College Selection Guru

Fulltime professors abound in small colleges while there are more adjunct or part-time professors in large universities. Adjuncts now account for almost half of all college and university teachers in the U.S. The Department of Education disclosed that between 1995 and 1997, more than two-thirds of new professors were hired on a part-time basis only.

The presence of fulltime professors can really benefit college students. This implies that more attention is given to students and more emphasis is placed on their learning process. With professors teaching on a fulltime basis, coursework proves to be more challenging and rigid and students are encouraged to contribute to and actively participate in class. Fulltime professors in small colleges usually care more about their students than those in universities who are more concerned about doing research than teaching classes. The more personalized instruction available in colleges is due to the smaller class size which gives professors the opportunity to have a face-to-face interaction with their students.

On the other hand, a high number of adjunct professors in universities and colleges could mean less intensive teaching and less challenging learning experience. Most often than not, adjunct professors get low salaries without benefits. Being part-timers only, they tend to juggle several teaching jobs and commute daily to and from different schools in various locations. These factors may lead them to be less focused in teaching their courses at just one university making them less effective teachers than fulltime professors. This is, perhaps, the biggest disadvantage of adjunct teachers. Research has found that part-timers often use the traditional method of teaching and fail to include new methods thereby undermining the integrity of the college teaching profession. However, results of studies done on the differences in the quality of teaching by fulltime and part-time faculty remain inconclusive.

On the positive side, a review on the growth of part-time faculty in community colleges revealed that adjunct teachers provide “real word vocational experience” to the institution. This is seen as an advantage in that these part-timers enrich the students’ academic preparation for their future professions.

In choosing the right college for you, decide whether you want a personalized instruction from professors or be in an institution where you’re just a number in class and which utilize more part-time teachers. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of teachers in colleges and universities because they play an important role in earning your desired associate’s or bachelor’s degree. How they deliver their instructions to you is vital in your pursuit of gaining quality college education.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 7:36 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.