http://www.northeastern.edu/cpspmportal/faculty/documents/SPCS_PM_Faculty_ListingWeb.pdf was researching this program, surprised how many adjunct professors teach for these programs, on site and dl. so, basically the entire programs are taught by associate or assistant professors, since associate or assistant is the definition of adjunct. The faculty listing shows 16 people working out of a home office and one Professor with an office at the campus. Is that normal?
You are incorrect regarding associate and assistant professors. Those are academic ranks, in most cases referring to tenured or tenure-track faculty.
If adjunct doesn't = associate / assistant, what is it? I assume an adjunct professor is not tenure track.
They probably hire primarily adjunct professors because it's a College of Professional studies, which means they want professionals with real world experience -- and not just full-time egghead research professors who have never worked in the real world. That's a smart marketing technique on the university's part; students know if a professor is BSing them or not! Regarding ranks like associate and assistant professors, those can be applied to full-time or to part-time professors; it's immaterial if a professor is an adjunct.
It is a ranking. Take a look at this (I added the bolding)- The University of South Florida Lakeland announced that Kim Lersch, Ph.D., associate professor of criminology, has been promoted to professor. With this achievement, Dr. Lersch becomes the first faculty member to earn promotion to professor at USF Lakeland. (Other faculty members came to the Lakeland campus having already achieved the rank of professor.) “Dr. Lersch has made significant contributions in teaching, scholarship and service, not only to USF Lakeland but also to the USF system,” said Judith Ponticell, Ph.D., associate vice president, Academic Affairs. “She demonstrates our commitment to academic excellence and applied research and learning. Her promotion to professor is an important step in the growth of USF Lakeland.” Promotion is based on careful evaluation of a candidate’s acknowledged record of success in teaching; established record of productive research or creative work of at least national visibility; substantive contributions in the area of service; and unmistakable evidence of significant achievement among peers in one’s discipline at the national or international level. The extensive process, which takes approximately one year to complete, involves evaluation reviews at a number of levels, both internal and external. USF Polytechnic: Kim Lersch promoted to Professor at USF Lakeland
Haha! If I were in your company I'd give you a high five for that statement. I always hated having profs who had never worked outside of academia. I mean, I suppose it's fine for a subject like history, but not for education. The same could be said for people who have retired and haven't been in the field for 20 years or so. -Matt
Yes, that is great feedback on Adjunct teachers for a Professional Studies program. I was trying to figure out if that meant they were a little less quality professor, but sounds like they would be more professional Professionals, and a little less professional Academics, which is probably good for a Project Management program through a College of Professional Studies; and thus higher quality for the program respectively.
In Canada, the term "adjunct" only means that the professor is not tenured or maybe not even paid by the university. It is possible to be an adjunct assistant/associate/full professor and make $0 from the university. However, many teach courses on a contract basis, but this is not necessarily a requirement. In Canadian universities, for example, an "adjunct" position is an honour bestowed by the Dean or higher upon an academic from another institution or company that can raise the profile for the university and conduct research under the auspices of the university. It allows an academic or business practitioner to be affiliated with a university for mutual benefit, while not being a full time employee and violating contracts and employment elsewhere. In the United States, it appears that "adjunct" is used more as a term for part-time or online instructors.
At the institutions I have been involved with, if you taught a for credit course part-time, then you were just an "adjunct." Of course, students, not really knowing the difference, might still call you professor. "Adjunct professor" was not a term that was allowed unless you were an actual professor (assitant, associate, or full) somewhere.
it is funny, I looked up info on one the Adjuct professors listed for a class at Northeastern, and they were a full time professor at Stonehill. So, in that case it appears an adjunct professor is just a contracted full time professor from another university, a hired gun in their field so to speak.
Yes, this is inline with the term "Adjunct Professor"... someone that is actually employed full-time at another university while teaching or conducting research. Alas, I think the term "adjunct" gets mixed up with "online instructor" or "part-time instructor"...incorrectly.
