Jaeger, A. and Eagan, K. (2010) Examining Retention and Contingent Faculty use in a State System of Public Higher Education Educational Policy, June 13
Useful article with interesting statistics about the impact of different kinds of adjunct faculty on first year student retention.
I’ve included this because of the often heavy use of adjuncts for online learning. My experience is that adjuncts can be excellent online instructors, but they need initial training and of course the more experienced they are with online teaching, the better. Also it is essential to have contracts in place that ensure they are properly remunerated for the amount of work they do, which may mean keeping class sizes down to ensure adequate instructor: student interaction.
For a good review of this article see:
Jaschik, S. (2010) Adjuncts and retention rates, Inside Higher Education, June 2
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
