Leaders at a local community college in southern California ascertained that adjunct faculty members felt disconnected from the school and were not properly socialized to the culture of the school. The purpose of this case study was to help leaders learn adjunct faculty's perceptions of the socialization process. Organizational socialization theory and occupational socialization theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. Purposeful sampling was used to select 12 adjunct faculty to participate in face-to-face interviews. Data were collected via open-ended interview questions. These data were then transcribed, coded, and searched for themes. Coding was completed using Microsoft Word to search for common words and phrases. The 6 major themes were identified as follows: working conditions, voice and perception of adjuncts, mentoring, budget, lack of involvement in campus activities, and the desire to become a fulltime faculty member. A 3-day profressioanl development workshop pertaining to mentoring was identified as the project outcome. The results from this study could facilitate positive social change by helping this college, as well as other community colleges, assist adjunct faculty with their socialization processes. Better socialization could lead to committed adjunct faculty members who are more satisfied, informed, and engaged. When adjunct faculty feel more a part of the college, this engagement could result in improved understanding of the curriculum, more organizational commitment, and greater faculty dedication to the college's mission.

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between teaching readiness and teaching excellence with three variables of preparedness of adjunct professors teaching career technical education courses through student surveys using a correlational design of two statistical techniques; least-squares regression and one-way analysis of variance. That is, the research tested the relationship between teacher readiness and teacher excellence with the number of years teaching, the number of years of experience in the professional field and exposure to teaching related professional development, referred to as variables of preparedness. The results of the research provided insight to the relationship between the variables of preparedness and student assessment of their adjunct professors. Concerning the years of teaching experience, this research found a negative inverse relationship with how students rated their professors’ teaching readiness and excellence. The research also found no relationship between years of professional experience and the students’ assessment. Lastly, the research found a significant positive relationship between the amount of teaching related professional development taken by an adjunct professor and the students’ assessment in teaching readiness and excellence. This research suggests that policies and practices at colleges should address the professional development needs of adjunct professors. Also, to design a model that meets the practices of inclusion for adjunct faculty and to make professional development a priority within the organization. Lastly, implement that model over time to prepare adjuncts in readiness and excellence.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a statistically significant difference in quality of instruction as delivered by full-time and part-time adjunct faculty in community colleges by utilizing data obtained from the Kentucky Community and Technical College (KCTCS) student evaluation of instruction instrument at Southeast Kentucky and Hazard community and technical colleges. The evaluation instrument is used to rate the instructor in the following areas: (a) clarity of course goals; (b) clarity of attendance policy; (c) examinations being a fair measure of progress; (d) clear standards of grading; (e) presentation of course material; (f) clear and to the point explanations of concepts; (g) instructor?s enthusiasm towards subject material; (h) instructor?s concern for student progress in the course; (i) instructor availability before and after class; (j) the instructor?s teaching methods promote interest in the subject area; (k) how much the course has taught the student about the subject; (l) syllabus detailing course requirements and policies was provided and explained; (m) class starts on time and as scheduled; (n) instructor meets the class for the full-time scheduled. SPSS version 14.0 was used in this project. Cross tabulations were performed for each question in the evaluation. Group statistics were computed for the data providing the means, standard deviation, and standard error of the mean for each question. Independent sample tests were also performed, including Levene?s test for equality of variances and T tests for equality of means. The findings of the study indicate that there was no statistically significant difference in student satisfaction in classes taught by adjunct (part-time) instructors and full-time instructors. Discussion of the findings and theoretical and policy implications were offered.