ADJUNCT FACULTY

Adjunct faculty should be paid for non-instructional work

A January 29, 2018 email from Human Resources to all Deans reminded them that, except in rare cases, adjunct faculty should be paid for any non-instructional work they do. Since that time, however, divisions and colleges have not been consistent or uniformly clear about their policies for paying adjunct faculty for non-instructional work, such as attending division or department meetings, working on program review or SLO coordination or other division or campus initiatives. To get a better sense of whether, and how, adjunct faculty across the District are being compensated for their non-instructional work, AFT reps conducted an informal poll of Deans at all three colleges, asking about their policies around compensation of adjunct faculty for non-instructional work.

Although a few deans reported that adjunct faculty can get paid if they attend a division meeting as a flex activity or on the same day they are scheduled to teach, our informal survey found that the majority of divisions do not pay ajunct faculty to attend meetings. And discussions with some adjunct faculty revealed that many are unaware of their division’s policies regarding compensation.

Some Deans reported that in adjunct-only departments, the adjunct faculty are paid for work on activities such as program review, the annual plan, curriculum updates or other critical department work. Some Deans also let us know that for specific major division initiatives or trainings, in which it’s critical to get adjunct participation, they try to find funding – such as funds from BSI or ZTC/OER – to pay everyone. Some CSM Deans specifically emphasized their use of the BSI Adjunct Faculty Fund to pay adjuncts for qualifying basic skills-related activities.

One of the few Deans who reported regularly paying part-time faculty who attend division meetings stated: “Adjunct faculty are invited to attend and are compensated for our Division Meetings. We do important work related to teaching and learning, as well as engaging with campus initiatives during our meetings. Having adjunct faculty participate in this work is beneficial for our students, while supporting alignment with our division and college goals.” We applaud this perspective and we believe it should be standard practice in all divisions across the District. As the HR message from January 2018 stated: adjunct faculty should be paid for all non-instructional work they do. Not compensating adjunct faculty for the work they do for their departments, divisions, or colleges is not acceptable policy. We need clear and consistent contract language to insure that adjunct faculty are compensated for non-instructional work.