Service Requirements Increasingly Common for Adjunct Role...

[financeguy]

I got an annual faculty development form sent to all faculty at an institution I occasionally teach part-time at since I designed a part of the program many years ago. The form asks if you are part-time or full-time but then all instructors are asked to document "professional and service activities" anticipated in the upcoming year. This can be professional development stuff to remain current in one's field but also service to the school.

I saw this as a bit of a trojan horse to imply part-timers are supposed to be doing the latter. This used to be something that was an understood "no" at most places. Service = full-time faculty only. I am seeing this at another place as well. Since my field is fairly niche, I've designed or been an adjunct at a few different local places so I have to take a few "you're a racist" training videos per year (often the same) and complete similar red tape even though I might do a seminar once every year or two. My perception is that the amount of stuff expected for adjuncts has increased a lot of places, taking on the form of a full-time role. I have no intention of being dragged into any service work, but I wouldn't be surprised if many are. What's the culture at your place? Is this really becoming as common as I think or is my sample just an outlier?

[Morden]

Our place (Canadian, public) relies very heavily on adjunct faculty, and they are increasingly asked to serve on committees, etc. However, they are compensated for their time.

[clean]

IF you are asked to document your 'service' to the extent that it keeps you current, that is one thing.
IF you are required to do the training to be employed, that is ok too, as here anyway, all state employees are required to have certain training documented.
IF you are asked to serve on the 'Strategic Planning Committee' or the 'Approved Journal Committee', then that is too far.

My (tenured) opinion is that you should NOT be doing service.  What are they going to do, fire you?  You are essentially a contract worker, and that contract (I hope you read it) likely does NOT REQUIRE service.  IF you are paid to teach a class, you are not paid to do additional service.... You would know better than me, but for what little we pay adjuncts, you could easily, already be making less than minimum wage even before added service!!

[mamselle]

I've done tiny bits of service here and there as an adjunct, where a) we were all adjuncts in a tiny language department, and the activities (planning a multi-cultural food and music day in the caf, for example) were fun and not too onerous; or b) where I got something from it as well; the same place has a community research sharing day, and while teaching there I was allowed to give a paper, mount and explain a poster, or do an interactive workshop on various aspects of my research and writing.

In the case of the latter, it twice led to further engagement with other scholars, so it was definitely worth it (the paper I'm alternately grousing about and loving on the research threads was a direct outgrowth of a library service/faculty event presentation) and generated new avenues of research (another paper in the pipeline was encouraged as being outside my usual regional area of work: it has proven very interesting to develop further).

All the adjuncts as well as FT faculty were also always allowed to participate in a research scholars' roundtable; the OSR guy did a consultation and ran a spin-search for grants on my topics, and I got to hear what others were doing, which broadened my understanding of the use of resources I hadn't considered as well. To the extent we gave each other feedback I'd say it was a service activity, but it was more than that, too.

At an earlier school, I was asked to oversee two undergrad honors' theses, in tandem with an FTT fellow, and was paid extra for it (I applied it to a research trip I was booked to take) and was especially pleased to see that one of the students (one of mine, in fact) did a very good job of visual analysis, which the FTT guy recognized and thanked me for.

I'd say all those cases were win-win, and if I'd been too curmudgeonly about participating I'd have lost a lot more than I'd have gained.

M.

[Anon1787]

At my university all employees (faculty and staff) must complete annual training for several different things (avoiding sexual harassment, ensuring data security, etc.). Adjunct faculty have no service requirements, but they are encouraged to serve on various committees and to that end are allotted seats with voting power. They generally do not receive any compensation for service work participating in self-governance (as the university prefers to frame it).

[Liquidambar]

In my department we would never ask an adjunct to do service work.  One person voluntarily does a few things, but that's because he enjoys it.  (For example, he's a sports fan so enjoys co-organizing a homecoming tailgate party.)

