Thursday, March 28, 2024

Failing U

State funding would reduce volume of part-time faculty

The number of nontenured faculty members may be high at MSU, but the university is not to blame.

The Coalition on the Academic Workforce recently released a report that found nontenured track, or part-time, instructors make up nearly half of the instructors in many humanities and social science classes.

For this academic year, MSU employed 741 part-time faculty members and 1,977 tenured faculty. The makeup of faculty led MSU in August to be listed fourth in The Princeton Review’s “The Best 331 Colleges” under the category of “Teaching Assistants Teach Too Many Upper-Level Courses.”

The coalition also reported that university composition programs have the highest proportion of classes taught by part-time instructors - 31.4 percent. Graduate students make up 34.9 percent of the nontenured faculty.

While it may be easy to blame the university for a high level of part-time faculty, the state Legislature has the university’s hands tied. MSU’s per-student funding forces the university to find ways to save money. Hiring part-time faculty members is one solution to combat low salaries.

Part-time faculty members save the university money by eliminating the cost of higher salaries and benefits. Eliminating part-time faculty members would succeed only in increasing class sizes.

The situation brings the university to a decision: Does a better education come from smaller classes taught by part-time faculty members or from larger classes taught by tenured faculty members?

The only way to circumvent that decision is for the state to give the university more funding that will not only provide for larger faculty salaries, but also for more professors.

Several officials elected in November promised to close the funding gap and improve faculty pay at the university. The MSU Board of Trustees needs to make closing the gap between MSU and the University of Michigan and Wayne State University a priority and pressure lawmakers. The same goes for students, alumni and residents.

In the meantime, the university will have to deal with a high number of part-time faculty. Despite concerns of the high volume, part-time faculty members have value. By employing part-time faculty members, MSU is a breeding ground for future tenured faculty members. Part-time faculty members receive experience needed to teach and may develop loyalties toward the university.

Some part-time faculty members also bring needed experience in the field they are teaching. Bringing professionals in various fields for part-time instruction can be a valuable asset to the university.

With funding levels where they are, the university has no choice but to turn to part-time faculty members. It’s the state’s turn to make a difference.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Failing U” on social media.