Unpacking the Use and Value of Part-Time Faculty: Impacts on the Value-Added College Experience

Purpose: The purpose for conducting the current study was to identify the correlations of part-time faculty use by an institution and student success. Student success was measured, for the current study, as retention, cost, graduation rate, and post-college earnings. Methodology: The study examined the relationship between the use of part-time faculty and student success at 164 Research 1 and 2 universities drawn from the Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU) list. Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard, four outcomes were analyzed: first-to-second year retention, six-year graduation rates, cost of attendance, and post-graduation earnings. Findings: Findings indicated that part-time faculty made up an average of 27% of the instructional workforce, with wide institutional variation. Correlations revealed slight negative relationships between higher part-time faculty use and retention, graduation, and earnings, with minimal impact on cost of attendance. Although the statistical effects were small, the data suggest that heavy reliance on adjunct faculty does not benefit students in measurable outcomes. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy, and Practice: Findings confirm the complexity of fiscal realities for colleges and universities and best practices for teaching and learning. The study provides the important suggestion that institutional leaders become more purposeful in their use of adjuncts and work more intentionally in their institutional induction.