To better support adjunct faculty teaching online, it is essential to understand their instructional time commitment and workload. Presentation examines time investment of adjunct faculty teaching online, overviews strategies to maximize the impact of limited instructional time, and highlights professional development strategies to meet the practical needs of this population.
Not only do institutions need to know how much time adjunct faculty are spending on their online teaching, but, more importantly, it is essential to provide adjunct faculty with guidance on how to invest limited time to have the greatest impact on student learning. With faculty juggling an increasing number of obligations (Kezar, Maxey & Eaton, 2014), the old adage “work smarter, not harder” has never been more important. It’s not enough that adjunct faculty are simply logging contact hours into the online classroom, it is essential that institutions provide adjunct faculty guidance and direction on how to maximize the impact of their instructional time.
By understanding how adjunct faculty invest their online teaching time, administrators can more effectively support faculty via enhanced professional development, prioritized scheduling and insight into workload management. Faculty trainings and professional development offerings should be proportionate to the amount of time that an instructional task requires. While faculty require professional development targeting best practices in the key instructional areas, they also need support in understanding the practical aspects of implementing the best practices in an efficient manner. In essence, they not only need insight on what to do, but also on how to do it within the practical, realistic confines of the online classroom.