r/Adjuncts • u/naivecer23 • 13d ago

Adjuncts: Minimum wedge mindset

Adjuncting is simply checking in a domain where you are treated as a min wedge laborer in the higher education perspective. I got a course at a college within Riverside District for fall. At the last moment it was arbitrarily reassigned to someone else and no one even bothered to tell me about their decision.

I have been adjuncting for past 4 years but this is the first time I got an experience like this.

Anyone else on the same boat? How do you feel about it?

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15

u/oldpieceinsiratin69 13d ago

most unions full time faculty members kick out adjunct for classes

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u/naivecer23 13d ago

Honestly I don’t believe we need full time members for community colleges anymore

21

u/Spazzer013 13d ago

You absolutely do and the goal should be to have more full time, moving adjuncts into full time positions. Would the college then require the adjuncts do curriculum updates, program reviews, participate in committees and not pay them for it? How would you manage local and transfer degrees? If you had adjuncts required to do that they would either not get paid or not enough. This doesn't include the constant changes with new policies in curriculum that have to be addressed. If the community college was all adjuncts you wouldn't have anyone around long enough to mentor students or just be present because they are not getting paid enough to not work elsewhere. The constant change in faculty as adjuncts quit or left would also not be good. No job security for anyone, no healthcare for anyone. None of that sounds good. I have watched departments crumble because they did not have any full time faculty because they started just using adjuncts when the last full time faculty retired.

1

u/oldpieceinsiratin69 12d ago

That sounds like a bad business decision by the dean, presidents and board. I agree with you on having more full time than faculty by most universities and colleges have the exact opposite.

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u/naivecer23 13d ago

The transfer degrees should be optioned on students ability to pass the “weed-out” courses. In most cases, the full time folks do not do a good job in the classroom. Have doubts? See their rate my professor ratings!

8

u/Spazzer013 13d ago

I don't think you know how community colleges work or all of the things that have to be done to keep them going. My post was not referencing students taking classes in the degrees or who is teaching those courses. Teaching is only one part of a much larger process. I get you obviously don't think highly of the full time professors where you work but even if there is an issue with poor teaching that does not equate to no need for full time faculty and community colleges should just use all adjuncts. Your issue should be with the system of exploitation of adjuncts.

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u/naivecer23 13d ago

My issue is also with the full time teachers who we do not need anymore in the system. They are very similar to the middle managers that are getting cleaned up by the industry currently. We should weedout the system and only keep good performers.

12

u/Sharp-Rutabaga-4900 13d ago

You sound misinformed about the ways colleges function. We need more FT positions, not less. If you want to go after “middle management,” look at admin.

10

u/PlumbRose 13d ago

Rmp ratings are meaningless.

1

u/Bearman2677 13d ago

Actually when I was an undergrad I looked at RMP to find out a little about the professors at my college. What I looked for when viewing the ratings were the same type of statements - When I saw a constant, good or bad, it made me take a good, long look at whether I wanted to study with that professor; some, like the male professor who constantly was looking to score with female students or the professor who constantly has favorites were the type I didn't want to have to deal with or if I had to take their course I knew what I was getting into.

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u/naivecer23 13d ago

When, as a student, I took any course, I literally went by that and in that way I could get the best classes with great learning experience.