The Journal

Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: News

Some part-time faculty members are upset at a change in the pay scale made last December that reduced the amount of money paid for small classes.

In mid-December, the academic affairs department decided to change how adjuncts are paid for classes with fewer than seven students. Previously, adjuncts were paid per-student for classes of one-to-three students, and classes of four-to-six students had a flat rate for payment. Now, for all classes below seven students, adjunct professors are paid $120 per student, per credit hour. For example, in a three credit hour course with six students, the professor would be paid $2,160.

Many smaller classes were canceled as a result of the pay changes. The deans and chairs in each school have the discretion to cancel classes, and some adjuncts elected not to teach classes with lower pay.

In addition to the reduction in small-class pay, experience is no longer taken into account, said David Carl Wilson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Under the previous pay system, a professor who taught for eight years and had six students in the class would make about $1,000 more than they will make now, Wilson said.

James Staley, associate vice president for academic affairs, could not determine how much money was saved in the change. Debra Carpenter, dean of the School of Communications, said the changes saved $7,000 in her school, but said that was "probably the tip of the iceberg" for what the university saved overall.

Different schools and colleges treat adjuncts differently in how they schedule classes. While the School of Communications, the School of Business and Technology and the College of Arts and Sciences sent out letters of intent in the late fall, the School of Education never used letters of intent.

"We have not done the practice that some other schools and colleges have done, because we didn't want to make promises we weren't certain we could keep," said Brenda Fyfe, dean of the School of Education.

The adjustment was made in response to lower enrollments, said Benjamin Akande, the dean of the School of Business and Technology. He said he did not know how much money the move saved his school or how many classes were canceled for certain, but he said small classes are often canceled. The priority, he said, is making sure students can take the courses they need to graduate.

"The measure here is, first and foremost, we've got to take care of the students," Akande said.

Continued...

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