by Katie Woolsey 
As most of us are aware, an increasing proportion of higher educational instruction in the United States is performed by adjunct, part-time, and non-contract faculty. In response to this reality, a movement is rising which aims to raise awareness about the conditions, and the contingency, under which adjuncts work. The first National Adjunct Walkout Day (NAWD) has been called for Wednesday, February 25th, 2015, and both adjunct and full-time faculty at colleges and universities across the country will be walking out, teaching out, and teaching in. While Cabrillo’s contract strictly prohibits our faculty from participating in a walkout or withholding labor, we feel that this day is a good occasion to raise our own level of awareness about the situation of adjunct faculty both at Cabrillo and across the US. Many instructors plan to take a few moments with their classes to discuss things the students may not know. Others may find this a good opportunity to discuss concerns and discoveries with colleagues, to express solidarity with each other – or simply to learn about the issues adjuncts face.
Here are some facts worth knowing:
Adjuncts make up between 70-75% of the instructional workforce in US higher education. While adjuncts have been around a long time, the increasing reliance on adjunct labor marks a significant historical shift: at the close of the 1960s, only around 26% of professors were adjuncts. That means that in less than 50 years we’ve directly inverted the proportion of full-time to adjunct faculty.
Why? Above all, adjuncts are cheap. The average pay reported by adjuncts nationally is just under $3,000 per three-credit course. That translates to an average annual salary of under $30,000 for an adjunct teaching a full course load. Half of US adjuncts teach at two or more institutions to make ends meet.
Adjuncts teach with limited resources and support. Across the US, fewer than half of adjunct faculty report having access to resources such as copying, office space, or library services. Fewer than a quarter report having access to instructional basics such as curriculum guidelines.
Adjuncts are highly contingent labor. Two thirds of US adjuncts receive their course assignments two or three weeks before the semester begins. Losing courses is a frightening reality for many adjuncts, and one we increasingly experience in this era of low enrollments.
Many adjuncts are uncomfortable “outing” themselves as such to students. It can be hard to explain to students that a part-time faculty member is still a “real” instructor. It can be hard to admit to students that we make less money (at Cabrillo, 64.5% of the corresponding full-time salary schedule) without that fact being perceived as a reflection on our instructional worth. The recent years’ push to bring adjunct issues into the spotlight has helped many part-timers speak more publicly about the difficulties they face. The Chronicle of Higher Education has started paying real attention to adjunct issues. Blogs like The Homeless Adjunct, Adjunct Crisis, and A is for Adjunct have brought issues to light and connected part-timers and full-timers who share concerns about precarious labor. National Adjunct Walkout Day offers another opportunity for conversation, and to remind ourselves of another fact: while working conditions may differ between full- and part-timers, it isn’t just our min quals that are the same – we teach with the same dedication, proficiency, and commitment.