The Adjunct Life

[Hegemony]

If Tuesday is supposed to follow a Monday schedule, then what happens to the regular Tuesday classes?  If they move to Wednesday, and Wednesday moves to Thursday, and Thursday moves to Friday, then doesn't Friday get left out?  Or is the idea just to skip all the Tuesday classes entirely?  I don't see how that brings any benefit over skipping the Monday classes entirely.  Not to mention that assuming that everyone will have all of Tuesday free to do their Monday schedule is ridiculous.  I imagine the students also have jobs and externally scheduled things that cannot just move over one day at the whim of the school.

[downer]

If Tuesday is supposed to follow a Monday schedule, then what happens to the regular Tuesday classes?  If they move to Wednesday, and Wednesday moves to Thursday, and Thursday moves to Friday, then doesn't Friday get left out?  Or is the idea just to skip all the Tuesday classes entirely?  I don't see how that brings any benefit over skipping the Monday classes entirely.  Not to mention that assuming that everyone will have all of Tuesday free to do their Monday schedule is ridiculous.  I imagine the students also have jobs and externally scheduled things that cannot just move over one day at the whim of the school.

It is often because some days are holidays and the school has to make up assigned meeting times in order to meet state or federal regulations. They can extend the length of the semester, at the start or the end, but the days they get to extend are the wrong weekdays. Hence the crazy switching around.

[marshwiggle]

If Tuesday is supposed to follow a Monday schedule, then what happens to the regular Tuesday classes?  If they move to Wednesday, and Wednesday moves to Thursday, and Thursday moves to Friday, then doesn't Friday get left out?  Or is the idea just to skip all the Tuesday classes entirely?  I don't see how that brings any benefit over skipping the Monday classes entirely.  Not to mention that assuming that everyone will have all of Tuesday free to do their Monday schedule is ridiculous.  I imagine the students also have jobs and externally scheduled things that cannot just move over one day at the whim of the school.

It is often because some days are holidays and the school has to make up assigned meeting times in order to meet state or federal regulations. They can extend the length of the semester, at the start or the end, but the days they get to extend are the wrong weekdays. Hence the crazy switching around.

It also is important for labs, where there is one a week. If missing "one day" of school means effectively missing one week of labs for a course, it's a big deal.

[Caracal]

I do work at a community college which is very rule bound and I have to sign in for each class I teach. They definitely care a lot when adjunct faculty cancel classes. But they have never switched the day of a class -- I think they know that neither the faculty nor the students would be able to come, since everyone has other jobs.

Isn't this whole thing just really poor planning? The reason four day weekends are usually MT is because of this exact issue. It is also why the semester sometimes starts on Wednesday, or something, and ends on Tuesday or Monday. It just seems really bizarre to try to move the class day.

[mahagonny]

I do work at a community college which is very rule bound and I have to sign in for each class I teach. They definitely care a lot when adjunct faculty cancel classes. But they have never switched the day of a class -- I think they know that neither the faculty nor the students would be able to come, since everyone has other jobs.

Isn't this whole thing just really poor planning? The reason four day weekends are usually MT is because of this exact issue. It is also why the semester sometimes starts on Wednesday, or something, and ends on Tuesday or Monday. It just seems really bizarre to try to move the class day.

If faculty jobs were regular full time jobs, as they are in public K-12, then moving the class day should work out, since faculty expect to be available for teaching Monday through Friday.
I am reminded of Prytania2's post 'we shouldn't expect much from adjunct faculty because we don't pay them much.' So prioritizing teaching done by full time faculty would logically follow from there. This would mean that fixing the schedule so full time faculty have the right total number of class meetings during the semester is the goal. At the same time, if part time faculty are not going to/unable to appear during the week that the class day is moved, there is slippage in the rigor. This is bound to affect student's expectations of what may be required of them, generally. All of which is perfect excuse for eliminating the part-timer's job as soon as you have the funds to do it, although he has done nothing wrong. At the same time, we are being informed, upthread, that when days are moved, full time faculty are just as likely to blow off the class.
Who has merit here?  The adjunct who can't do anything right or the tenure track faculty who can't do anything that makes them less welcome than the part timer?

To be honest, when classes are rescheduled for a different day I tend to just ignore the rescheduled class, as do many FT faculty too.

[marshwiggle]

I do work at a community college which is very rule bound and I have to sign in for each class I teach. They definitely care a lot when adjunct faculty cancel classes. But they have never switched the day of a class -- I think they know that neither the faculty nor the students would be able to come, since everyone has other jobs.

Isn't this whole thing just really poor planning? The reason four day weekends are usually MT is because of this exact issue. It is also why the semester sometimes starts on Wednesday, or something, and ends on Tuesday or Monday. It just seems really bizarre to try to move the class day.

