An Effective Solution for Helping Part-time
Faculty Become Better Teachers
Debbie Bouton
AVP for Learning
Terri Manning
AVP for Institutional Research
Part-time Faculty
“We have had our heads in the sand about this
problem for many years, and the problem is getting
worse. Most part-time faculty members are deeply
committed to their work, but many are ‘just frazzled’
as a result of the pressures placed on them and the
students are paying the price for it.”
Cary Nelson
President, American Association of University Professors
Source: Schmidt, Peter, Use of part-time instructors tied to lower student
success, The Chronicle of Higher Education 11.14.08
Numbers of Part-time
Faculty
• The American Federation of Teachers’ recently released study
found that across the country in 2003:
– 57.% of courses at community colleges (61% in one study)
– 38.4% of courses at bachelors and masters granting public
schools
– 41.8% of courses at public doctorate-granting universities
– 41% of courses at private schools
…were taught by part-time faculty.
• About 46% of the nation’s college faculty are part-time (up from
22% in 1970)
Sources: Marklein, Mary Beth, Studies examine impact of part-time college faculty, USA Today
12.3.08.
Miller, Ross, Use of part-time faculty in higher in higher education: Numbers and Impact.
http://www.greaterexpectations.org/briefing_papers/part-timefaculty.html
How Much They Teach
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•
•
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82% of part-time faculty teach two or fewer courses
50% teach only one
82% spend less than 10 hours/week teaching (average 11.7)
Part-time faculty spend 12.9% of their paid hours/week on
research/scholarship and professional development
• Fulltime faculty spend 22.3% of paid hours/week (average 42.6)
on research/scholarship and professional development
• The average student in one study earned almost 40% of credits
from courses taught by part-time faculty
Sources: Miller, Ross, Use of part-time faculty in higher in higher education: Numbers and Impact.
http://www.greaterexpectations.org/briefing_papers/part-timefaculty.html
Schmidt, Peter, Use of part-time instructors tied to lower student success, The Chronicle of Higher Education
11.14.08
National Concerns
• The part-time faculty are not the problem – it is the institutions
failing to provide adequate resources to support them.
• Part-time faculty are miserably compensated and often teach at
multiple institutions to piece together a living (average $2-3,000
per course.)
• Pose threats to the rigor and integrity of college learning.
• Because part-time faculty often have fulltime jobs or family
responsibility, they are often less available to their students
and less able to participate in institutional activities.
Source: Marklein, Mary Beth, Studies examine impact of part-time college faculty, USA Today
12.3.08.
Miller, Ross, Use of part-time faculty in higher in higher education: Numbers and Impact.
http://www.greaterexpectations.org/briefing_papers/part-timefaculty.html
National Concerns
• Because of working conditions, part-time faculty may be
tempted to:
– Avoid frequent writing assignments to save grading time
– Self-censor in the absence of protection for academic
freedom
– Avoid rigor and/or inflate grades to boost student evaluations
– Pander to students to build popularity in an attempt to assure
a continuing contract
• Their only evaluation is typically from students as many
institutions don’t invest the time for peer review of part-time
faculty.
Source: Miller, Ross, Use of part-time faculty in higher in higher education: Numbers and Impact.
http://www.greaterexpectations.org/briefing_papers/part-timefaculty.html
How Would You Feel?
How Would You Feel?
• What would you need to know to get off to a good
start?
• What can the college do to help you feel
engaged?
• How do you find out about important college
initiatives such as
– Learning Outcomes Assessment
– General Education Outcomes
– Quality
– Title III
Studies Have Found
• As exposure to part-time faculty increases, the
likelihood of community college students completing
associate’s degrees decreases (California study).
• Another found the same to be true of university
students. This study also found that as numbers of
part-time faculty increased, full-time faculty felt less
secure in their jobs and spent less time preparing for
classes and advising students (University of North
Carolina system study.)
Source: Marklein, Mary Beth, Studies examine impact of part-time college faculty, USA Today 12.3.08.
Major Issues
•
Part-time faculty mostly teach
• Lower-division, undergraduate classes
• Classes added at the last minute
• Classes at odd times that the full-time faculty don’t want to teach
•
These are often populated by students
• in the most need of extra help
• who are less prepared and
• uncomfortable meeting the demands of college-level work
•
Fulltime faculty cannot compensate for the increased need for student
support this situation creates
•
Lower division classes are critical for student engagement, higher-order
learning, and the student’s initial impression of higher education.
