<p>I adjunct at a couple of local universities. It’s always part-time, and I don’t make much $$, but it carries with it the benefit of being “part-time”. School One wants me to split a sabbatical replacement with another adjunct in the fall, but together with School Two it would mean well over 40 hours/week. It would still amount to adjunct pay, so suddenly I would be “full-time” with “part-time” pay. I hate leaving them in the lurch to find another adjunct (or are we a dime-a-dozen?), but I just feel like it’s too much and not worth what it will cost me in effort, time, and stress. </p>
<p>I also don’t want to cut back at School Two, since I prefer the potential there and the sabbatical is a temporary situation. </p>
<p>Sorry, just feeling the need to vent a bit, since there is a lot of pressure on me/us right now to make a decision and, with D entering college in the fall, more money is always welcome. H thinks if I turn down School One, I could lose my position there altogether. If that were the case I think I could live with it.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> School One <em>should</em> hire a visiting assistant professor to replace the professor on sabbatical.</p>
<p>Adjuncts sometimes ARE a dime a dozen - it depends on your field. If you are in English or history or philosophy, or the life sciences, then they could probably find another adjunct within a week or so, especially if you live in or near an urban area. May take them a bit longer to find a social scientist but they could likely do it pretty quickly. If you teach nursing or accounting courses, that’s more difficult to find a replacement in. The physical sciences are probably in between.</p>
<p>I say, you have to take care of yourself and your family, and let the department take care of themselves. I don’t necessarily think you will lose your job there - especially if they really need someone to cover the service courses you teach. It’s always a possibility, but you could explain to them that you’re sorry, but you really can’t do more than the part-time work you’re already doing.</p>
<p>I am certain that the chairs at both places will understand if you do not accept a position. You don’t owe either of them anything except your best performance during the particular semester in which you are hired to teach. There are no promises of continuity in the adjunct world and no assumption of “getting your foot in the door” for a full-time position. I do not like to see people kill themselves for nothing. If full-time work for part-time pay doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work. Don’t feel guilty for one second. Stay at School Two if you prefer it. The chair at School One has ample time to find a replacement.</p>
<p>When I read your situation, to me it was very clear what you want and need to do:</p>
<p>“but I just feel it’s too much and not worth what it will cost me in effort, time, and stress.”</p>
<p>“I also don’t want to cut back at School Two, since I prefer the potential there and the sabbatical is a temporary situation.”</p>
<p>“I could lose my position there altogether. If that were the case I think I could live with it.”</p>
<p>From this its clear you’d be fine even if you lost your adjunct position. While flexibility is nice with part-time, it seems in this case, as you said, you’d be working full-time hours for part-time pay and benefits. IMHO, in the end, you’ll resent the work if you take the position. And who knows, a full time position may end up opening down the road at School Two down the road. Things have a way of working out if you follow your instinct (now if only I could take my own advice :).</p>
<p>Around this area, adjuncts often teach at more than one school. </p>
<p>How many courses do you usually teach between the two schools? How many more classes would you take on? </p>
<p>At our school, they have a contract that they can offer for someone who would teach five classes. It does not offer benefits, but it is about double adjunct pay, so it is not a bad deal.</p>
<p>^This semester I have what counts as 9 credits. Workload is running about 3 hours/credit/week. Taking on the additional load they are requesting would bring it to 14, and certainly over 40 hrs. skibum4 is right, I just have to grow a spine and tell them no.</p>
<p>14 credits is too much. (TRust me, I’m covering 16.5 this term!) The school needs to man up and give you full time pay if they want full time work.</p>
That’s the problem - two schools, neither of which is full time, but together they would be more than. And trust me, no one wants to hire faculty if they can avoid it.</p>
<p>Or prefer the college which has a proper policy to manage and prioritize enrollment in classes which are at full capacity, rather than expecting adjunct faculty to make the decisions on whether to allow additional students in excess of the stated capacity.</p>
<p>There were lawsuits over schools using adjuncts as full-time employees and not paying benefits. At our college they are careful to not give adjuncts more than five classes per year, but that does not include what people teach at other colleges in the region.</p>
<p>I would just be frank: taking the extra course(s) would give you a full-time work load at a fraction of what full-time professors are paid. Do not feel guilty. They do not feel guilty for paying you less to do what the full-time person would do…even if you are splitting it.</p>
<p>I agree with the posters who have said that it sounds as if for you the answer is not to take the second opportunity because you value your part time status more than the extra money, however to base your decision on because you are feeling frustrated with not getting full time pay I think is misguided. Unless these two schools are somehow related, working two part time positions at two totally different institutions does not entitle you to full time status and pay. Why not approach each school, tell them your situation, and ask each one for a full time spot?</p>
<p>Does the other adjunct want 50% of that split? Maybe that person is looking for more hours and wants 75% of those hours?? Would that work for you? I’m assuming that both colleges know you work at the other school. Just tell them it’s too much time.</p>
No it doesn’t, but I am entitled to say how much I will or won’t take on. You cannot imagine what schools go through to avoid adding another faculty line. Department at School Two would be happy to add me as a non-tenure track (I don’t want tenure track positions), but they can’t get a line approved. That’s the whole point of the adjuncts. And I almost feel like once you have indicated you are willing to work for peanuts, no one anywhere is going to offer you more than that.</p>
<p>
Most other ratios of the split would have one of us ending up with more than the allowable number of credits for adjunct status. And neither of us wants to end up with 3 of the labs, so the only numerically feasible alternative is also out. I expect that I will offer 2 labs and they will have to find a third adjunct.</p>