Adjuncts make the same wage as entry-level workers at Chipotle. That's a problem.

Speaking from the perspective of a college student, I have had my fair share of professors. From the professor who merely regurgitated whatever was on the PowerPoint slides to the one who brought true passion and enthusiasm to every lecture, I have had my ups, downs, good moments, and bad moments with my professors.

However, I did not realize upon applying to college about the exact particularity of the title "professor". Indeed as students, we oftentimes associate whoever is teaching our 8 AM biology class about the wonders of meiosis or our 6 PM literature class on the role hospitality plays in Homer's The Odyssey as the "professor".

Yet, this is a title that only a select number of faculty in most given universities have the privilege of having. An average undergraduate student is probably taught by a variety of professionals with varying titles. Below is a simplified list of some of the various educators in the system today:   

• Professor: known as a "full professor" is one who has received tenure and is the highest rank in academia 
• Associate Professor: one who is on the tenure-track to be a professor
• Assistant Professor: one who is on track to be an associate professor (typically considered an entry-level tenure track position)
• Lecturer: known as "instructional faculty" designates individuals who are teaching for a limited time (tend to focus on teaching and is in a contractual relationship with their respective universities)

But there is another type of educator out there in the modern education system; one who is oftentimes overlooked and (to my surprise) makes up almost three-fourths of the current undergraduate education system. I am referring of course to adjunct professors, part-time faculty who are contractually employed by the university and oftentimes do not receive the security and stability of a tenure track position.

"Today, these itinerant teachers make up a whopping 75 percent of college instructors, with their average pay between $20,000 and $25,000 annually."

It is important to note that adjuncts receive payment based on the number of courses taught. The median pay for a semester-long class is around $2,700. This payment also factors in the time the instructor spends developing the course, holding office hours, and teaching. As such, adjuncts have to juggle numerous courses, oftentimes at different universities or colleges, just to make ends meet. According to a 2013 NPR report, the average annual pay for adjuncts was between $20,000 and $25,000. In addition, nearly a quarter receive some form of public assistance such as Medicaid or food stamps.

To put it into perspective, an entry-level worker at Chipotle makes around $21,000. Due to a variety of factors, ranging from budget cuts to insufficient funding, more and more universities turn to adjuncts to reduce costs and avoid paying for tenure track faculty to teach the thousands of introductory undergraduate courses. The following chart, taken from the American Association of University Professors, reports this trend.

Before I go any further, I have to say that I have not partaken in a class taught by an adjunct professor. This may be due to the fact that I am enrolled in a program that carries significant prestige and a valuable alumni network (engineering, business, and other technical majors typically are considered to be the premiere departments). But also because, quite simply, many adjuncts stay for only a few years before the university terminates their contract or eliminates their courses altogether. Indeed, the adjunct seems to be regarded as a temporary solution to the long-term issues of budget cuts and reduction in state funding (recently here at Maryland state funding has dropped from 75% to 25% of the current operating budget).

As a student, this concerns me, not only because it seems that universities are trivializing education in the pursuit of maintaining appearances and empowering select departments, but also because I have heard the aspirations of many students who want to pursue careers in academia. To many obtaining a PhD is considered the epitome of success; yet the reality appears to be a system where there is a huge supply of passionate and educated individuals and a limited demand for full-time positions. That isn’t to say that getting a PhD isn’t a worthwhile endeavor. The knowledge and experience is after all second to none and can open up many doors in one's career.

As prices for college rise to astronomical levels, the value of a college education is oftentimes put into question. Almost no one will deny the value of a university education and it is safe to say that the idea to abolish or restrict tenure in any way is almost unheard of to anyone in the field of academia. The increased presence of adjuncts in many ways impacts the student as well. Need additional help outside class? Unfortunately, the teacher has to go teach another course. Need a recommendation after graduating? Sadly, the teacher has long since left the university. Have you managed to get a recommendation? Oftentimes, the recommendation of an adjunct is not as valued as that of a professor.

I cannot say that I am an expert on this issue. As a student, I am merely bringing to light something that seems to go sadly unnoticed by many of my fellow students. While there may not be any easy answers, the fact remains that, whether it is a good thing or not, adjuncts have become a major part of the current educational system. As for me, I will continue to admire and recognize the efforts of the adjunct, the teacher who I have never had.

For those looking for a more personal (and quite shocking) outlook into this issue, I have attached a link to this insightful article written by an adjunct professor. 

#StudentVoices 

This post was edited by LinkedIn Campus Editor Sameera Polavarapu