My impression from this discussion seems to be that different institutions
have different policies and procedures for dealing with adjuncts. I don't
think this should be much of a surprise to anyone, but maybe it is. As such
I would caution all of us to keep in mind the fact that your impression of
adjunct faculty could be a stereotype based on your particular experience
with adjuncts and not necessarily apply to all adjuncts. The role and
function of adjuncts at your institution might not be the same as their
role at other institutions. As such, the answer to the original question
about the acceptable percentage of adjunct faculty is "it depends."
It depends upon the role and function that adjunct faculty play in your
department and institution. The more active and involved the adjunct
faculty are, the larger the acceptable percentage seems to be. However, I
think if it exceeds 30-35% of the faculty, it is becoming excessive and is
an indication that the department needs more funding for full-time, tenured
faculty. Of course, this percentage represents the % of faculty, not of
courses taught, which was the original question... if I remember it
correctly... so, I guess it ends up depending on what courses they will be
teaching and if the students will have the opportunity to learn via
hands-on experience with research.
Anyway, trying to get back to the original question...
- Marc
G. Marc Turner, MEd
Department of Psychology
Southwest Texas State University
San Marcos, TX 78666
phone: (512)245-2526
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
