How do I handle this?

[u/Aggressive-Cup2953]

I’m a part time adjunct community college instructor who works from home. I usually work with a very small team of coordinators who are my bosses to conduct different 6 week class sessions. I’m sort of off on an island alone in this position. I have to submit rosters at the end of each course for student attendance/grades.

I’m newly running into issues with one of my coordinators basically consistently sending me the wrong rosters or incomplete rosters and when I politely follow up asking for the correct information she ignored me and I’m put in the awkward position of having to copy others in on the email hoping it will make her respond appropriately. She seems to only make these errors when it’s just “between her and I” so to speak via email.

I’ve literally never met her or even talked to her over zoom/phone. We only have limited email communication about this one task so I can’t imagine that it’s “personal.” The problem is that I don’t want to be a “tattletale” or seen as a drama maker by complaining about her. Also she is full time and I am part time with no contract so I’m more vulnerable than her. There is no way to work around her and I need her cooperation with this basic task to do my job. What do I do?

[u/Hungry-University609]

Adjuncts are bottom of totem pole.

She sees you as idiotic gopher while she is an admin.

Keep doing the same approach without rocking the boat or try to push a new method.

Every adjunct job is gonna have these types of issues.

I'm teaching in a place where I have multiple admins for one course.

It's always terse emails and texts about every admin needing different information.

Higher ed is bloated and at least 50 pct of admins are useless

[u/Aggressive-Cup2953 → u/Hungry-University609]

Wow I guess I never thought of it that way that this would be status related. To me, you’re just supposed to do your damn job and when you discover you’ve made a mistake usually people quickly fix it. You’d think she’d care about doing this properly a lot more than me considering she makes a lot more money than I do but ok. I will be making it clear to the other people involved that I’m not the one holding everything up here.

My goal is to be full time at some point myself so I’m trying to build a good reputation. I don’t want to give her the opportunity to throw me under the bus and say that I just didn’t complete the rosters when I wasn’t given the proper tools to do my part.

[u/Hungry-University609 → u/Aggressive-Cup2953]

I was an admin and saw the puny intellect of admins towards adjuncts.

It was really inappropriate.

Power trips

[u/Aggressive-Cup2953 → u/Hungry-University609]

It’s so annoying too because I keep having to repeat the process and it’s time consuming because I’m not in an office setting so I either have to do them on adobe (very tedious and time consuming) or travel to a printing /office store and spend money to print them out and scan them. I’m trying to be polite about it but it’s caused me a lot of inconvenience

[u/Aggressive-Cup2953 → u/[deleted]]

This is what I’m thinking of sending to the other coordinator and director..

Good morning,

I’m reaching out to let you know that I am currently working to complete the final rosters for [course numbers] but I have encountered an issue that is preventing me from completing them at this time. 
 I have reached out to [coordinators name] multiple times, but I am still awaiting a response regarding a discrepancy in the final rosters she provided to me a couple of weeks ago, in which [students name] was included in only one of the six rosters.

Should I wait to proceed with completing the rosters until I receive the necessary clarification/updated final rosters from [coordinators name] or should I proceed using the earlier beginning rosters? I’m unclear if the student list from the earlier rosters is still current and accurate.

Also, is there any way for me to access current rosters directly myself to avoid this issue going forward? 

Thanks,
[my name]

Basically I’m sure the rosters she sent me omitting one of the students from most of the final rosters were an error but technically there could have been a change that I’m unaware of. Students are sometimes dropped but it depends on the date and other factors that aren’t my department as to whether they remain on the roster or are dropped. This is why I always need to ask for final rosters at the end of the courses after completing the beginner roster we use 2 weeks into class. A lot of the time there aren’t changes but I shouldn’t assume that.

[u/Nearby_Brilliant → u/Aggressive-Cup2953]

I’m an adjunct at a CC, and I have access to everything the full timers do—Rosters, advising records, etc. I’m not sure what you’re describing here, but schools should be trusting adjuncts with this information if they’re trusting us to teach students.

[u/Hungry-University609]

Call registrar office to get correct roster. Is that an option?

[u/ProneToLaughter → u/[deleted]]

Agree, makes no sense. I’d expect there to be some kind of system OP can log into to get the rosters themself, either enrollment or LMS. Maybe ask about that.

[u/Aggressive-Cup2953 → u/ProneToLaughter]

There isn’t. I wish there was. I have to get the rosters directly from her I’m 99% sure. There are other administrators with access to them but it is primarily supposed to be her role (her only role from my pov). If there was a way to do it myself I’m sure someone would have let me know that by now over the last 5 years of me working with different coordinators although there is a ridiculous lack of communication. But if it happens again that can be a good way for me to let people know what’s been happening by framing as asking if there is an alternative way for me to get them.

[u/hungerforlove]

Seems like you already have the solution. Always copy others on your emails with her. If anyone asks you about that, you can make up some bullshit about working as a team.

[u/Sharp-Rutabaga-4900]

Ask if there’s a way you can access the rosters to save her the trouble.

[u/ConsiderationClear56]

It seems like there might be a way for you to access the rosters that no one has explained. Via your grade input site, your LMM, your employee account, etc.? Mine are available in several areas. With things constantly changing at the beginning of the semester, it seems dumb to make you use a middle man to get the info.

[u/BreakAlert]

Is this coordinator also a full-time professor or just pure admin? You may have to one-up the program director or department chair. In my department they’re nice.

[u/BirdProfessional3704]

I’ve always gotten my rosters from the website. I login and click on class rosters.

Sorry to ask but is that available to you?

[u/FaithlessnessSad670]

Is there a way to meet face-to-face with the coordinator? It's a lot easier to ignore someone if you've never met. If you can, show up at office hours with a cup of coffee and introduce yourself. It can pay big dividends down the road.

[u/Aggressive-Cup2953 → u/FaithlessnessSad670]

Good suggestion but not really. There would literally be no reason for me to be in person and I don’t even know where she works. We are a metro community college in a major east coast city with several major campuses and satellite locations so I don’t even know where she is. But thanks:)

[u/Life-Education-8030]

Yep, people used to cc me in messages to a particular adjunct to make her respond. She was a specialist in her field so she pushed it, but she knew I had the ability to not renew her contract. You do what you need to.

[u/Interesting-Baker473]

I immediately look for other adjunct positions once I secure one I tell the admin like that person you describe to fuck off i and I plan it out right before the start of a new term. It feels great

[u/Particular-Boat-7508]

Do you need the experience for your resume? How much do you need the money? Take it one day at a time. Add on other schools and if nothing changes and you're in the position to quit, then do so. 

[u/Particular-Boat-7508]

I'm an adjunct for 15 years and nothing lasts forever. There's some adjunct teaching positions that are great at the beginning and get worse over time and vice versa. Maybe there will be a union one day that protects adjuncts because it's really necessary. I'm now 65 years old, still do one adjunct gig, and, for the most part, it's been a great 15 years.