1. Issues Resulting from Reliance on Non-Tenure Faculty at GVSU
Karen Novotny
AMS CoE Meeting, October 28, 2017

2. Grand Valley State University
General Information:
Chartered in 1960 with 1963 Pioneer Class of 226 Students
Located in Michigan’s 2nd largest metropolitan region with main campuses in Allendale & Grand Rapids
22nd year as one of America’s 100 Best College Buys
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), North Central Assoc.
Current Students:
21,937 Undergraduates
60% female
39% first-generation college students
89% full-time
82% white

3. Mathematics Department Faculty
30 Tenured & 5 Tenure-track
17 Professors
12 Associate Professors
5 Assistant Professors
1 Instructor (on phased retirement)
10 Mathematics Educators & 25 Mathematicians
13 Affiliates (full-time contract faculty)
6 Visitors
16 Part-time Adjuncts (22 in Fall 2016)
Total of 70 & half are contract faculty!

4. Contract Faculty Affiliates: Visitors: Part-time Adjuncts:
Initial 1-year contract with subsequent 3-year contracts
$500 annual travel/technology funds available
Annual raises (merit based)
Medical & retirement benefits
Free tuition & dependent half-price tuition
Visitors:
Single AY contracts with 3 year maximum
Medical benefits only
Part-time Adjuncts:
Single semester contracts
No benefits

5. Mathematics Department Workloads
Tenured/TT Faculty:
Standard teaching load of 18 credit hours per AY
Scholarship and service baseline expectations for all
6 hours significant focus in teaching, scholarship, or service
Affiliates:
Teaching load of 24 – 30 credit hours per AY
Some teaching professional development expected
No scholarship expectations
Service is compensated with lower teaching load
Visitors:
Teaching load of 24 credit hours per AY
Part-Time Adjuncts:
Teaching load maximum of 9 credit hours

6. Mathematics Department Fall 2017 Data
Majors:
Elementary Ed: 106 students (94 female & 12 male)
Secondary Ed: 83 students (48 female & 35 male)
Non-certification: 124 students (63 male & 61 female)
Courses:
Foundations: 6 courses, 104 sections
Mathematics Education: 7 courses, 13 sections
Service courses for CS & Engineering: 3 courses, 7 sections
Required & Elective Mathematics Major courses: 17 courses, 61 sections

7. Data by Faculty Type Part-Time Adjunct 16 Affiliates & Visitors 19
Tenured/TT 35
Total
Number of Sections 32
17.9% 74
41.3% 73
40.8%
179
Number of Students
845
18.8%
2025
45.2%
1615
36%
4485
Number of Student Credit Hours
3052
18.7%
7248
44.5%
5999
36.8%
16299

8. Tenured/TT Faculty Presence Matters in All Courses
Tenured/TT faculty establish relationships with their students that
Increase student retention and satisfaction.*
Positively impact math majors’ success in and completion of the major.+
Because tenured/TT faculty do research, they understand authentic mathematical experiences better than other faculty who have never engaged in research.
*National Survey of Student Engagement. (2013). A Fresh Look at Student Engagement—Annual Results Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.
+Micari, M. & Pazos, P Connecting to the professor: Impact of the student-faculty relationship in a highly challenging course. College Teaching. 60 (2), DOI: /

9. Foundations Courses
Many students of color are placed into Foundations courses, so these courses are ideal for recruiting students from underrepresented groups into the major.
Approximately 1/3 of the students who intend to major in math at GVSU begin in Foundations courses.
Foundations courses are often taught by part-time adjuncts who don’t teach every semester and visitors who rarely stay even the maximum of 3 years.
Many graduates’ only college mathematics courses are Foundations courses, so they need authentic mathematical experiences.
High Impact experiences take on many forms
Kuh, 2008 “The idea is to give students direct experience with issues they are studying in the curriculum and with ongoing efforts to analyze and solve problems in the community. A key element in these programs is the opportunity students have to both apply what they are learning in real-world settings and reflect in a classroom setting on their service experiences. These programs model the idea that giving something back to the community is an important college outcome, and that working with community partners is good preparation for citizenship, work, and life.”

10. Calculus Courses are Important, Too!
The first courses in the major are the calculus courses.
Calculus students interested in STEM fields can be recruited into the major.
So, for reasons similar to those expressed for Foundations courses, tenured/TT faculty NEED to also teach a large percentage of the calculus courses, but
Only PhD mathematics are qualified to teach the upper level mathematics courses, and
There aren’t enough tenured/TT faculty!

11. Faculty Development in Teaching
The GVSU Mathematics Department has high teaching standards for everyone including expectations for
Active learning in all courses.
Effective use of technological tools to improve student understanding.
Using effective assessments.
Providing authentic mathematical experiences.
All faculty need mentors and guidance to grow as teachers.

12. Service Overload!!! Someone has to
Mentor new part-time adjuncts, affiliates, and visitors.
Make class visits to contract faculty.
Evaluate contract faculty for continuation or raises.
Provide training and activities to make sure contract faculty are teaching in a manner consistent with departmental standards.
Even experienced affiliates and part-time adjuncts aren’t expected to provide such service, so it falls to tenured/TT faculty who often aren’t even teaching the same classes.

13. Part-Time Adjuncts are Scarce
The Higher Learning Commission requires one of the following to teach any course for which students receive college credit:
A Master’s degree in Mathematics,
A Bachelor’s degree in Math, a Master’s degree in a related field, and at least 18 graduate level credits in Mathematics, or
At least 3 years of experience “in the field,” which doesn’t include teaching.
Many of our long-term part-time adjuncts do not satisfy these requirements, so they can only teach Beginning Algebra (MTH 097).
Community Colleges pay more.

14. The 3 Main Issues:
Without more tenured/TT faculty, Foundations and Calculus classes MUST be taught primarily by contract faculty, who aren’t trained in advising, have no long-term commitment to GVSU (other than Affiliates), and are unlikely to establish those important student-faculty relationships.
We all mentor and support new TT faculty & we share the service load. But now there’s more work without more workers!
Supply & Demand: It’s hard to find qualified part-time adjuncts given the low pay and ACA restriction on the number of credit hours they can teach.

15. Thank You! Other issues? Questions/Comments?
Contact me for further information :
Karen Novotny, Professor & Chair
Department of Mathematics