In 2021, a slew of new legislation and state boards of education rules have been adopted to regulate how teachers can discuss issues of justice and equality in the classroom. The majority of these efforts have focused on K-12 policy. However, the AACU has tracked similar legislative efforts aimed at higher education in 20 states. Idaho and Oklahoma, for example, have passed laws explicitly restricting the use of Critical Race Theory in public colleges and universities, while Utah and Georgia are actively considering similar legislative restrictions.

U.S. higher education is widely regarded throughout the world for promoting the ideal that students should reach their own conclusions about their subjects of study. These legislative attempts to interfere have called that ideal into question and put all higher education faculty in the line of fire, while placing adjunct professors in a particularly precarious position. A consistent motif in history, those most vulnerable are experiencing the greatest negative effects of this legislation.

In a shocking report titled “An Army of Temps” by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the alarming economic realities of adjunct faculty were revealed. The report outlines the results of a study that surveyed 3,076 adjunct faculty across public and private two-year and four-year institutions in 2019. With a third of the respondents earning less than $25,000 a year, the report showed that nearly 25 percent of this group of workers relies on public assistance, while 40 percent couldn’t reliably cover basic expenses.

Responding to the increasing disinvestment by state legislators, many colleges and universities have moved into a space where low paid adjunct professors make up the majority of their faculty. In 2016, IPEDS data compiled by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) demonstrated that adjunct faculty make up the majority of the faculty workforce. While adjuncts are responsible for teaching the majority of the courses offered, they are often not included in the important academic decision-making and planning. The paradox here is that adjunct faculty are treated as temporary workers as institutions use them to anchor academics.

Academic freedom and the rigorous scholarly inquiry that it engenders in students and faculty is essential for a healthy democracy that requires an informed electorate. Higher education exists to serve the common good of society, not any specific political agenda. The expert knowledge cultivated through institutions of higher learning is essential for the progress of our nation, particularly in its ability to remain competitive with other countries.

If the AFT report created using 2019 data is disturbing, we can all but guarantee that it has worsened significantly since that time, especially when considering the disruptions caused by the pandemic. Faculty have always been at the forefront of protecting academic freedom from various attacks, but until relatively recently, most have enjoyed the stability of tenure and other benefits that allow them to do so. Without job security, adjunct faculty are often confronted with a choice between employing their expertise or keeping their jobs. Understandably, most will choose the latter. The resulting experience for students is one in which they are not challenged to think critically about controversial topics.

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References:

American Federation of Teachers. (2020). An Army of Temps: AFT 2020 Adjunct Faculty Quality of Work/Life Report. American Federation of Teachers.

Flaherty, C. (2021). Barely Getting By. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/20/new-report-says-many-adjuncts-make-less-3500-course-and-25000-year

McMurtrie, B. (2021). Be Paranoid: Professors Who Teach About Race Approach the Fall With Anxiety. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/be-paranoid-professors-who-teach-about-race-approach-the-fall-with-anxiety