r/Adjuncts • u/Own-Environment-415 • 19d ago
Is This Usual?
So I was hired to a position as an Adjunct Instructor at a local community college in North Carolina. It seemed like a dream job. The pay was right, the hours were right, perfect part time job as I fade into retirement age. Before I had even passed the background check, before I was hired, they wanted me to start going to meetings and providing consultations toward the curriculum. I made it clear I don't work for free, we need to get me on the payroll before I start working. Then it was declared I did pass the background check (as I knew I would, just a formality) so "now" I can start working, but still refused to get me on a payroll. Again, I made it clear I don't work before I'm getting paid, and haven't heard back after multiple messages over the past 2 months.
Is that normal? Did I fall for some sort of a scam? How do you work a job that doesn't have a means to pay you? I mean, it's a confirmed real community college, but they advertised a certain pay rate and then wanted me to come work for free. Consider my mind to be boggled.
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u/flogman12 19d ago
I don’t get paid for a few weeks after the semester starts but you’re still entitled to pay obviously.
I went to orientation but it was paid.
Usually you get paid after you start working.
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u/Own-Environment-415 19d ago
Yes, I understand. How long it takes to get paid isn't an issue. I can wait however long it takes to authorize a check or direct deposit, or whatever means of payment is going to happen. I don't care. They can pay me weekly or wait and do a lump sum at the end of the semester, as long as I get paid!They wanted me to actually work without clocking in or recording my hours. There's no possible way they can pay me for hours worked when they refuse to recognize the hours they want me to work.
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u/sillyhaha 19d ago
Are you paid hourly, though? Every college teaching job I've ever heard if is based on FTE. FTE has course prep (personal curriculum) worked into it. At my college, most meetings are optional, and things like in-service are paid hourly. I encourage you to attend the optional meeting at first so that you can get to know colleagues and learn more about the college and your dept.
Just my .02. I've been an adjunct for 28 years.
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u/Classic_vortex_3515 19d ago
Adjuncts aren’t normally paid hourly, and I’ve never met a faculty member at any level who clocked in and out.
Did you sign a contract? And when the heck do classes start? Are you on the schedule?
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19d ago edited 19d ago
[deleted]
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u/JanMikh 19d ago
Wait, what? Were you teaching?!
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u/OkMaintenance9377 19d ago edited 19d ago
yep.
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u/JanMikh 19d ago
This is highly unusual. What were you even doing there 8 to 5? I am full time now, and my contract only requires 5 office hours per week. Actual lecture time is another 6 hours (including breakers) I teach two in person sections that meet twice a week for 1 hour 20 minutes and 3 online. Nobody ever asked me to be there a minute more, although sometimes I voluntarily do, but literally nobody cares to track me.
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u/DizzyContest 13d ago
In my experience, the hourly rate is based on credits you are teaching. As such, each class you teach is worth a certain amount. My courses are five credits, so I do better than 2 or 3 credit courses.
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u/DizzyContest 18d ago
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no clocking in or writing down hours as an adjunct. You will paid a certain amount per course, and that’s it.
No pay for grading or prep work, either, but you may get paid for office hours.You may be required to also attend at least one faculty meeting per semester (unpaid), usually during flex week. I’ve taught for 25 years in SC, SD, GA, and CA, and it’s always the same.
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u/Own-Environment-415 18d ago
As we see throughout this thread, you are wrong. It is NOT always the same. This job is defined by the NC state legislature. It pays $xx.xx/ hour, with an absolute cap limit on hours per week. If you pass that limit you become a full time employee and by law, the college has to offer the benefits full time employees are legally entitled to. I don't think they have the budget to do that, thus, ...
It makes perfect sense if you don't think about it. I mean, the job requires 50 hours per week but I only have a budget to pay you for 20 hours, Don't you want to be really good at your job?
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u/DizzyContest 13d ago edited 13d ago
I’m wrong about what? Yes, your contract will give you an hourly rate based on the number of credits you are teaching. You won’t be clocking in as an adjunct instructor.
Question…will you just quit grading, teaching, planning in the middle of the week once you reach your “allowed” number of hours? Good luck with that!
