AAUP Issues Statement on Use Of Contingent Faculty Appointments
WASHINGTON
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a draft policy statement last month on the overuse and abuse of part-time and non-tenure track faculty — practices that threaten the quality and stability of higher education today.
The proportion of faculty appointed to tenure-line positions is declining at an alarming rate. Forty-three percent of faculty appointments are part time, and over half of new full-time appointments are off the tenure track, the association announced in a press release.
“Contingent” appointments include all those off the tenure track, whether part or full time, and whether compensated on a per-course or salary basis. Individuals holding such appointments are called by a wide variety of titles including “adjuncts,” “lecturers,” “instructors” and “visiting professors.”
