Effective Ways to Attract, and Retain, Part-Time Faculty
Effective Ways to Attract, and Retain, Part-Time Faculty for Online Teaching Ann H. Taylor Director, Dutton e-Education Institute College of Earth and Mineral Sciences The Pennsylvania State University [email protected] Background Online learning in higher education has grown tremendously in the past decade. In 2014, more than 5.8 million students enrolled in at least one online course (Allen & Seaman, 2016, p. 4). Of those, 2.85 million students (14% of all higher education students) were taking all of their courses online (p.4). The trend in the growth of enrollments in online education has been particularly evident at Penn State, where the number of online-only learners now exceeds 17,000. The biggest challenge to institutions like Penn State is identifying, attracting, and retaining enough instructors who are qualified and available to meet increased online student enrollment demands. This study examined the incentives that attract and retain a specific workforce in higher education: adjunct faculty. Method Recognizing that “one size does not fit all,” this study looked at five adjunct career types to examine whether the incentives that attract and retain adjunct faculty to teach online via Penn State World Campus vary depending on that faculty member’s adjunct career typology. A survey instrument was sent to all individuals who taught via Penn State World Campus in the last three years. Respondents were asked to indicate which of 25 extrinsic and intrinsic motivators attracted them begin to teach online via Penn State World Campus, as well as which influenced them to continue to do so. Responses were analyzed using R. Estimated in this study were percentages of each career type of adjunct faculty who responded “yes” to each of 25 statements about the incentives that attract one to begin to teach online via Penn State World Campus. The same was done with regard to the incentives that retain these faculty. Bootstrapping was done to create 10,000 estimates from the response data. Plots of point estimates and confidence intervals were then examined to identify those incentives most likely to attract and retain each adjunct career type to teach online via Penn State World Campus. Adjunct Career Types • •
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Graduate Students: Individuals who study full-time at the graduate level while teaching online, either as part of a graduate assistantship or as supplemental income Aspiring Academics: Individuals who do not currently have a full-time job who are hoping to obtain a full-time position in higher education and/or who wish to be recognized as full-time in higher education (This does not include current graduate students) Freelancers: Individuals who do not currently have a full-time job and who do not wish to have a full-time job, whose career is a composite of all the part-time jobs they have held Practitioner Faculty: Individuals who have a full-time job outside of higher education or are retired from such a position Loaners: Individuals who have a full-time job at another academic institution (K-12 or higher education) or are retired from such a position
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Results There were 1,243 in the sample population and 610 responded (49%). Of those, 215 identified themselves as one of the five career types of adjunct faculty. An analysis of the survey responses indicates that 13 of the 25 incentives appear to differently impact various adjunct career types decision to begin to teach via Penn State World Campus. For six of the 13, the only adjunct career type that appears to be impacted differently is Graduate Students. With regard to the incentives that impact one's decision to continue to teach via Penn State World Campus, an analysis of the survey responses indicates that there 14 of the 25 incentives appear to differently impact various adjunct career types decision. For six of the 14, the only adjunct career type that appears to be impacted differently is Graduate Students. By shedding light on the specific extrinsic and intrinsic motivators that attract and retain each of five career types of adjunct faculty to teach via Penn State World Campus, this study can help Penn State program administrators be more effective in their hiring and retention efforts. Findings suggest that one size indeed does not always fit all – context matters. Knowing the adjunct career type of a prospective or current online instructor can help administrators determine which incentives they might want to focus on during the hiring and retention process. Administrative Job Aids Using the results from this study, job aids have been created that share the five most frequently reported incentives by adjunct career type.
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Graduate Students: Individuals who study full-time at the graduate level while teaching online, either as part of a graduate assistantship or as supplemental income Aspiring Academics: Individuals who do not currently have a full-time job who are hoping to obtain a full-time position in higher education and/or who wish to be recognized as full-time in higher education (This does not include current graduate students) Freelancers: Individuals who do not currently have a full-time job and who do not wish to have a full-time job, whose career is a composite of all the part-time jobs they have held Practitioner Faculty: Individuals who have a full-time job outside of higher education or are retired from such a position Loaners: Individuals who have a full-time job at another academic institution (K-12 or higher education) or are retired from such a position
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Results There were 1,243 in the sample population and 610 responded (49%). Of those, 215 identified themselves as one of the five career types of adjunct faculty. An analysis of the survey responses indicates that 13 of the 25 incentives appear to differently impact various adjunct career types decision to begin to teach via Penn State World Campus. For six of the 13, the only adjunct career type that appears to be impacted differently is Graduate Students. With regard to the incentives that impact one's decision to continue to teach via Penn State World Campus, an analysis of the survey responses indicates that there 14 of the 25 incentives appear to differently impact various adjunct career types decision. For six of the 14, the only adjunct career type that appears to be impacted differently is Graduate Students. By shedding light on the specific extrinsic and intrinsic motivators that attract and retain each of five career types of adjunct faculty to teach via Penn State World Campus, this study can help Penn State program administrators be more effective in their hiring and retention efforts. Findings suggest that one size indeed does not always fit all – context matters. Knowing the adjunct career type of a prospective or current online instructor can help administrators determine which incentives they might want to focus on during the hiring and retention process. Administrative Job Aids Using the results from this study, job aids have been created that share the five most frequently reported incentives by adjunct career type.
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