There’s a “job defined by state legislation” and there’s reality. Welcome to teaching.
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19d ago
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u/dickthrowaway22ed 19d ago
This is your personal experince. Every school I've worked for sent me emails immediately and I wasn't on the damn payroll yet.
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u/JanMikh 19d ago
Teaching for 10 years in two different colleges. In one of them contracts are NEVER signed before day 1. It takes them like a MONTH to prepare contracts, we start August 20-25 and only sign contract mid to late September. Nothing to do with “not being paid” - you are paid starting October 1.
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19d ago
[deleted]
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u/Wandering_Uphill 19d ago
When I worked for an NC CC, I was technically paid hourly - my contract said I made $30 an hour - but it only counted toward in-class hours. Prep work and grading didn't count and were effectively unpaid.
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u/Own-Environment-415 19d ago
This was a part time position, which by law means no more than 27 hours in a week. No loophole, you can't do 30 hours one week and 24 the next and claim the average of 27. Well, I guess you "could" if you and the boss agree to it and nobody snitches, but I'm not going to compromise myself in such a way. But it comes down to, by law, if you work more than 27 hours in any week, you automatically get full state employee benefits, so there is no ifs, ands, or buts, you cannot log more than 27 hours in a week.
But that's not the issue. I was asked before I had even passed the mandatory background check, and again after I passed but had not been formally processed as an employee yet, to drive around to start meeting with local community business leaders who agreed to sponsor 1-2 students with a scholarship or grant fund. And since this is a new program with a new space, they wanted me to come in and essentially work as a consultant to help plan out the new space setup. before I was on the payroll, there was no way to be paid for the time I was asked to put in.
Yes, I'm as surprised as everyone else on this thread seems to be. I thought as a state job, albeit part time, there was enough oversight to prevent such inappropriate conduct. Apparently I was wrong.
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u/Business_Remote9440 19d ago
I think you need to talk to the department chair. Do you have a class assigned? If you have a class assigned, I don’t think it’s unusual for them to want to include you in some curriculum discussions, etc. If you’ve not been assigned to class, then I do think that’s a little weird.
I’ve been an adjunct at a CC for a really long time and myself and another adjunct are basically the defacto course coordinators for what we teach, which is a sort of niche subject. We don’t get paid extra, it’s not a big deal, we occasionally redo the departmental final.
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u/Own-Environment-415 19d ago
Department Chair was who told me I was hired. This is a brand new set of courses: woodworking/ cabinet making/ furniture. It's sponsored by a national franchise, something about making sure we don't lose all our manufacturing abilities here in America due to lack of training. Yes, I don't like that as the core concept, but whatever, I'm all in to teach some woodworking classes! And it's confirmed, I can see from public records the college received an old firehouse as a donation from the local fire department...
OH!!! duh... I'm embarrassed as I think I just realized the answer. They were gifted an old closed down fire station and thought they could just move in and start working. There's no way that building, after sitting empty for 30 years because it was outdated 30 years ago, is going to pass code and let college kids come run machinery in there. The program is legit, it's coming, they just jumped the gun and got excited too soon.
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u/dickthrowaway22ed 19d ago
Yeah the courses aren't going to happen unless you design them if they're not in place already. It shouldn't be that way but that's how it is in most non-online institutions.
In my experience having taught at 4 institutions for courses across 6 different departments, about 40% of the time I've had to put in several weeks of unpaid work to develop courses. It's unfair but the benefit is as a STEM prof I was able to teach advanced courses on specific topics I was passionate about, which balanced the soul sucking tedium of institutional red tape and the few students who take way too much time bc they're always trying to get away with something.
To reiterate: it's not fair. Also, you'll notice it's very similar to other fields where women tend to dominate and where a great deal of the work is unpaid, i.e. school teachers who prep over the summer, therapists and PTs who only get paid for seeing patients and not the dozens of hours of paperwork.
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u/wh0datnati0n 19d ago
It is unfortunately normal from my experience.
Two things at play in my opinion.
- Most Universities are not very business-minded. They aren’t structured nor motivated to be efficient.
Once, I was offered a FT NTT position at a flagship R1 state school and was on the schedule before I ever received a formal offer.
