Perceptions of the Effectiveness

of Adjunct Faculty Integrative

Practices at
Sauk Valley Community College
DISSERTATION DEFENSE
JON MANDRELL
NOVEMBER 1, 2014

History and Background

of SVCC

Celebrating 50 years
Enroll 4,000 students annually
Serve 15 high school districts
District spans 5 counties
Currently seeking 6th president
Sauk Makes it Possible...
You Make it Happen

Why this Study?

Increased reliance on adjunct faculty
Adjunct faculty unpreparedness
Campus relations with adjunct faculty
lacking
Researcher responsible for adjunct
faculty supervision and preparedness
To give due diligence to adjunct faculty
Ultimately, facilitate student success!

Defining Integrative Practice

A method, activity, program, or
offering that enhances interaction
within the campus, augments personal
growth and development, or fosters
relationships among the faculty or
academic departments.

Literature Review
Part-time faculty members represent
the largest and fastest growing
segment of the postsecondary
instructional workforce in the United
States
(Coalition of Academic Workforce,
2012, p. 6.)

Literature Review

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Literature Review
Adjunct faculty are lacking support,
professional development, and are
unprepared (Gappa and Leslie, 1993)
Many can be hired just before the start of a
semester, have no teaching background,
and are unrecognized on campus
(Herships, 2013)
Many are hired to reduce costs, provide a
more comprehensive schedule, or reduce
full-time faculty course loads. (Kezar, 2013)

Best Practices and Visits

Valencia College,
Orlando, Florida
Johnson County Community College,
Overland Park, Kansas
Blackhawk College
Moline, Illinois

Purpose of the Study

Determine and evaluate current
effective practices
Identify ineffective practices
Identify opportunities for growth
Create an effective plan for
integrating adjunct faculty to campus
A roadmap to adjunct success!
STUDENT SUCCESS!

Ultimately, its about the students. The

better we are at our jobs, the better it is for
the students.
-Focus Group Participant

Research Questions
Question 1: What are the integrative practices among adjunct
faculty at Sauk Valley Community College that are perceived
as the most effective by adjunct faculty and full-time faculty?
Question 2: Does the level of communication and interaction
between the adjunct faculty and full-time faculty impact their
satisfaction of one another?
Question 3: What are the desirable attributes for an adjunct
faculty member teaching in an effective academic program?
Question 4: What programs, practices, or policies could Sauk
Valley Community College implement to better develop their
adjunct faculty?
Question 5: Do levels of satisfaction of Sauk Valley
Community College adjunct faculty correlate to their
participation in integrative practices on the campus?

Methodology
Mixed Methods
Separate surveys to full-time and
adjunct faculty
Three focus groups of adjunct faculty
to put words behind the
quantitative data
Pilot Study

Sample
Non-random purposeful sample
Faculty with 4 semesters of teaching
experience at SVCC
150 adjunct faculty/48 full-time on
campus
61 adjunct faculty eligible/40 fulltime eligible

Survey and Response Rates

Administered via Survey Monkey
Office of Institutional Research
administered survey and housed
data
41 adjunct faculty participated (67%)
26 full-time responded (65%)
Adjunct faculty invited to focus group
Data coded into SPSS

Chi-Square Analysis
Historically the most commonly used
technique when analyzing categorical data
(Vogt, 2007)
Goodness of Fit test
Expected frequencies versus observed
frequencies
Tests statistical significance at the .05 level
(Less than 5% due to chance)
In sum, Are the factors related?

Focus Groups
Third-party moderator
Three groups of 4-5 adjunct faculty
Participants referred to as participant
numbers to protect identity
Data transcribed
Coded with NVIVO Qualitative
Software

Notable Quotes
The adjuncts feel like we are on the outside looking
in.
Sometimes I feel highly invisible out here.
Some people want to include adjuncts and some
people do not. There is a definite divide. Its not true
for everybody. Some people are doing a lot to get
adjuncts included, some people do not want the
adjuncts included.
I was told once, Youre lucky youre here, some
places treat adjuncts even worse.
Ultimately, its about the students. The better we
are at our jobs, the better it is for the students.

Emerging Themes
Communication and interaction
within department
Mentoring and relationships
Professional development and
orientations
Campus inclusion
Lack of recognition, compensation,
and respect

Findings
Satisfied with teaching, unsatisfied in other
areas
Communication/Interaction lacking
Few attending departmental meetings
Professional development lacking
Mentoring in demand
Few are on committees
Inconsistent orientation
Inclusion/input lacking

Recommendations
Implement formal mentoring
program
Mandated orientation upon hire
Increased invitations and
communication through multiple
methods
Establish central points of contact
Increased online professional
development and discipline-based
topics

Recommendations
Open enrollment for committees and
expansion of representation
Increased office space more private
Establish recognition of adjunct
faculty
Enrollment in new faculty academy
Build an effective sequence!

Sequence
Instructor orientation upon hire
Introduction to Email and campus
communications
Resources on campus
Classroom technologies
Connect to a mentor
Faculty academy enrollment
Observations/Evaluations
Semester wrap-up

Next Steps
Apply the research to the institution
Adapt the sequencing
recommendation
Utilize more focus groups on campus
Continuous improvement and
reassess
Revisit the study pass it on to
future SVCC cohort member!

The Dissertation Process

Scholarly challenge and focus

Self-directed and requires discipline
Exhaustive research and refinement
Working deeply with all stakeholders
Persistence Stay the course!
Never stop researching Carry it on!
Instilled a new work ethic within me
that I never found in life to this point.

References
Coalition on the Academic Workforce. (2012, June). A portrait of part-time
faculty members. Retrieved from http://www.academicworkforce.org/
CAW_portrait_2012.pdf
Gappa, J. M., & Leslie, D. W. (1993). The invisible faculty. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Herships, S. (2013, June 20). Adjunct professors join steelworkers,
autoworkers to get organized. Marketplace Education. Retrieved from
http://www.marketplace.org/
topics/economy/education/adjunct-professors-join-steelworkers-autoworkers-get-organized
Kezar, A., & Maxey, D. (2013, May/June). The changing academic workforce.
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Retrieved
from http://agb.org/trusteeship/2013/5/changing-academic-workforce

References
National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Table 259: Number of
instructional faculty in degree-granting institutions, by employment
status, sex, control, and type of institution: Selected years, fall 1970
through fall 2009. In U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics (Ed.), Digest of education statistics (2010 ed.).
Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/
tables/dt10_259.asp
Vogt, W. P. (2007). Quantitative research methods for professionals.
Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.