An Army of Temps

AFT 2020 Adjunct Faculty Quality of Work/Life Report

Randi Weingarten
president
Lorretta Johnson
secretary-treasurer
Evelyn DeJesus
executive vice president

OUR MISSION
The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic
opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and
our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing,
collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our members do.

Copyright © American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO (AFT 2020). Permission is hereby granted to AFT state and local affiliates
to reproduce and distribute copies of the work for nonprofit education purposes, provided that copies are distributed at or
below cost, and that the author, source, and copyright notice are included on each copy. Any distribution of such materials to
third parties who are outside of the AFT or its affiliates is prohibited without first receiving the express written permission of
the AFT.
Executive summary
This new report from the American Federation of Teachers exposes The decades-long crisis of contingent workers in our colleges and
the disturbing economic reality faced by millions of contingent and universities is in many ways the original “gig economy,” with all
adjunct faculty at the nation’s colleges and universities, with nearly its attendant woes: low wages, few benefits, little job security, and
25 percent relying on public assistance and 40 percent having the expenses of work being shifted from the employer to the
trouble covering basic household expenses. 1 at-will employee. Over the last four decades, the academic labor
pool has shifted dramatically: 40 years ago, 70 percent of aca-
“An Army of Temps: AFT 2020 Adjunct Faculty Quality of Work/ demic employees were tenured or on the tenure track. Today, that
Life Report” details feedback from 3,076 respondents to a survey figure has flipped: 75 percent of faculty are not eligible for tenure,
of contingent faculty at two-year and four-year institutions—both and 47 percent hold part-time positions.
public and private. The 52-question survey, completed between
May 22 and June 30, 2019, is the first nationwide survey of The AFT and our affiliates are committed to using political
contingent faculty conducted since 2013. Of the AFT’s 240,000 advocacy and collective bargaining to improve the lives of
higher education members, 85,000 are contingent and 35,000 are contingent faculty and the communities they serve. Before the
graduate employees—making the AFT the largest union of pandemic began, it would have taken federal and state invest-
contingent workers. ments of an additional $15 billion in higher education funding
over two years to get back to pre-recession levels of public
The report illustrates how precarious academic work was even investment in higher education. Directing those funds to instruc-
before the coronavirus pandemic, which has made a grave tion and to lowering tuition costs would have started to move the
situation even worse. When campuses were shut down in March, needle away from contingency and toward security for students
adjuncts were given only hours to move their classes online, often and the academic workforce. Post-COVID-19, the financial holes
without sufficient training or technical support to make the to be filled—both in public investment and in the lives of indi-
transition successful. Now, they face summer and fall semesters vidual adjunct and contingent faculty—will be even bigger, and
in which enrollment—and therefore their jobs—are in doubt. more perilous.
According to the survey, many were already struggling with food
insecurity, limited health coverage and housing issues, now
exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.
Overview of the respondents
Type of employment
The survey paints a vivid portrait of how contingency plays out in
the daily lives of millions of college and university faculty. • Full-time nontenure track: 12 percent
• Part-time instructor, lecturer or adjunct: 79 percent
• One-third of respondents earn less than $25,000 annually, • Graduate employee: 3 percent
placing them below the federal poverty guideline for a family • Professional staff: 3 percent
of four; • Other (other academic positions): 3 percent
• Only 15 percent report being able to comfortably cover basic
monthly expenses; Type of institution (Note: Respondents could report multiple
• Fewer than half of survey respondents have access to places of employment, which explains why the total exceeds 100
employer-provided health insurance; nearly 20 percent rely percent)
on Medicaid; • Four-year public: 46.3 percent
• About 45 percent of faculty members surveyed have put off • Four-year private, not-for-profit: 9.1 percent
getting needed healthcare, including mental healthcare; 65 • Four-year private, for-profit: 3.8 percent
percent forgo dental care; • Two-year public (community college): 61.0 percent
• 41 percent struggle with job security, reporting that they • Two-year private, not-for-profit: 0.5 percent
don’t know if they will have a teaching job until one month • Two-year private, for-profit: 0.6 percent
before the beginning of the academic year;
• For 3 out of 4 contingent faculty, employment is only guaran-
Race
teed from term to term; and
• A plan for a secure retirement is out of reach for most faculty, White, non-Hispanic: 77.7 percent
with 37 percent reporting they don’t see a path. Black, non-Hispanic: 4.1 percent
American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.4 percent
Hispanic/Latinx: 5.7 percent
1
We will use the word “adjunct” but we mean “adjunct and other contingent faculty,” Asian or Pacific Islander: 2.9 percent
which includes full-time nontenure-track faculty, instructors, lecturers, graduate Multiracial: 2.5 percent
employees, and more—essentially, absent contract protections that are still too rare in the
industry, all of these workers are temps. Prefer not to answer: 6.9 percent

AFT 2020 Adjunct Faculty Quality of Work/Life Report | 1

Gender
Female: 63.7 percent
Male: 33.1 percent
Gender queer/nonconforming: 1.1 percent
Transgender: 0.1 percent
Prefer not to answer: 2.7 percent

