<p>The adjunct profs can be good, bad or indifferent. Generally they are part-timers with other commitments teaching either to make ends meet or more likely because they actually enjoy it.</p>
<p>It is not necessarily a bad thing that universities use so many of them but when you are picking a top whatever national research university try to bear in mind that it makes its reputation based on the research it cranks out not the teaching it does. The theory is if you get smart enough kids you don’t need to teach them that much so you can spend more time on your research and writting.</p>