[Wahoo Redux]

I would do service work if it was something that would look good on a CV or that they paid extra for.  Some adjuncts like the service work because, I believe, it makes them feel like a professor.

[inframarginal_externality]

Are you in a business school? Then the request may merely be for AACSB accreditation requirements. If this is the case, it is not that you are required to list service, but rather that if you do some, they would like to capture it.

[ciao_yall]

For adjunct who want to go full time, service helps them get there.

The problem is when institutions take advantage of adjuncts wanting to go full time by pressuring them to do the work tenured faculty are blowing off, without actually intending to use this as a measure of making the person full time. And, using it as an excuse to not hold tenured faculty to performance standards. Because tenure, you know?

Or adjuncts who can't quite think of themselves as full-timers and want to do service to prove they are just as worthy as full-timers and deserve 100% pro-rata pay and benefits. But then spend time arguing about how they should be paid for that service work instead of advocating for what they really want, which are full-time jobs.

[mamselle]

I've never been confused over my status, or seen any service I did as likely to lead to an FT position; this forum and its predecessor have been very helpful in clarifying that that almost never happens.

I've done the work I did because it was there to be done, I could do it, and I saw value in it. Some was paid financially, other parts had other remunerative dimensions, as a couple of folks have noted above.

But I was never made to feel as if I had to do the things I did; if there were nothing useful about it to me, that might be a different story.

M.

[Mobius]

It does not help. Adjuncts think does she unscrupulous FT faculty also help further the myth.

For adjunct who want to go full time, service helps them get there.

The problem is when institutions take advantage of adjuncts wanting to go full time by pressuring them to do the work tenured faculty are blowing off, without actually intending to use this as a measure of making the person full time. And, using it as an excuse to not hold tenured faculty to performance standards. Because tenure, you know?

Or adjuncts who can't quite think of themselves as full-timers and want to do service to prove they are just as worthy as full-timers and deserve 100% pro-rata pay and benefits. But then spend time arguing about how they should be paid for that service work instead of advocating for what they really want, which are full-time jobs.

[lightning]

When I was still a grad student, I applied for and interviewed for an adjunct position at a nearby lower-level university.

During the interview, they nonchalantly discussed some additional IT duties to support the teaching lab where I would have been teaching. I could not freakin' believe it. 

Needless to say, I expressed my discomfort with the arrangement. They didn't offer me the job. I'm sure there was some sucker in the finalist pool that did agree to the extra duties.

[Ruralguy]

We only let, but do not require, adjuncts to serve on committees after passing a review after roughly 7 years at a full load, but double that or more for part time adjuncts who are willing to stay that long (mostly trailing spouses). I only know of two who really did that, though one or two more came to faculty meetings regularly. But,once they pass that review, they become semi-permanent. Some have been fired, but others stay for decades. At that point, pay isnt as good as TT, but its way better than scale pay for typical adjuncts.

[Caracal]

I've never been confused over my status, or seen any service I did as likely to lead to an FT position; this forum and its predecessor have been very helpful in clarifying that that almost never happens.

I've done the work I did because it was there to be done, I could do it, and I saw value in it. Some was paid financially, other parts had other remunerative dimensions, as a couple of folks have noted above.

But I was never made to feel as if I had to do the things I did; if there were nothing useful about it to me, that might be a different story.

M.

Yeah, my rule is that I might do something as a favor for someone in the department I like, I might do something to be nice to students and I might do something that I think would be fun or valuable. On some level do I think it's good professional practice to do help out with things? Yes, I do. However, that's in the context of individual relationships. I don't feel any sense of obligation to the institution or the department to do things I'm not being paid for.

[sinenomine]

Are you in a business school? Then the request may merely be for AACSB accreditation requirements. If this is the case, it is not that you are required to list service, but rather that if you do some, they would like to capture it.

I was thinking along these lines. My school doesn't require service for adjuncts, but is happy to gather any pertinent data for reporting.