Policy Statement

The Faculty Affairs standing committee of the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council (IFC) is charged to:

..."advise the Council on all matters that pertain to the responsibilities, rights, privileges, opportunities, and welfare of the faculty, collectively and as individuals, including but not limited to, issues of equity, academic freedom, appointments, and tenure and promotion policies and procedures.”

Under that charge, we offer the following best practices and aspirational goals for appointment and support for adjunct faculty hired on a part-time basis. In the spirit and tradition of shared governance, these recommendations are directed to faculty and school administrators given our shared authority related to faculty appointments and responsibilities regarding the welfare and support of the faculty and quality of our academic programs.

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Reason for Policy

According to the IU Indianapolis Faculty Guide, “Adjunct academic appointees are hired by schools on a temporary basis for term appointments based on changing needs.” While not part of the voting faculty as defined in the Constitution of the IU Indianapolis Faculty (see Article I section A), we recognize that adjunct faculty are an integral part of the university’s approach to staffing and valued members of our community.

The individual and collective welfare of the faculty bears upon our ability to fulfill our academic mission and maintain the quality of our programs and services to our students and the public. For this reason, the IU Indianapolis faculty have a direct interest in the appointment and support of all faculty. This includes our adjunct faculty colleagues, given their role in curriculum delivery and influence on student academic performance and success.

We recognize that school-level administrators are allowed significant latitude in appointing adjunct faculty. We also recognize that the contexts for appointing and supporting adjunct faculty vary considerably across schools and programs. However, Article II outlines the authority of voting faculty related to standards and procedures for faculty appointments and staffing. This authority clearly extends to adjunct faculty:

However, meeting staffing needs with part-time hires is not without hazards. In appointing adjunct faculty, program quality, faculty qualifications, and appropriate faculty working conditions must take priority over administrative expedience including but not limited to efforts to cut the costs of or increase flexibility in staffing.

For these reasons and consistent with our committee charge, IFC Faculty Affairs offers for consideration the following best practices and aspirational goals relating to: appointment and reappointment; compensation; support and working conditions; recognition; expectations, evaluation, and protections; and staffing plans. These recommendations, consistent with the authority of the faculty noted above, are intended to ensure instructional and program quality and academic success; promote sustainable working conditions for all faculty, including adjunct faculty; and adhere to principles related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

For further national-level data, policy statements, and recommendations, refer to the following websites: American Association of University Professors; New Faculty Majority; Tenure for the Common Good.

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Procedures

Appointment and Reappointment

School appointments of adjunct faculty must:

• Conform to University Policy BOT-05: General Provisions Regarding Academic Appointments and University Policy BOT-06: Classification of Academic Appointments
• Conform to the Higher Learning Commission guidelines for Determining Qualified Faculty.
• Conform as appropriate to unit-level requirements for program accreditation.

Expectations for adjunct faculty may vary substantially across schools and appointments. For this reason, schools should provide adjunct faculty an appointment letter specifying terms and conditions of employment for each semester of appointment.

Course instruction and program quality benefit from continuity in staffing. These are enhanced by the quality and commitment of our adjunct faculty, which are likewise enhanced by the quality of our treatment and support of them. In appointing and reappointing adjunct faculty, program and school administrators are encouraged to consider:

• The ways course instruction, student experience, and program quality benefit from adequate preparation. For this reason, appoint adjunct faculty with sufficient advance notice to allow for thorough course preparation.
• Adjunct faculty are hired on a semester basis with no guarantee of being rehired in a subsequent semester. Adjunct faculty typically balance their appointment at IU Indianapolis with adjunct teaching at other institutions, other part-time or full-time employment, and/or family responsibilities. These faculty may experience economic and scheduling hardships from last-minute changes and/or loss of assigned courses with little advance notice. For these reasons, abrupt dismissal or non-reappointment negatively impact our adjunct faculty and our ability to recruit and retain strong adjunct faculty. To maintain a strong adjunct pool and staffing continuity, seek to reduce negative impacts whenever possible by: 1) monitoring enrollment trends and keeping potential hires apprised of anticipated needs and changes to the degree possible; 2) confirming appointments and schedules as early as possible; and 3) compensating adjunct faculty for course preparation in accordance with campus policy when cancellations are necessary.
• In some instances, adjunct faculty are not reappointed or may be dismissed (during the semester) for poor performance or other reasons such as violations of university policy. To improve instructional and program quality and limit non-reappointment due to unsatisfactory performance, administrators should review and discuss performance issues with adjunct faculty members. Similarly, to limit dismissal, administrators should make reasonable efforts to ensure adjuncts are aware of relevant university policies, expectations, academic training for teaching and learning, etc. When (mid-semester) dismissal is necessary, consultation with university administration and documentation of reasons for dismissal are strongly recommended to ensure the rights of students, other faculty and staff, the adjunct faculty member, as well as the interests of the university are protected. When they are dismissed for cause adjunct faculty should be informed of avenues of recourse available according to unit or university policy.

Compensation

Compensation for adjunct faculty varies widely across schools and appointments. Given variation across fields and markets, units are allowed significant discretion in establishing rates of pay for adjunct faculty. In determining and adjusting compensation, faculty and school administrators are encouraged to consider the following:

• To ensure instructional and program quality, IU Indianapolis must provide competitive compensation to recruit and retain high-quality adjunct faculty, particularly in our increasingly competitive market. For this reason, units should routinely assess market pay rates in their respective fields and adjust compensation accordingly.
• Adjustments to compensation may incorporate data on recent trends and demands, recommendations by national faculty and disciplinary associations for adjunct faculty, changes in the costs of living, training and credentialing, transportation, required technology, etc.
• To the extent possible, in determining per-course pay, some consideration should be given to teaching experience and credentials, as well as to responsibilities for course development and revision, adaptation for mode of delivery, related obligations to students, the profession, etc.
• Recognizing persistent inequities relating to race, gender, disability and other forms of discrimination, such consideration should also attend to IU Indianapolis’s commitments to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• In the interest of equity and transparency, units are encouraged to develop articulated scales for pay and compensation for adjunct faculty.