Miller, Ross, Use of part-time faculty in higher in higher education: Numbers and Impact.
http://www.greaterexpectations.org/briefing_papers/part-timefaculty.html
CPCC Examples
Year
Full-time
Faculty
Part-time
Faculty
Total
Faculty
2007-2008
292 (18.6%)
1,279 (81.4%)
1,571
2008-2009
360 (21.3%)
1,333 (78.7%)
1,693
Retention of Part-time Faculty
a Critical Element to Quality
Part-time Faculty
who taught
Fall 2007
Total in Returned
Not
Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Retained
Not
Retained
520 (100%) 390 (75%) 130 (25%) 325 (62.5%)* 195 (37.5%
New in Fall 2008
174
New in Fall 2009
Total per Fall Term
Returned
Fall 2009
115 (66.1%) 59 (33.9%)
197
520
564
637
*Number included those who skipped one fall and returned the following fall
In any given fall, we lose approximately 35% of the previous fall’s part-time faculty
Number of FTE per Fulltime Faculty in
General Education Courses
2007-2008 Year
Academic ESL
Art
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Communications
Dance
Drama
English, Reading and Humanities
French
German
Math
Music
Science
Spanish
Academic Skills
All General Education
# full-time
faculty
3
5
19
9
2
28.2
1
21
5.2
15
6.4
1
116
# part-time
faculty
17
35
20
4
7
89
2
1
55
12
21
2
25
290
FTE
students
203.6
299
1094
397
28.7
121
1731
60.6
31.4
1509
198
963
304.3
125
7066
FTE per
faculty
68
60
58
44
61
61
61
72
38
64
48
125
61
Number of FTE per Fulltime Faculty in
Applied Science Programs
2007-2008 Year
Architecture Technology
Basic Law Enforcement
Business (includes 2 gen ed)
Cardiovascular Technology
Criminal Justice
Culinary Arts
Dental Assisting
Dental Hygiene
Early Childhood
Electrical/Electronics
Engineering
Fire Protection
Geospatial/GPS
Graphic Arts
Health Information Technology
# full-time
faculty
4
1
15
2
5
10
5
4
8
2
14
3
1
3
2
# part-time
faculty
8
4
39
1
4
1
1
21
5
20
2
10
3
FTE
students
95
47
741
30.2
106
155
90.6
24.3
292
57
250
59
37
118
40.3
FTE per
faculty
24
47
49
15
21
16
18
6
37
29
18
20
37
39
20
Number of FTE per Fulltime Faculty in
Applied Science Programs
2007-2008 Year
# full-time #part-time
faculty
faculty FTE students
Horticulture
Human Services
HVAC
IT/ Information Systems
Interior Design
Interpreter Education
Medical Assisting
Medical Laboratory Technology
Nursing
Office Systems Technology
Paralegal Technology
Physical Therapy Technology
Respiratory Care Technology
Transportation Systems
Welding
4
4
3
24
2
3
3.2
2
10.2
4
4
3
3
17
3
4
9
13
35
3
1
5
Total Applied Science
174.4
FTE per faculty
9
9
1
1
7
5
92
115
116
1106
62
72
90.3
27.0
203.8
123
107
64.0
56.3
381
93
23
29
39
46
31
24
28
14
20
31
27
21
19
22
31
224
4907.38
28
Developmental Courses
• High numbers of part-time faculty teaching these
courses
• Less likely to have specific training in methods of
teaching lesser-prepared (remedial) students
• Retention and success rates are lower to begin with
in these courses
• These students need the most attention
Percent of Developmental Courses
Taught by PT Faculty by Subject
% of
% of
Sections Students
Total
Total Taught by Taught by
Sections Students Part-time Part-time
Developmental English
177
3798
58.8%
59.4%
Developmental Math
340
7921
63.2%
62.0%
Developmental Reading
123
2848
70.7%
71.5%
All Developmental
640
14567
63.4%
63.2%
FT and PT Faculty Teaching
Developmental Courses (2008-9)
Full-time Faculty
Students Sections
Taught Taught
Students
Students
Making A-C Making A-F
%
%
Grades
Grades
Passing Retained
English Fulltime Faculty
1542
73
946
1301
72.7%
84.4%
Math Fulltime Faculty
3008
125
1372
2299
59.7%
76.4%
Reading fulltime Faculty
811
36
465
691
67.3%
85.2%
Total for Full-time Faculty
5361
234
2783
4291
64.9%
80.0%
Part-time Faculty
Students Sections
Taught Taught
Students
Students
Making A-C Making A-F
%
%
Grades
Grades
Passing Retained
English Part-time Faculty
2256
104
1583
2004
79.0%
88.8%
Math Part-time Faculty
4913
215
2799
4094
68.4%
83.3%
Reading Part-time Faculty
2037
87
1484
1820
81.5%
89.3%
Total for Part-time Faculty
9206
406
5866
7918
74.1%
86.0%
Myths about Part-time
Faculty
• Won’t come for training unless they are paid
