by Chris Cumo
Chuck Whitten never expected to be in the eye of a hurricane. A 25-year broadcast journalist, he had come to the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California as an adjunct to share his passion for journalism. He enjoyed the teaching, but had neither the time nor the interest to become politically active on campus. Union activism held no appeal; Whitten had always been a conservative, anti-union man. All this changed in October 2001 when he learned that the College of the Canyons Faculty Association (COCFA), the union representing full-time faculty at the college, had enrolled him along with 380 other part-time faculty in the union. He was stunned; the COCFA had acted by fiat.
Whitten wasn’t alone in his astonishment. Michael Ward, who teaches history part-time at the college, never thought the union had any interest in adjuncts. More than at the other community colleges where he teaches, Ward is aware of class divisions between full- and part-time faculty, a divide that the college has institutionalized by issuing different color parking permits to each group, a practice that doesn’t exist at the others colleges where he teaches.
by Evelyn Beck
First off, to nab an on-line teaching job, you had better know your way around the Internet.
“The main thing I look for is somebody who’s got a degree of comfort on-line, who has navigated Web sites, set up e-mail,” says Catherine Flynn, Director of Faculty for the School of Arts & Sciences for Kaplan College Online. “I had an instructor once who applied to teach on-line who cut and pasted her résumé into an e-mail message instead of sending it as an attachment; that didn’t bode well for teaching on-line. Another asked about the possibility of doing face-to-face instead of on-line training; somebody who wants hands-on training isn’t a good candidate, either.”
Posted: August 25th, 2009
If you are an adjunct at a community college, you teach in a system that has come to rely increasingly on faculty off the tenure-track. At the moment, nationally, about 70 percent of faculty employed at community colleges teach off the tenure-track. You also teach in a system with one of the most abysmal rates of student graduation. In some state community college systems, less than 20 percent of students graduate within three years. It's enough to give heartburn to anyone concerned about post-secondary education in the United States. However, I'm not sure there are enough community college administrators losing sleep over the low graduation rates at their institutions. If there were, we would have long ago had some very frank discussions about reforms of the community college system in our country.
Now, President Obama's plan to funnel 12 billion dollars to the nation's community colleges to foster their "mission," is making headlines. He's calling it the "American Graduation Initiative." In a move that is no surprise on August 14th, the New York Times reported that Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he would allocate $50 million dollars to New York's community colleges if elected to a third term. Is this just throwing money into a hole and setting it on fire? David Brooks, in a July 2009 op-ed piece, argues that Obama's plan will tie the billions to necessary reforms. Brooks also writes, "four-year colleges receive three times as much federal money per student as community colleges. According to a Brookings Institution report, federal spending for community colleges fell six percent between 2002 and 2005, while spending on four-year colleges increased."
My Aunt told me a story not too long ago when we were talking about how to best motivate kids to get good grades in school. She told me that one of my cousins had asked how much money she was going to give him if he brought home a reportcard with good grades. Her reply was simple and direct: he was not getting good grades for her, but rather for himself. I think about her as President Obama plans to give 12 billion dollars to the community college system in our country, and tells us that the money won't be wasted because it's tied to "reforms."
Comments: 3
Published: 2009-01-27
Adjunct Advocate Cartoonist & Blogger Matt Hall Talks About What Drove Him Out of the Classroom and into Cartooning.
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Published: 2008-11-20
OPSEU Union President Smokey Thomas Talks About Organizing 10,500 Part-timers in Ontario
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Published: 2008-04-24
Wilfred Laurier Faculty Union President Judy Bates Discusses WL's Part-Time Faculty Strike
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Published: 2008-04-24
Much to the Chagrin of NYSUT Union Leaders, SUNY Full-timer Dr. Peter D.G. Brown Advocates on Behalf of His 8000 PT Colleagues.
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Published: 2008-04-24
Libby Smigel and Kip Lornell Talk About Their 7-Year Battle to Organize Their PT Colleagues At George Washington University.
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Published: 2008-01-29
AAUP President Dr. Cary Nelson Discusses How the AAUP Can Simultaneously Support PT Faculty and Call for Drastic Cuts in Their Numbers.
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There are precious few opportunities for faculty off the tenure-track to connect with each other. This listserv is hosted by AdjunctNation.com in an effort to provide a way for contingent faculty to share news, information and opinions concerning issues that impact part-time faculty.
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Part-Time Thoughts
Executive Pay in the Spotlight — Finally
Super Adjunct
Super Adjunct Versus "Brian": Teaching Large Classes
Negotiating the Paradox: Adjuncts & Writing
Seeing Us Ghosts
Freeway Flyer
Summer: The Hot Semester
Juggling 101
Part II of Why, Gen Y?
The Mentor Is In
Sick and tired
Teaching In Pajamas
The Final Straw
The New Adjunct
What a Year It Has Been!
The Union Army
Madison Area Technical College Part-time Teachers Union Sues College
I know you said we were supposed to follow your directions, but I didn't think you meant me.
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