It comes as no surprise to anyone working at an institution of higher education today that the hiring of adjunct faculty by U.S. colleges and universities has been on an upward trend. Since the 1970s, continuing economic pressures (including sharp increases in the cost of higher education and the impact of the 2020 COVID pandemic, among other factors) have resulted in an increasing number of adjunct faculty across U.S. colleges and universities. For CCCU institutions, and other similar private nonprofits, adjunct faculty have become a part of an economic sustainability model that is not only likely permanent but also continuing to increase.

As of 2023, on average 60% of CCCU U.S. member colleges and universities’ professoriate are part-time faculty[1]. Also similar to trends across the American higher education landscape, the number of adjunct faculty at CCCU member institutions continue to rise. This national trend has often been termed the “adjunctification” of higher education[2]. A primary concern for higher education practitioners is how this trend might negatively impact student outcomes and the well-being of contingent faculty. To investigate this topic, the CCCU recently initiated a project funded by a grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, designed to study the well-being of adjuncts employed by CCCU institutions and help member institutions support their adjunct faculty members.

Higher education research literature is replete with the impact that the adjunctification of higher education has on those hired as contingent faculty and on their students. First is the well-known pay disparity between adjunct faculty and their full-time colleagues. The salary disparity is also quite salient for CCCU adjuncts. Full-time faculty who teach in the same discipline or program often earn in a month what an adjunct earns throughout the entire semester. Adjunct faculty who desire to teach for their living often must work for multiple institutions to make ends meet, which can negatively impact faculty well-being and student interactions

Although fulfilling the goals of higher education requires the work of administration, faculty, and staff across college and university campuses, faculty are, and always will be, the principal force that impacts the young (and sometimes not-so-young) minds entering these institutions. Decades of research reveals the positive impact of quality faculty-student interactions on student outcomes. These interactions continue to be one of the greatest predictors of student retention and success.^[3] However, adjuncts who are forced to teach at multiple institutions to cobble together a living will have even less time to interact with their students, limiting opportunities for high-quality interactions. Therefore, there continues to be a tension between the rise of adjuncts to ease financial strains on institutions while higher education practitioners simultaneously work to make positive impacts on student learning and success. This tension requires a clear focus on the factors that promote adjunct faculty well-being.

A qualitative study focusing on the lived experiences of CCCU adjunct faculty members revealed useful insights about how adjuncts connect well with their institutions, promoting well-being and growing in their institutional affinity, as well as what prevents positive institutional connections from taking form. It is important to note that not all adjunct faculty are the same. Some adjuncts work full-time in the private industry of their discipline and teach because of a sense of calling to impact the next generation. Others see the professoriate as their calling and career but have not yet acquired a full-time faculty position. Although diverse types of adjuncts display various trends in their needs and struggles, there are some common themes found in the experiences of most adjuncts, regardless of whether they are professional teachers or industry professionals teaching on the side.

For professors, whether full-time tenure track, adjunct, or something in between, there is a psychological need for community that affects not only the professor but also their relationship with colleagues and students. It is intuitive to think that the positive interactions adjuncts have will lead to higher institutional affinity, thereby impacting students in a positive way. In short, adjunct faculty who have positive, life-giving relationships at their institutions will, in turn, tend to have impactful relationships with students and others. However, adjunct faculty typically have tempered expectations when it comes to their on-campus connections. The reality is that they will most likely not have a lot of them.

In most cases it is impossible for provosts or vice presidents of academic affairs to effectively shepherd all their faculty. Therefore, adjunct faculty limit their expectations about what kind of connections the institution can provide or the number of meaningful connections they will realistically develop with colleagues and students. However, the connections they have often impact well-being dramatically. This truth was illuminated through a major finding from the study—when it comes to adjuncts, the quality of interactions is much more important than the quantity. Moreover, similar to their full-time, tenure-track peers, adjuncts live to make an impact on their students. It is often what matters most to them.

As with all humans’ needs, a psychological sense of community is paramount for adjunct faculty. But contingent faculty often achieve that belonging in ways that differ from their full-time counterparts. For adjuncts, the needed connection to someone on their campus is just one person. Most participants referred to their connection by their first name without prompting during interviews. These unprompted name drops signified a close, trusting relationship with that person. For adjuncts with that type of connection, it is often enough to help them feel engaged with their college or university in a meaningful way.

Keep in mind that there is a direct link between workplace culture and well-being. People who feel valued and supported in their workplace tend to suffer less burnout, depression, and anxiety than those who do not.^[4] Therefore, administrators who directly supervise adjunct faculty play a critical role in their well-being. In the CCCU, most supervisors are department chairs. Because they have such an impact on adjuncts, training chairs to positively interact with their adjunct faculty is paramount. Unfortunately, chairs typically received little training at all. The onus, however, rests on CCCU institutions to provide training that promotes the well-being of their adjunct faculty.

