and becoming a professor. This was a good reminder to go into that with my eyes wide open.
Also, remember that full time is a different game than part time, so a good bit of this doesn’t apply.
That has its own set of issues.