University of People Adjunct Jobs pay 600-675 per course

Discussion in 'Online & DL Teaching' started by smartdegree, Sep 8, 2021.

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  1. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    Last edited: Sep 8, 2021
  2. manuel

    manuel Member

    I guess that they have to pay you if they expect 15 hours a week for the course and we know that this is usually the minimum hours that you will be dedicating to grading and answering questions. I cannot see a full-time professor as a volunteer considering that one course takes your time to rest.
     
  3. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    It's an honorarium, a token gesture of appreciation, and to cover minor expenses. While it's still taxable income, it's really not pay per se, although some would argue the semantics.
    There are a lot of believers in UOP throughout academia, simply look at their academic partners, which brings many full-time professors to volunteer with them. Would certainly imagine they also provide a training ground for many aspiring faculty members who are trying to build up their curriculum vitae.
     
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  4. manuel

    manuel Member

    In 2012, I wanted to volunteer at UoP. But, the hours required were more than the hours required by other online courses. So, I was not able to volunteer. But, these courses help instructors to get experience before they can apply to any part-time position somewhere else.
     
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  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Not that there's anything wrong with this, but I gather that a lot of them are in lower income countries where that amount of money goes a lot further.
     
    smartdegree likes this.
  6. I am a volunteer adjunct at UoP (outside of teaching at Penn State and EGCC). The honorarium is based on how many students you have in class, the degree level you have, and whether you are teaching undergrad or grad courses. The below chart shows the honorarium volunteers are paid based on their course:

    upload_2021-9-8_12-20-17.png
     
  7. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    From reports I've read over the years, most of your time there is going to be spent grading discussion posts and handling peer grading disputes. If that's changed, I'd like to hear about it and how.
     
  8. From my experience teaching there, a majority of my time is spent grading and answering student questions on the material. UoP uses a peer grading model so instructors only have to grade certain assignments and then look over peer-assessed grades to ensure they are fair. I don't spend much time grading discussion posts.
     
  9. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    Thanks for your insight.

    Does UoP hire volunteer adjuncts from other countries as Steve mentioned? Or are all faculty US-based?

    Also, how much time do you dedicate to each class for both preparation and teaching (e.g. 10, 15, 20 hours a week?)
     
  10. I'm not sure if they hire outside of the US. For the amount of time I spend on prep and teaching, I would say a total of 10 hours would be fair. This was much more when I did my first class there but now I have all of my discussion resources and other course materials saved which I can easily repost and refer students to. UoP gives instructors 7 days to grade assignments after the due date but I normally get them done within 2-3 days.
     
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  11. SpoonyNix

    SpoonyNix Active Member

    UoP student here.

    I've had two undergrad profs that were US-based.
    One was in local law enforcement, got some grad degree, somehow ended up teaching here and then overseas, came back, got into insurance claims. He liked what UoP stood for and wanted to continue teaching while staying at his full-time job.
    Another had grad degree in project management I think, worked full-time, but believed in UoP and wanted to teach.
    I didn't get the impression either was looking to advance in teaching.

    I had a computer sci prof based in Asia, and one in Africa. The Asian guy was a full-time systems admin, the other guy was a programmer but I don't know what his employment status was.

    Each had one or more master degrees from their native continents.
     
  12. Asymptote

    Asymptote Active Member

    How frequently do their hire?
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

  14. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

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  15. jonlevy

    jonlevy Active Member

    UofP maybe good for getting some experience on the resume .
     
  16. Asymptote

    Asymptote Active Member

    What does the process of applying entail? What are they looking for? What is the typical experience for an UoP like?
     
  17. I started teaching at UoP back in December of 2020. I still teach there but I also now teach at Penn State in the MS Tax program and SNHU in the MBA program. The application process is easy, you fill out a volunteer application on their website which goes over your background, experience and teaching interests. Before joining UoP, I had no teaching experience. I teach accounting and personal finance courses there and in my regular career, I work at a big 4 accounting firm in taxation which fit perfectly for my courses.

    Once you are invited to interview, you complete an online course which goes over teaching expectations, what it is like to teach/be a student at UoP and to learn more about the University. You will then take part in a mock class where you have to grade various assignments and leave detailed feedback to the student. Based on how well you do in the course, they will either extend an offer or let you know that you did not pass. I originally volunteered with UoP to gain teaching experience while I am in my PhD program but I ended up staying because I believe in the mission the University has.

    Let me know if you have any other questions!

    Steve
     
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  18. Nemo

    Nemo Member

    I was not familiar with UoP before this last week, but I am quite interested in volunteering. I think they have a great mission and given my own struggles on the financial front that I wrestled with throughout my academic career, I admire their efforts. I'm filling out the application now and we'll see what happens. It doesn't seem a lot of their courses are really in the wheelhouse of a guy with a Ph.D. in CJ, but I'll see if I can fit in somewhere to help out.
     
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  19. Vicki

    Vicki Well-Known Member

    Ohhh…. Registrar is a job I have often considered.
     
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  20. Nemo

    Nemo Member

    Well, just as a follow-up, I'm not making it very far yet. They sent me the interview link but when I logged in, it was missing one of the links they stated necessary to do the feedback portion. I have tried over a couple of days now to get in touch to try and resolve this but no response. I'll keep updating here just to get information out for anyone coming across this with future interest.
     

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