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Currently, more than 70 percent of all faculty at colleges and universities are in VITAL (Visiting, Instructors, Temporary, Adjunct and Lecturer) faculty positions. These faculty typically have minimal time to prepare for classes and are often hired days before the class starts.
They are left out of discussions and planning around curriculum or broader program and college goals. In addition, VITAL faculty are excluded from professional development and discussions about pedagogies that support student success such as collaborative or active learning.
The Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success, based at the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California, aims to change this situation.
For the seventh year, the team will recognize two institutions with a Delphi Award for providing transformative support for VITAL faculty. The Delphi project began conducting research on equity for faculty some 13 years ago.
In a recent podcast interview with HigherEdJobs, Adrianna Kezar, Pullias Center director, described the early days of the Delphi Project. Armed with years of research, the project’s goals include enhancing awareness about changing faculty trends and helping colleges to use data to better support contingent faculty.
Now, the project captures emerging policies and practices to support VITAL faculty – through the Delphi Award as well as research projects – and helps to develop and disseminate these new approaches.
Award Winners Share Innovations
Case studies highlight the 2023 award winners – University of Arizona and Loyola Marymount University, and finalist University of Massachusetts Amherst – on the center’s website. The winners were recognized at the American Association of Colleges & Universities’ annual meeting and received a cash prize of $15,000.
Highlights from the case studies include:
Loyola Marymount created a holistic environment where more than 950 contingent faculty are provided with clear rank and promotion criteria, fair faculty evaluation for part-time and full-time faculty and lecturers, and improved compensation and benefits. According to the case study, produced by the Pullias Center, the program also allows for contingent faculty participation in the Faculty Senate, class scheduling priority for part-time faculty, and annual and extended contracts that help ensure employment stability. The University of Arizona developed a Career-Track Faculty Model, which targets appointment, advancement and retention as key policy and practice areas for contingent faculty. The university significantly increased clarity and consistency in titles, roles and compensation, created a transparent and equitable pathway for career advancement, and examined faculty compensation, ultimately increasing the overall faculty salary pool by more than $500,000.
Kezar said previous award winners include the University of Denver, which has implemented contracts ranging from five to 10 years for full-time contingent faculty. Worcester Polytechnic Institute created a teaching-intensive tenure track role while Bay Path University focuses on a comprehensive set of changes for part-time faculty.
Salary is a major issue, with the average part-time faculty member receiving $24,000 in one year. Kezar noted that figure is about the same as a fast-food worker’s salary, or even less. Many award winners have worked to address the issue of salary and the 2023 winners are no exception, she said.
Various studies from the Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success have demonstrated how the working conditions for VITAL faculty, especially part-timers, work directly against the types of engagement needed for student success, and especially for first-generation, underrepresented minority and low-income students.
Who Should Apply for the Delphi Award?
Kezar said her team seeks applications from colleges and institutions that have “fully implemented the initiative.” Applicants should also be using data to evaluate changes and should be designed with VITAL faculty as partners.
Small groups – faculty task forces, faculty senates – as well as larger groups and organizations including associations, disciplinary societies and consortia may apply for the award. An individual may apply, but it must be on behalf of their institution. Applicants outside of colleges or universities must show that they are connected to and have an impact on colleges or universities.
“I really encourage campuses that are doing good work to submit [an application] and to be rewarded for their efforts,” said Kezar. “They serve as a beacon, a light for others and provide ideas that campuses may not otherwise be able to identify.”
Applications will be accepted until June 28, 2024.
The Delphi Award is sponsored by the TIAA Institute.