Crosscut, September 6, 2016: (Opinion) Why Your College Professor May Be On the Edge of Poverty

“Most adjuncts receive no benefits or health insurance, and only limited access to the services accorded full-time faculty, if that. We are often assigned classes at the last minute, paid by the course or credit hour, but are not compensated for holding office hours, grading, or course prep. Nevertheless, departments expect us to keep up with research in our field, publish, and receive excellent student evaluations. When was the last time you ever heard of university administrators taking a cut in pay? As institutions reduce the number of full-time faculty and starve their adjuncts, they bloat higher-ups’ compensation and numbers. All this, despite the outcry from citizens and politicians that higher ed is too expensive.”