• Won’t come on training because of scheduling
challenges
• Don’t have time to work on teaching skills
• Work part-time because they can’t find full-time
teaching positions
Overview of Outreach
Efforts
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Part-time Faculty Orientation
Part-time Faculty Website
Certification Program for Part-time Faculty
Saturday Sessions
Classroom Observation for Part-time Faculty
Faculty Self-Assessment
Orientation
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College-wide orientation for all new part-time
faculty
Provide “Goodie Bag”
Model Good Teaching Practices
Offer Multiple Times at Multiple Locations
Introduce College Administrators
Include Ice Breakers
Offer Online Option
Partner with HR
Website
http://www.cpcc.edu/parttime
Saturday Sessions
• Designed to Meet Needs and Schedules of Parttime Faculty
• Monthly Sessions
– Becoming a Student Advocate
– Introduction to Blackboard
– Teamplay
– Faculty-to-Faculty
Certification Program
Teaching for Significant Learning
• 25-hour, hybrid program
• Part-time faculty recommended by departments
• Stipend of $500 paid to participants upon completion
of program
• Getting Results used as primary curriculum
• Supplemental texts
Certification Program
Teaching for Significant Learning (cont’d)
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Creating a Community of Learners
Planning for Outcomes
Active Teaching and Learning
Assessing Teaching and Learning
Teaching with Technology
Certification Program
Teaching for Significant Learning (cont’d)
• Evaluation of Program
– Instructor Self-Assessment (pre and post)
– Follow-up Instructor Self-Assessment (6 mos)
– Survey of Students
– Student Success Rates (pre and post)
– Student Retention Rates (pre and post)
Results of Part-time Faculty
Certification
Summer 2008 Group
Terms
Pre-Cert
ABCS % ABCS AS -UF % AS-UF DFIWU %DFIWU
Total
2007-2008 3062
66.6%
3753
81.6%
1538
33.4%
4600
Post-Cert 2008-2008 6384
71.7%
7793
87.5%
2524
28.3%
8908
Summer 2009 Group
Terms
ABCS
%ABC
AS - UF
% AS-UF-F DFUIW %DFUIW
Total
2008-2009
4087
70.2%
5398
92.7%
1734
29.8%
5821
Fall 2009
2849
71.9%
3648
92.1%
1111
28.1%
3960
Part-time Faculty Retention
of Participants
Taught in Taught in Not
Taught in
Not
2007/2008 Fall 2008 Retained Fall 2009 Retained
Participants in Summer
2008
Participants in Summer
2009
43
43
(100%)
60
0
40
(93%)
3
(7%)
56
(93%)
4
(7%)
93-100% retention versus 65% for entire part-time faculty
group over same periods.
Classroom Observations
• Reviewed Classroom Observation Process
• Convened Committee of Faculty and Department
Chairs
• Developed Tool that was more “instructive”
• Developed Faculty Self-Assessment
• Pilot Tool with Several Departments
Faculty Comments
The training, has challenged me to take a closer look at the way I do
things in the classroom. I find that while I know the content, I didn't
know much about how students learn, and what they really should be
getting from their experience at CPCC. I can do things in a much
better way using the information you have pulled together.
- PT Faculty Certification
I commend you on the quality and content of the session. I have taught
in 3 states in both large universities and smaller community colleges.
Not one time has there been an orientation with the quality level of
CPCC’s. In addition, I was equally impressed by the amount of
resources available and the extent of technology usage.
- PT Faculty Orientation
Other Resources
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Personal email accounts for all part-time faculty
Touch-down stations at each campus
Teaching Commons with onsite staff
eLearning instructional developers
Representation on College Senate
Online professional development opportunities via
LearnerWeb
What are you Doing?
For a Copy of This
Presentation
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http://www.cpcc.edu/planning
Click on “studies and reports”
Title: AtD Part-time Faculty Session
Contact Information:
– Debbie Bouton
– debbie.bouton@cpcc.edu or (704) 330-6446
– Terri Manning
– terri.manning@cpcc.edu or (704) 330-6592