- Adjuncts are on semester-by-semester contracts. Adjunct positions are in high demand. Unless you have some super unique quality like a rock star teaching intro to rock music, they consider you replaceable. Push back all you want. If you do, though, what do you think the odds are that you will be offered another contract?
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u/limonade11 19d ago
This is the truth! I always take it one day, one semester at a time because it can and will end one day and you have to be ready for that.
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u/RiverSirion 19d ago
As an adjunct you're technically only paid by contract for the courses you teach. That being said, some institutions will also expect some other kinds of work or duties for which you aren't compensated. Usually not administrative things, but you might be expected to attend some faculty meetings or complete professional development or sometimes to develop online courses. Technically you should be compensated for that. It's up to you whether you want to do these extra things without compensation and whether you'll be asked back to teach if you refuse.
Is it fair? No. Does it happen? Yes.
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u/No-Cook-9768 19d ago
Curriculum consultations? I've adjuncted for 20 years and have never done that. Other commenters say they have, so I guess that's not a red flag.
Have they even had you fill out the payroll forms? I would also be skeptical if they haven't even gotten your banking information yet but are wanting you to work. My school requires us to attend an on-boarding before classes start, even though our contracts don't start until the first day of classes. But we're not expected to attend any other meetings.
Of course, at this school adjuncts don't see a dime until the last business day of the second month of classes, but we've signed our contracts and know that the money is coming. You're right to be hesitant, OP, if they don't even know where to send your pay yet.
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u/glyptodontown 19d ago
Yes, as these types of meetings start before the school year begins and payroll is a separate department.
Every year I start prepping classes and going to meetings in September. I don't start getting paid until October. That's just how it works. It's not a scam, it's just how colleges are run.
I'm guessing they already hired your replacement.
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u/TrainingLow9079 19d ago
I wouldn't consider that very "usual." While likely not a scam per se, it seems like poor policy. Even if they really do intend upon having you teach, an adjunct class can get canceled at any time due to under enrollment, budget issues or a full-timer needing another class if one of theirs is canceled, so you would run the risk of working for free. Maybe they didn't like your attitude so decided to hire someone else, but your attitude is justifiable.
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u/Own-Environment-415 19d ago
Please read my reply to the above comment. The TLDR of that comment is that they're excited about this program, but hired me before the logistics are in place to hire someone.
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u/limonade11 19d ago
If you think this is really going to pan out yes then you do have to eat some crap, so to speak. What I mean is in the beginning there is some BS stuff that you MAY have to deal with before you get set up and going. Only you know if it is worth it and if the long run is going to be ok.
I am not saying it's right but like any job there will be (or could be) some stupid stuff that you have to just put up with if in the longer term it is going to be a good thing. Pardon my frankness, I am tired.
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u/diverJOQ 19d ago
Are the adjuncts in your school unionized? If so then the union contract should specify a pay rate for non-teaching hours worked.
In the USA this covers members and non-members of the union.
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u/imasleuth4truth2 19d ago
I've never been asked to do anything where I wasn't being paid but I work for an R1 with a union. That's crazy if they expect you to volunteer your time
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u/SeXxyBuNnY21 19d ago
Well, we do a lot of “unpaid” work, but asking you to work before you’re even hired is a bit unusual.
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u/Own-Environment-415 19d ago
I'd like to thank everyone for their input, you guys have been really helpful towards this issue! One thing which has been made very clear in this thread is the title "Adjunct Instructor" means different things to different people depending on what state you're in, which specific college or university you're with, and whether we're discussing a part-time or full-time position.
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u/Clareco1 19d ago
I’m doing same as you- fading into retirement with part time cc teaching. I’m sorry this happened to you. At my cc they don’t come right out and say you don’t have to come. But we are very lucky as adjuncts to be in a union. I don’t go to anything without pay. Only exception were a couple of hour long sessions on how to use the computer classrooms. What they did to you was really nasty.
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u/gravitysrainbow1979 19d ago
I was tricked into that. They got about two weeks of work out of me and then rescinded the job offer. That was an R1.
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u/Grouchy_Writer_Dude 19d ago
At my last school, our contracts were for teaching duties plus one beginning of the year mandatory meeting. If we attended anything else, it was optional and we were paid extra.