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Royce Ann Collins / In an era of increasing demand for a limited budget, more universities are turning to adjunct faculty to fill the need and to address the student load. Adjunct faculty members are hired for their content knowledge and close association to the business world and industry. This study was conducted to investigate whether a relationship exists between (a) technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK); (b) pedagogical training; and (c) personal technology; and to determine which variables have the greatest influence in the willingness of adjunct faculty at a Midwestern higher education institution to choose and integrate digital technology into curriculum and expand to the discussion of TPACK into graduate level education. TPACK is both a framework and an instrument to measure the level of integration of the primary components of the TPACK framework. TPACK is a term that describes what a teacher must know to integrate technology effectively into curriculum or teacher practices and represents the combination of teacher content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and technology knowledge as interrelated. TPACK allows educators to consider what knowledge is required to integrate technology into teaching and how they might develop that knowledge within themselves. The study was conducted with a sample (n=30) of adjunct faculty members from two extension campuses from a Midwestern, Tier 1 university. The data revealed significant relationships between pedagogical training and selection of appropriate technology, and between personal technology use and selection of appropriate technology. The data also revealed that TPACK was a significant predictor; however, the subdomains of TPACK masked the true impact because of the high presence of covariance.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics projects total enrollment in post secondary degree-granting institutions to increase 15% from 2010 to 2021 (U.S. Department of Education, 2012). National and state education efforts such as President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative, Tennessee’s Drive to 55, and Tennessee Promise encourage Americans to expand their educational pursuits in order to increase the number of individuals completing a post secondary degree. As states adopt funding formula measures tied directly to student success and retention, higher education institutions increasingly must rely on the effectiveness of academic and student service programs. Although the employment of adjunct faculty as a cost-saving measure has been on the rise for many years (Kezar & Maxey, 2013), research regarding the possible impact on student learning has been slow to develop and studies in this area have produced contradictory results. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to examine whether there is a significant difference in the fall to fall retention rate and proportion of assigned grades for first- time freshmen attending Motlow State Community College (MSCC) in regard to instructor status (full-time or adjunct). Existing data were used to conduct the study gathered from instructor and student information maintained by the colleges Banner information system using stratified random sampling. A non proportional sampling technique was chosen because of the potential small sample size and ease of subgroup comparison. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests of independence at the .05 level of significance. Results indicated no significant difference in the fall-to-fall retention rate and proportion of assigned grades for first-time, full-time students; first-time students; first-time students with a high school grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher; first-time students with a high school grade point average (GPA) of 2.9 or lower; and traditional and non traditional age students. Significant differences were found in the fall-to-fall retention rate for first-time, part-time students. First-time, part-time students taught by adjunct faculty are retained at a significantly lower rate than first-time, part-time students taught by full-time faculty. As states adopt funding formula measures tied directly to student success and retention at the same time colleges and universities brace for enrollment increases, the use of adjunct faculty continues to rise. Acknowledging the need for highly skilled instructors, higher education institutions must consider the potential impact adjunct faculty instruction has on student success given the potential implications on institutional funding at state and national levels.

