Who is the Adjunct?
Professional development, financial incentives, personal growth, creativity, and the hope of securing full time employment are all among the muses that inspire adjunct instructors. Who are adjunct applicants? From our experience, we have identified eight types of adjunct candidates: 1. The Philosopher is a candidate who is likely not professionally employed in the field in which she is degreed. She may be degreed in a high enrollment, low faculty availability area such as Philosophy, Humanities, or Religion. These areas are also typically the lowest areas of full time faculty participation in distance learning, thus creating an even greater dearth of available instructional staff for alternate delivery. This type of candidate may perceive the recruitment advertisement as an opportunity to finally make use of her advanced degree. Teaching and online technologies experience may vary. 2. The Traditional Teacher may have a wealth of instructional experience in the classroom as both a full