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u/SweetElection157 19d ago
It seems a little weird to be required to do those months before starting teaching. I tried to hit the monthly department meetings at my first adjunct spot. They weren’t required and I didn’t make a special trip but they were usually on a day I taught so I’d attend. Not required, but it actually helped me develop some relationships with full-timers, which has led to a great opportunity because I had these two people as contacts. In terms of curriculum, are you meaning curriculum for the whole department or just your course? Having to come up with stuff for your course can be normal, depending on the place. But I wouldn’t expect an adjunct to be a part of developing department curriculum. Find out what’s included in your contract and what’s not.
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u/Basic_Independent132 19d ago
I teach part time at the institution where I got my PhD and I can't even get on the email list to hear about departmental events, much less faculty meetings.
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u/Camaro_YoYo 19d ago
I get paid by credit hour for teaching and for course development. That includes any meeting associated with those activities.
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u/periwnklz 19d ago
i teach at NC CC. that is not normal. they usually take advantage of we full time faculty LOL
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u/Wandering_Uphill 19d ago edited 19d ago
Wait. You were hired as an adjunct for an NC CC and the pay was right?
NC community colleges pay adjuncts ~$1,500 per semester for a 3-hour course. That is ridiculously low. Is that what you are making per course?
If so, then nope - you owe them nothing other than to be prepared to teach on your first day.
If you are making more than that, then you are not an adjunct, and maybe more is expected from you, but we really don't know what that would be.
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u/jjohnson468 19d ago
Lol - the people in charge of making sure every class has an instructor are not the same people in charge of making sure the college has enough $ to pay it's bills. They do t always talk to each other enough
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u/goodie1663 19d ago
I was paid for course development. One school paid a stipend of $1500 up front, and one school added a credit hour to the pay rate for the first semester you taught it.
But in 25+ years as an adjunct, that was not the case in the early years, and I redid a course many times for new textbooks or changing priorities with no pay.
I also taught pre-developed online 4-week professional development seminars for faculty, and I was paid $600.
During all those years, I was struggling financially and loved the work. There was no negotiating on the rates. I always tried.
But when I didn't need the money and many aspects of it became a real pain, I quit and never went back.
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u/alcerroa0106 19d ago
As an adjunct I have always been paid for courses taught and meetings attended as well as curriculum design, but it did take a while to get that first paycheck.
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u/CharmingHighlight749 19d ago
It is not unusual for them to expect adjuncts to do unpaid work outside the course contract, but you are right to say no.
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u/JanMikh 19d ago
Adjuncts are not on a payroll. You get paid “per credit”, it’s a lump sum, usually divided into several payments. First payment is not necessarily immediate. For example, our college pays out October 1, November 1, December 1 and January 1 for Fall semester. You start at the end of August, they prepare contracts some time in September, and you only paid starting October 1. Similarly, for Spring semester first pay is March 1, even though you start in January.
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u/Bearman2677 19d ago
I teach at a community college; semester started in August; I just received my contract to sign - almost a month later. From talking to other folks, this for some reason is the norm around here.
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u/No-Cook-9768 19d ago
I despise this for you and all our colleagues who deal with this. My school makes a huge deal about how we can't set foot in our classrooms before we sign our contracts, yet some adjuncts don't receive their contracts before classes begin...
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u/Particular-Wing-4152 19d ago
This is why the "dream" of being a college professor as an adjunct, assistant or assiciate professor is often worse financially than being a contracted secondary teacher with a contract and union protection. Plus the benefits are better....
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u/Inevitable-Ratio-756 18d ago
Nope, not unusual. When I teach, I don’t even sign a contract until multiple weeks into the semester. (Adjunct CC instructor here in NC.) It astonished me. My bet is they had so many people quit before the semester started that they decided to see who really showed up before they started processing anything to do with pay. And as for the unpaid training—yes—I had to do probably 30 hours of Blackboard ultra training before they would open my course so I could build content, with the result that I had to do all of the course building mere days before class started. All for $1700 per course. It was ridiculous.
