Part-time faculty discussed

Future of part-time faculty discussed by trustees

By Veralyn Kinzer

The future of part-time faculty members at Indiana University was the subject of a discussion at the University Policy Committee of the IU Trustees, meeting Sept. 20 on the Bloomington campus.

Committee Chair Ray Richardson began by reporting that IU Budget Office figures indicate about 36 percent of IU's current faculty members are part-time -- including associate instructors (graduate students), clinical appointees and part-time non-tenured teachers. A more comprehensive report is being generated by the University Faculty Council, to be completed by the end of the semester.

Richardson said he found the percentages "intolerable," and he asked what could be done to change them, noting that cost and quality were the primary issues.

He opened the debate by citing an April 1996 report to the University Faculty Council from Elton Jackson and Martin Spechler, then co-chairs of the UFC Faculty Affairs Committee, in which several proposals were outlined for "addressing the problem of excessive non-faculty instructional appointments."

Included among the proposals were:

(2) That the UFC consider implementing a "new rank" of faculty members who would be full-time instructors, each replacing several former part-time instructors. These new full-time teachers would be given two- to-three-year contracts with full benefits, and a higher pay scale than current part-time teachers. They would be able to participate in departmental and faculty governance, assist with advising of students and perform some of the service functions of tenured, full-time faculty.

The question of whether those in the proposed new rank should be eligible for tenure was one of the major contentions.

George Walker, vice president for Research and dean of the University Graduate School, reminded discussion participants that one of IUB's missions is to serve as a training ground for future university professors by allowing graduate students the opportunity to teach classes. Thus a certain percentage of part-time teachers is not only desirable but required.

He also said there have frequently been cases where part-time faculty are experts in their fields, providing learning opportunities for students that would not be available otherwise.

Among the questions raised during the discussion:

What are the actual dimensions of the situation, what is the proper percentage of part-time faculty and what would the costs be for replacing part-time faculty with full-time?
Does IU really want just full-time faculty, and does it want tenured faculty doing some of the things associate faculty now do?
Should all instructors be required to have Ph.D.s? Who approves their hiring and how are they supervised?
Is this really one of IU's most serious problems? Will re-allocating funds to pay higher salaries and benefits for full-time rather than part-time instructors, result in shortchanging some of the other needs of the university, thus damaging IU's international reputation?
Should the university be mandating how campus or department heads orchestrate their resources? Are the current campus or department heads seeking a major change in the part-time, full-time faculty ratio?
Would a newly created large corps of teaching-only faculty be viewed as "second-tier" faculty, thus creating a class system and changing the character of the institution?
How does class size impact on educational quality and is it a major determinant of academic success?
Do full-time faculty, as a whole, teach more effectively than part-time faculty? Should they be expected to?

Trustees were told that all IU campuses now have assessment plans in place, and studies are currently being conducted that will show, within a year or two, the effect of instruction by part-time vs. full-time faculty, large classes vs. small classes, etc.

"We can't assume we know all the answers before we start the exploration," said President Myles Brand. He said he is concerned about the working conditions for current part-time faculty, including salary, benefits, and access to both students and consulting faculty.

"It's not fair what we're doing to some of these people," Richardson added. "We're using them, sometimes in the worst way."

UFC Co-Secretary Edwin Greenebaum agreed that the part-time situation is a "pressing problem" but cautioned that anything IU does about it "must be done right."

Kathleen Warfel and William Burgan are the current UFC Faculty Affairs Committee co-chairs and are spearheading a study of the part-time faculty situation by the UFC this year. Trustees asked to receive a progress report on that study at their December or January meeting.

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