This thesis researched what characteristics of a training course influenced participants’ professional practice. The training this study evaluated was MarylandOnline’s Certificate for Online Adjunct Teaching (COAT) course. The COAT project began in 2008 when instructional designers from various higher education institutions collaborated on developing training for instructors who were making the transition to online teaching. Using a design-based research methodological approach within an interpretivist research paradigm, this study used mixed methods data collection tools and grounded theory data analysis techniques to evaluate whether the COAT course effectively helped the target audience of higher education adjunct faculty make the transition to online teaching. This study found that not only adjuncts with no online teaching experience, but also experienced online instructors, full-time faculty, and nonteaching professionals completed the COAT course. Research participants identified that the experience of being situated as students in an authentic online course focused on online teaching and learning influenced their later online teaching, campus-based teaching, and nonteaching professional practice. Focus group participants cocreated an observation protocol that was applied to archived courses taught by COAT alumni, and it was found that instructors, as reflective practitioners, took from their COAT experience instructional approaches and competencies that were appropriate for their specific teaching situations. Although limited to a particular context, the original contribution to scholarship of this study was the articulation of design principles and a conceptual framework that may be useful to researchers and practitioners working in the area of online instructor training. / 2013, 04

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Royce Ann Collins / Judith F. Favor / As higher education populations are changing, institutions are forced to find new ways to meet students’ needs and schools’ declining budgets. Institutions have found that changing their business models by creating accelerated learning programs and extended campuses are assisting in this area. An outcome of these modifications is increased usage of adjunct faculty. These extended sites typically have small staffs and adjunct faculty members usually have little connection to the main campus, work a primary job, and have limited teaching experience. This research explored adjunct business faculty members teaching face-to-face at a private institution's off campus locations to understand their motivation level and perception of organizational support, as well as if the two interrelate. Multiple regression was completed to further explore the relationship of their demographics and motivation level or perceived organizational support. Self-determination theory was used to explore adjunct faculty members’ motivations, measuring motivation along a continuum from external to intrinsic motivation when a person is not exclusively one or the other. Adjunct faculty members at this institution have an identified motivation level moving toward integration, moving from extrinsic motivation and closer to being more intrinsically motivated. These adjunct faculty members have commitment to the organization’s goals and value their work. Organizational support was used to understand workers’ commitment to their organization as well as their satisfaction. These adjunct faculty members also reported a high level of perceived organizational support. A more thorough understanding of adjunct faculty members’ motivation levels and perceived organizational support will allow for better recruiting as well as create training and development programs to retain qualified, high-quality adjunct faculty members.

This study explores the teaching practices and labor conditions of media and communication adjunct faculty at three universities. Since the late 1960s, the number of faculty who are part-time and contingent is increasing and adjuncts are now more than 70% of college and university faculty (AAUP, n.d.). In this study, I examine the neoliberal university’s reliance on the teaching labor of part-time faculty and interrogate the use of adjunct labor for skills-based, vocationally oriented elements of the media and communication curriculum. The history of higher education, the literature of teaching and learning, and the theoretical frameworks of Bourdieu’s practice theory and Freire’s critical pedagogy situate this qualitative study of adjunct faculty teaching practices and labor conditions. A multi-method approach includes textual analysis of course syllabi and university documents; eight interviews with administrators, department chairs, sequence heads, course directors, and university leadership; three interviews with union activists; eleven interviews with current or former adjuncts; semester-long participant observation of teaching practices of thirteen courses taught by nine adjunct faculty; and three student focus groups with nineteen total participants. This study reveals media and communication adjuncts as key members of the academic community who apply student-centered practices and who are responsible for important elements of the curriculum, and at the same time, marginalized as a flexible, on-demand, and disposable labor force that serves the neoliberal university. This study offers insights to improve the labor conditions of adjunct faculty. I conclude that the COVID-19 global pandemic and the disruption of higher education’s normal tempo reveals a changing higher education landscape with threats of financial exigency and increased precarity for all faculty. / Media & Communication

This study was designed to examine the relationship between participation in specific professional development activities and the adjuncts' level of job satisfaction. Data was gathered from previous and current professional development activities at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida. Research in the area of professional development activities for adjunct faculty is emerging; however, there is a scarcity of research in the area of professional development activities as a means to increase job satisfaction. The data produced by this study were reviewed to determine, the level of job satisfaction of those adjuncts who attended professional development activities; the degree to which adjunct faculty members attended professional development activities; the reasons why adjuncts attended professional development activities; and how attendance at professional development activities has enhanced adjuncts' teaching performance. Findings showed that adjuncts who attended professional development activities at Valencia Community College were generally satisfied with their jobs. Adjuncts were also satisfied with the professional development activities they attended and many attended more than one activity.

This phenomenological study addressed the transitions of biology and chemistry adjunct faculty, with full or part-time positions outside of academia, as they navigate the transition between their workplaces and the academic environment and also transition toward becoming confident and competent educators. Using the final two stages of Schoening's (2013) Nurse Educator Transition (NET) Model as a framework, this qualitative study examines the transitions of nine biology and chemistry adjuncts at College Alpha, which is a community college located in a southern state. Study findings indicated both degrees of transition, the day-to-day and the overall transition into teaching, impact the overall adjunct experience. The College's involvement with the adjunct and the generational differences between the adjuncts and their students also play a role in the transitions. The literature review addressed the use of the NET Model as a means of examining transitions toward teaching, the roles of adjunct faculty on college campuses, the workplace transition, and the particular needs of Millennial students are also addressed. The study culminated with conclusions about the experiences of the participants, recommendations for future research, and calls for action by community colleges to improve the adjunct experience. A chapter is also included that reflects upon the dissertation writing experience and the challenges of qualitative research not addressed in graduate programs.