Use of Contingent Faculty and the Effect on Student Success Vann Priest Rio Hondo College

Daniel Jacoby  Effects of Part-Time Faculty Employment on Community College Graduations Rates.  The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 77, No. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2006)  “The main result from this study is that increases in the ratio of part-time faculty at community colleges have a highly significant and negative impact upon graduation rates.”

Paul D. Umbach & Matthew R. Wawrzynski  FACULTY DO MATTER: The Role of Faculty in Student Learning and Engagement  Research in Higher Education, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Mar. 2005)

Paul D. Umbach  How Effective Are They? Exploring the Impact of Contingent Faculty on Undergraduate Education  The Review of Higher Education, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Winter 2007)  “This study offers some compelling evidence to suggest that, compared with their tenured and tenure-track peers, contingent faculty, particularly part-time faculty, are underperforming in their delivery of undergraduate instruction. “  “While this study identifies some deficiencies among contingent faculty, it is important not to lay the blame entirely on faculty in these appointments.”

Paul D. Umbach  The effects of part-time faculty appointments on instructional techniques and commitment to teaching  Paper Presented at the 33 Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Jacksonville, FL, November 5-8, 2008  PDF available PDF available  “ Part-timers will exhibit lower levels of commitment to their institution and will exhibit lower levels of instructional performance. ”

Kevin M. Eagan, Jr. & Audrey J. Jaeger  Closing the Gate: Part-Time Faculty Instruction in Gatekeeper Courses and First Year Persistence  New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 115 (Fall 2008) New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 115 (Fall 2008)  “Students appear to be significantly and negatively affected by having gatekeeper courses taught by other part-time faculty.”

Kevin M. Eagan, Jr. & Audrey J. Jaeger  Unintended Consequences Examining the Effect of Part-Time Faculty Members on Associate’s Degree Completion  Community College Review, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jan. 2009) Community College Review, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jan. 2009)  “Findings indicate that students experienced a significant yet modest negative effect from exposure to part-time faculty members on the probability of completing an associate’s degree.”

Kevin M. Eagan, Jr. & Audrey J. Jaeger  Effects of Exposure to Part-time Faculty on Community College Transfer  Research in Higher Education, Vol. 50, No. 2 (2009) Research in Higher Education, Vol. 50, No. 2 (2009)  “Findings suggest that students tend to be significantly less likely to transfer as their exposure to part-time faculty increases.”

Andrea J. Jaeger  Contingent Faculty and Student Outcomes  Academe, Nov./Dec Academe, Nov./Dec. 2008

Thomas Bailey, et al.  Community College Student Success: What Institutional Characteristics Make a Difference?  Achieving the Dream [  PDF available PDF available  “Students in colleges with more part-time faculty also have lower graduation rates.”

Curtis V. Smith  The Impact of Part-Time Faculty on Student Retention: A Case Study in Higher Education  Dissertation, University of Missouri – Kansas City (2010) Dissertation, University of Missouri – Kansas City (2010)  “ This study supports findings in the literature review and two previous statistical analyses that increasing exposure to part-time faculty has a negative impact on retention. ”

Roger G. Baldwin & Matthew R. Wawrzynski  Contingent Faculty as Teachers: What We Know; What We Need to Know  American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 55, No 8 (Aug. 2011)  “Findings indicate that the teaching practices of part-time contingent faculty differ in important ways from their other faculty colleagues.”

Davis Jenkins  What Community College Management Practices Are Effective in Promoting Student Success? A Study of High- and Low- Impact Institutions  Achieving the Dream [  PDF available PDF available  “Community colleges would be more effective if they do the following: Provide support for faculty development focused on improving teaching.”

Davis Jenkins  Redesigning Community Colleges for Completion: Lessons from Research on High-Performance Organizations  CCRC Working Paper No. 26, Assessment of Evidence Series). New York, NY: Columbia University, Teachers College, Community College Research Center. (2011)  “ Colleges should provide opportunities for adjunct faculty to collaborate with full-time faculty members on improving curricula and instructional quality in the fields they teach. ”