I spend a lot of time supporting Adjunct Faculty in their use of pedagogical technology (Chapman employs about 400 adjunct faculty each semester).  In fact, many of the most innovative uses of technology on our campus come from our Adjuncts.

That’s one reason, among many, that the findings of this study about the effectiveness of non-tenure-track faculty do not surprise me.  The MLA blog quotes:

[A] non-tenure track faculty member increases the likelihood that a student will take another class in the subject by 7.3 percentage points (9.3 percentage points when limited to classes outside the student’s intended major) and increases the grade earned in that subsequent class by slightly more than one-tenth of a grade point (with a somewhat greater impact for classes outside of the intended major).

And, the MLA blog adds a concern that this study:

will…rationalize the further immiseration of the large and rapidly expanding part-time segment of the non-tenure-track academic workforce, under the excuse that “the research shows” faculty members outside the tenure system teach at least as well and often better, irrespective of the size of their classes, their course loads, their compensation, their full- or part-time employment status, the working conditions they endure, or how little support they receive.

I’m not sure how well our non-tenure-track or part-time faculty are treated in all aspects of their experience at Chapman, but I believe that they feel well-served by my Office, and I’m pleased to offer to them the support they need to continue to thrive in the classroom.