Support and working conditions

Faculty and school administrators are encouraged to:

• Recognize that adjunct faculty are members of the faculty. They should be treated with similar professional consideration to full-time faculty.
• Develop on-boarding processes to ensure adjunct faculty are aware of relevant policies, expectations, available campus resources, academic training for teaching and learning, accommodations to which they are entitled, etc.
• Evaluate adjunct faculty working conditions. This can be done as part of program review, as an agenda item for a faculty affairs committee, or by an independent reviewer or review team.
• Professional development will improve instruction and program quality. Offer adjunct faculty access to professional development opportunities afforded to full-time faculty, such as teaching workshops, teaching resources, technological support, and administrative support. Especially for longer-term adjunct faculty, programs might find ways to fund travel to professional conferences that support their teaching. (Such funding might be sought from targeted donations and from campus units that support teaching, such as Division of Undergraduate Education and Institute for Engaged Learning.) Schools could explore offering tuition remission to adjunct faculty who want to take one or more graduate courses for professional development.
• Provide adjunct faculty with professional-level resources (office space if desired by the adjunct faculty instructor, computer access, timely access to Canvas and email, office supplies as needed).
• Teaching-related grants, programs, and awards can be made available to adjunct faculty. Again, longer-term adjunct faculty especially appreciate such opportunities and recognition. A professional in the field who teaches a one-time course is different from an adjunct who teaches on a regular basis.

Recognition

Faculty and school administrators are encouraged (when these practices fit the program context for adjuncts) to:

• Develop a policy for adjunct faculty promotion in consultation with adjunct faculty in the school. Such a promotion should be based on teaching excellence, should not be “up or out,” and should come with a salary increase and whatever additional privileges seem appropriate, such as earlier scheduling or opportunities to teach other courses.
• Designate an award for adjunct faculty, if the school, department, or program doesn’t have one in place.
• Include adjunct faculty (especially those who teach on a regular basis for the school or program) in online faculty directories, with photos and biographical information comparable to that for full-time faculty.
• Include adjunct faculty, to the extent feasible for them and at their choice, in the community of faculty of a program or school. This may include invitation to meetings and events (with obvious exceptions and with no expectation that they ought to attend). Make efforts to make them feel welcome and appreciated.
• As appropriate, and in line with explicit expectations and compensation, consider inviting adjunct faculty members to serve on appropriate faculty committees or task forces (possibly with compensation; such service certainly must be voluntary).
• Provide adjunct faculty access to regular communication from their program, department, and/or school. This might include inclusion in email lists and other kinds of communication provided to full-time faculty. Maintain up-to-date contact information for adjunct faculty in case of emergencies or other urgent situations.

Expectations, Evaluation, and Protections

Faculty and school administrators are encouraged to:

• Hold adjunct faculty to the same professional and ethical standards as all faculty, which requires regular evaluation.
• Develop an evaluation process consistent with university policy and expectations that at a minimum provides regular reviews (along with annual or semester documentation) of adjunct faculty performance. To balance interests in high quality instruction and evaluation costs, units are encouraged to incorporate existing performance data including student feedback, implement practices such as peer review, and utilize supports for review and coaching from the Center for Teaching and Learning.
• Ensure adjunct faculty enjoy professional and workplace protections from unfair treatment consistent with their appointment and relevant laws and policies.
• Ensure all faculty, including adjunct faculty, have academic freedom that enables an atmosphere of inquiry and respectful discussion of ideas and that supports teaching and learning based in scholarship and untrammeled curiosity and investigation.
• Talk to adjunct faculty and seek their ideas, concerns, and questions. Develop ways that they can share concerns and suggestions safely, without fearing loss of employment or recrimination.

Staffing Plans

Faculty and school administrators are encouraged to:

• Evaluate school/department/program use of different faculty types across your curriculum. Who is teaching which courses? How many students and credit hours? Ask departments/programs to report on adjunct faculty use.
• Adhere to the university guidance that “Adjunct academic appointees are hired by schools on a temporary basis for term appointments based on changing needs.”
• Assess whether your school or program, as occurs too frequently in higher education, has lapsed into ongoing employment of adjunct faculty to fulfill long-term program needs.
• Develop staffing and hiring plans which balance use of adjunct appointments to serve the interests of the school, students, and some adjunct faculty, with the benefits to instruction and program quality realized in converting ongoing adjunct positions into full-time positions. 
• Recognize the valuable knowledge regarding instruction, institutional norms and procedures, and community assets that derives from long-term adjunct experience. When creating full-time non-tenure-track positions, give priority in hiring to your long-time associate faculty candidates who apply and are qualified.

Recommendations for Ongoing, Campus-Level Practices to Improve the Working Conditions and Status of Adjunct Faculty

Campus administrators are encouraged to:

• Collaborate to develop a “vision” statement about adjunct faculty and develop concrete goals to work towards.
• Identify an individual in the campus Academic Affairs office responsible for monitoring adjunct faculty hiring and working conditions and for facilitating conversations about adjunct faculty among deans.
• Develop a resource page for schools/departments/programs that includes good practices across this campus as well as links to other professional sites.
• Monitor adjunct faculty status and working conditions on the campus and report regularly to the IFC. This report would require surveying adjunct faculty.

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History

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