Sometimes this happens for other reasons. Occasionally in the Winter we've had a snow day, and the rescheduled classes are all on a specific day of the week at the end of term, but the schedule is for the weekday that was missed. There's no guarantee that the day when the classes could be scheduled would be the same weekday as the one that was lost.

[Caracal]

I do work at a community college which is very rule bound and I have to sign in for each class I teach. They definitely care a lot when adjunct faculty cancel classes. But they have never switched the day of a class -- I think they know that neither the faculty nor the students would be able to come, since everyone has other jobs.

Isn't this whole thing just really poor planning? The reason four day weekends are usually MT is because of this exact issue. It is also why the semester sometimes starts on Wednesday, or something, and ends on Tuesday or Monday. It just seems really bizarre to try to move the class day.

Sometimes this happens for other reasons. Occasionally in the Winter we've had a snow day, and the rescheduled classes are all on a specific day of the week at the end of term, but the schedule is for the weekday that was missed. There's no guarantee that the day when the classes could be scheduled would be the same weekday as the one that was lost.

Yeah, my school handles this by specifying some Saturday as the make up day. Then they say something like "faculty can choose to hold classes on the make up day or specify an out of class assignment to fill the time." In other words, "wink, wink, just have some reading and put a few questions on it, stick it on the CMS for an attendance grade and call it a day..." This year, I noticed that the calendar had the make up day in case of poor weather as the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which tells you what you need to know...

[hamburger]

We have a one week study break but those entitled, rude students do not allow me to have a holiday. Without discussing with me their problems first, they went straight to the department head. The head contacted me saying that one student contacted her to express "some concerns". I was asked to send an update about her situation. Then, on the next day, a friend of that student also contacted the head directly. The head again asked me for an update, write a report on them and also set up a meeting with the head to resolve the issues. I only get paid a few hours of teaching hours per week but countless hours have been spent on dealing with these entitled students. I lost my summer holiday as I had to write report and went to school just to meet with administrator about these students each semester. Now, they also expect me to spend my unpaid holiday to deal with students' issues. These two students skipped most of the classes, did not submit assignments on time, etc. That is their problems. I have been told that I cannot make the students in this college to come to school nor penalize them for not attending classes. Why I have to spend my unpaid holiday to write reports about them and chat with the head about them? Can't those students just wait until I go back to work?

[downer]

Do it when it is convenient for you, not them. And focus on getting a job elsewhere.

[polly_mer]

Can't those students just wait until I go back to work?

Yes, they can.  You have control over how you spend your time.  As downer wrote, do it when it's convenient for you.

[Caracal]

Do it when it is convenient for you, not them. And focus on getting a job elsewhere.

Yes, but also...you continue to have odd and unrealistic expectations about the timing of your workload. You shouldn't be dealing with grade complaining in the summer, but you know that you can't expect to have the week before finals off right? Student emails at the end of the semester are pretty annoying, but it isn't an unreasonable time for them to be contacting you. You're the instructor, so you have to field these questions and complaints, annoying thought they might be. If you want a job where nobody will ever bother you outside of "working hours," you should look for jobs outside of academia. Is it fair that you're paid a small amount of money as an adjunct on the premise that you are working part time and then expected to work as if you are a salaried employee? No, I don't think so, but that's the job.

[mahagonny]

Do it when it is convenient for you, not them. And focus on getting a job elsewhere.

There was one poster on the old forum (tenured, of course) who even said 'as soon as you get an adjunct job, you are supposed be looking for another job.' it's amazing to me what some people think they are entitled to. A job that no one should want to have, that helps to keep your department going, and also someone available to commit to it.

[downer]

I am experiencing also hearing from others that chairs are not communicating with them. They are still getting work and teaching, but it is hard to get any info. This semester I only found out what what I'm teaching next semester by looking it up online -- the chair didn't email to say.

I guess the chairs are busy. But still, some minimal level of communication seems a part of the job.

[little bongo]

I was usually renewed as an adjunct--it happened to me once that I wasn't. Communication just quietly stopped, and I just quietly didn't come back. It wasn't the most personal form of communication, but in its own way, I guess it accomplished what it set out to do.

[downer]

I was usually renewed as an adjunct--it happened to me once that I wasn't. Communication just quietly stopped, and I just quietly didn't come back. It wasn't the most personal form of communication, but in its own way, I guess it accomplished what it set out to do.

Did the Chair ignore your emails or just never reach out to you for future scheduling?

I always write in the first month of a semester to inquire about scheduling for the next semester. I also often touch base at the end of a semester saying how things have gone and thoughts about future scheduling. When possible I will drop into the Chair's office once a semester to say hi.