When adjuncts have connections with colleagues in addition to their supervisor, it only increases the likelihood of developing institutional affinity. While still limited, these additional connections are most often with a small group—other faculty and administrators in their department. This sentiment was captured through statements such as, “I have a lot of connections with those in the Communications Department, not very much with anyone else.”

For the adjuncts in the study, a common theme arose regarding the needs fulfilled, or needing to be fulfilled, through relationships. For most, a positive relationship revolves around feeling trusted and valued. Not only do many adjuncts express their need to trust the institution(s) for which they work, but they expressed the necessity that the institution trusts them—and that they know it. Keep in mind that adjuncts who feel trusted and valued often do so through the relationship of “that one person” mentioned above.

The types of positive interaction required to foster well-being display characteristics such as loyalty, trust, and care for adjuncts’ best interest. One adjunct described their connection to their institution by saying, “I don’t have loyalty to institutions, but I do have loyalty there because they have reciprocated. They’ve said like, ‘Hey, you’re good at what you do. You’ve been here a long time. We’re going to do these things for you,’ you know.” Another adjunct expressed a willingness to go above and beyond in their work, stating that they will “do things for [the institution] to help them out, because I feel like they really respect me, and they really have my best interest at heart.”

Antithetically to positive adjunct connections, negative interactions with only a few individuals can create feelings of alienation for adjuncts. These types of interactions can happen with supervisors or other faculty. For example, when adjuncts feel uninformed by their institution, this silence can often lead to alienation. Interviews revealed instances when adjuncts learned of major changes their university made through their local news rather than their supervisor. Other instances described included only hearing from the supervisor when there is a problem or having no avenue to advocate for oneself. These types of interactions, or this lack of interaction, lead adjuncts to feel as if they do not matter to the institution.

Although full-time faculty can be a catalyst for positive institutional connection for adjuncts, when full-timers see themselves as “better than” adjuncts, it can be intensely alienating. One adjunct described this type of interaction by saying, “I feel the sense of like, ‘Well, you’re kind of beneath me because you’re an adjunct, and I’m a faculty person.’” While discussing the idea of alienation, another adjunct shared a similar sentiment: “I think alienating is [a good] term. I would add to it just as an enhancer [that it] just feels like I’m kind of beneath them in some sense.” For some adjunct faculty, the disconnect between them and their full-time peers is exceptionally salient. This disconnect was captured well when a participant stated, “The full-time faculty really don’t understand what it’s like to be an adjunct.”

It is important to note, however, that adjunct faculty do not necessarily suffer from imposter syndrome. Most of the contingent faculty at CCCU colleges and universities are credentialed and qualified to teach—and they know it. They are also aware that their relationship with their institution is symbiotic. They know that they provide a service the institution needs. Adjuncts teach because they either need gainful employment, as an outlet for their calling, or both. Colleges and universities need adjuncts most often to fill gaps in course loads and to remain financially solvent. Therefore, the relationship between institutions and their adjunct faculty needs to be nurtured. In the end, the goal for every college or university is captured by this adjunct who felt a strong connection to her institution: “I know the school, and the school knows me.”

These insights regarding adjunct faculties’ institutional connection, affinity, and well-being necessitate the development of support practices that can positively impact adjuncts. Nurturing adjunct relationships well centers on providing what they need. First, these provisions begin with providing practical needs, such as appropriate IT support. However, it is important that the communication adjuncts receive from their institutions includes much more than IT help. Second, and possibly most importantly, establishing clear channels of communication is paramount. Maintaining regular communication that includes a personal touch, such as, “How are you doing?” or “Is there anything you need?” and offering up any information that may help the adjunct feel a greater engagement with the institution will promote the institutional connection they so desire and need.^[5]

The future of the higher education world will likely continually live in tension between the use of adjuncts as part of a sustainable financial model for colleges and universities and the impact the adjunctification of higher education has on contingent faculty and student outcomes. Therefore, constant evaluation and adjustments are needed regarding how adjuncts are hired, onboarded, trained, and supported so that as the number of adjuncts continues to increase, the negative impact on their well-being and on student outcomes decreases. In the coming year, the CCCU hopes to conduct a nationwide quantitative study on adjunct faculty working at member institutions.

^[1] Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

^[2] Jenkins, R. (2014, December 15). Straight talk about ‘adjunctification’. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

^[3] Matthew J. Mayhew et al., How College Affects Students, First edition, The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2016).

^[4] Melnyk, B. M. (2024, May 13). Creating and Sustaining Wellness Cultures for Faculty, Staff, and Students to Thrive. Higher Education Today.

^[5] Enhancing Faculty Well-Being and Performance Through University Support: The Role of Resiliency and Proactive Personality in Remote Work. (2025). Higher Education Quarterly, 79(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12592

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Jeff Clawson, Ph.D., serves as the director of membership, grants, and research at the CCCU.