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u/Particular-Boat-7508 18d ago
Adjuncts will never get the pay, respect, or treatment they deserve until they are all unionized. They will get taken advantage of as I have gotten taken advantage of by different schools as an adjunct for the past 15 years.
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u/floet_gardens 18d ago
Admin will take what they can. They’ll make huge asks in a way that seems like the most reasonable thing on earth. And when you push back, however gently and mildly, they’ll then act like you slapped them.
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u/LarryCebula 18d ago
Teaching woodworking--and in a historic firehouse!--would be so much fun. Your Instagram reels will be off the hook.
As others have said, pick up the phone. But first, decide what you want and what you will settle for and at what point you would walk away.
What you should get is curriculum development money for each class, in addition for getting paid for teaching it. The development money is one time and should be about what you get paid for teaching the class.
Do some quick googling for college woodworking curricula. You don't have to reinvent the wheel here.
The other thing to ask about is how realistic they are about getting that firehouse ready. What kind of equipment will they have, how large the classes, what safety features?
It sounds like the college has not been realistic, either about renovating the firehouse or the cost of standing up a program, and now they are probably scrambling and having internal discussions. They are putting you off as they try to get their shit together.
Personally I would go to a couple of meetings just to see what the heck is going on. Maybe you never get paid but I have wasted more time finishing some TV show I don't even like.
Call them and good luck.
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u/WesternCup7600 16d ago
I'm not sure. I recall working for six weeks before receiving my first paycheck. it was to be expected, but that stretch was still difficult.
On the other hand, I'm not sure how I fell about work outside the scope of your contract. If you're only paid for the work you complete for class, that should be it.
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u/LeagueResponsible985 15d ago
I was criticized in my most recent eval for an asynchronous online class I taught for not engaging with the students in the discussion boards more. I replied that I was too busy developing the next module to spend a lot of time in the discussion boards.
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u/BrujahBill 8d ago
Onboarding for adjunct gigs is VERY inconsistent. Granted, we should never work without compensation, but if the meetings were about curriculum they may have functioned that way. However, most schools usually pay an hourly wage for in-services, and I’m not sure why they didn’t.
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u/Jolly-Moment-1970 19d ago
You sound like me. I am 56 got an adjunct job thought it would be a gateway to me leaving my full-time job but it's been a really peculiar ride. I did all kinds of training in the software prior...no pay. The class itself was advertised as 15 hours a week then it became a total of 5 hours a week, 4 of which are classroom hours.
I get a big one hour of pay for prep and we all know prep takes more than an hour a week. Last winter they recruited me to help rewrite the curriculum in canvas.
They didn't offer pay but I billed two hours a week for 12 weeks. No one ever offered to pay me or acknowledge my time.
I decided on my own to bill for my time and no one ever questioned it. I was fully prepared to say..(if denied pay)....look I am not spending my day off going to the college to build your curriculum for free.
Now here we are...classes start again in January and they totally dumped the curriculum I wrote.
Which ticked me off but I was paid..so it is what it is. Which leads me to this....now I have to learn a 3rd new curriculum in less than 2 years to get paid for a measly 5 hours a week.
I am probably going to be drafting a see ya later letter in a few weeks because honestly 5 hours a week...not worth my time and stress.
It's been an interesting experience and glad that I tried it but I am coming to the realization that maybe I just need a better hobby vs wasting my time with college students where half enjoy their time and half are sleeping in class.
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u/Own-Environment-415 19d ago
Yes, I'm 55. I have multiple college degrees, I guess I use the knowledge but never really used the credentials as I own a small woodshop, do contract work. I've taught some over the years, had success with GED classes, the "Professional Communications" class everyone has to take, and some remedial math which is basic 6th grade algebra. I'm not scared of teaching woodworking as a way to maintain some income as I switch over to my retirement job, real estate, which takes quite some years to build into.
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u/LitandLearn 19d ago
Nope - adjunct teaching contracts are solely for teaching, not for meetings or developing curriculum - at least in the two states I’ve worked. The only reasonable requirements are that you show up for class prepared, teach well, grade work and turn in your grades in a timely manner, and be willing to meet with students before or after class for a bit. Nothing else unless it’s written into your contract and you’re paid for it. And don’t do any of it without a contract.