2 | American Federation of Teachers

Background
Today, most college and university instructors in the United States At the same time, disinvestment has led to skyrocketing tuition
are contingent faculty, with nearly 75 percent of all instructors not costs that have left students and their families borrowing to cover
eligible for tenure, and 47 percent holding part-time positions. the costs of college at rates they will never be able to pay back,
and have prevented many others from enrolling or completing
The erosion of tenure-line positions—and the protections they their studies.
provide—is not a recent development; tenure-track faculty
haven’t made up the majority of faculty in the U.S. since the The AFT believes that the continued disinvestment in public higher
1980s. But it is one of the most disturbing trends in American education is having disastrous consequences for our nation, our
higher education. In place of stable jobs filled by long-term members and the communities they serve. Faculty who are not free
employees, colleges and universities have replaced tenured to engage in controversial searches for new knowledge because
positions with an army of contingent faculty, including nonten- they fear losing their temp jobs are faculty who are hamstrung in
ure-track professors, adjuncts, lecturers, post-docs, teaching filling the role academics play in a free society. Students are not
assistants, instructors and graduate employees. These employees, receiving the best possible education when the instructor in front
whatever their working conditions or career stage, have one of them is struggling to decide whether to buy food or medicine,
important thing in common: They are all temps. and students’ futures are jeopardized when an inspiring professor
who could provide a recommendation or further mentorship is let
The lived experience of the people holding these temporary go as soon as the academic term ends. To secure the economic and
positions, and particularly part-time positions, is difficult: They are social prosperity and justice that our members, our students and
highly trained professionals in a skilled profession whose compen- our nation deserve, we must address the problems afflicting higher
sation doesn’t allow them to meet basic expenses; they get limited education. This means immediately seeking to restore and enhance
job security that lasts a few months at a time at most; they are funding for high-quality, affordable, accessible higher education,
offered minimal or nonexistent benefits; and they experience a and reducing institutions’ reliance on contingent faculty premised
pervasive lack of institutional support, beginning with not being on poverty wages and exploitation. If we want everything—these
provided office space or a computer and extending to their institutions and the democracy they serve—to go downhill faster,
systematic exclusion from campus safety planning, which even the we can instead continue to ignore this perilous state of affairs.
U.S. Department of Education says should engage all stakeholders.2

These poor working conditions compound the psychological toll

that contingent work takes on faculty, and particularly on faculty
who entered the profession hoping for tenure-track employment:
They cite a lack of access to mental health care and being treated
as a second-class institutional citizen by administrators; they
experience their work being devalued simply due to their title;
and they wrestle, usually privately, with constant worry and fear
over reappointment.

While postsecondary educational institutions are experiencing

record enrollments and a college degree is increasingly consid-
ered an economic necessity, state and local governments con-
tinue to dramatically decrease their levels of investment in public
colleges and universities. At the end of the 2016 academic year,
overall state funding for public two- and four-year colleges was
more than $15 billion below its 2008 pre-recession level in real
dollars (adjusted for inflation). This slashing of state funding has
exacerbated a decades-long trend toward relying on precarious
contingent academic labor. Colleges and universities are increas-
ingly relying on contingent faculty to do the bulk of undergradu-
ate instruction, justifying this shift due to shrinking state budgets,
even while high-level administrator positions rapidly expand.

2
https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1922-25045-3638/rems_ihe_
guide.pdf

AFT 2020 Adjunct Faculty Quality of Work/Life Report | 3

Survey results
Low pay and public assistance lead to only $28,000 in income before taxes and other deductions.
• Contingent faculty members want their contributions recognized
What is your estimated total individual income annually, across all with equitable compensation: More than 53 percent indicated
teaching and nonteaching positions? that they believe they should be paid at least $5,000 a course. An
Less than $25,000.............................................................. 31.0 percent increase in the per-course minimum to this range would immedi-
ately benefit the vast majority of contingent faculty today.
$25,001 – $50,000.............................................................. 32.7 percent
$50,001 – $75,000.............................................................. 18.8 percent What would you consider fair and adequate compensation, on
$75,001 – $100,000............................................................ 11.2 percent average, for a typical credit-bearing unit (for a 3-hour, 4-hour or
5-hour credit course) from your anchor teaching position?
More than $100,000............................................................ 6.3 percent
$2,000 or less....................................................................... 0.9 percent
About how much do you earn, on average, for a typical credit- $2,001 – $2,500.................................................................... 3.3 percent
bearing unit (for a 3-hour, 4-hour or 5-hour credit course) from your
$2,501 – $3,000.................................................................... 5.6 percent
anchor teaching position?
$3,001 – $3,500.................................................................... 9.1 percent
$2,000 or less..................................................................... 15.0 percent
$3,501 – $4,000.................................................................... 9.3 percent
$2,001 – $2,500.................................................................. 14.5 percent
$4,001 – $4,500.................................................................... 9.6 percent
$2,501 – $3,000.................................................................. 11.5 percent
$4,501 – $5,000.................................................................... 8.8 percent
$3,001 – $3,500.................................................................. 11.7 percent
$5,001 – $5,500.................................................................. 11.6 percent
$3,501 – $4,000.................................................................... 9.4 percent
$5,501 – $6,000.................................................................... 6.3 percent
$4,001 – $4,500.................................................................. 10.0 percent
$6,001 – $6,500.................................................................... 7.4 percent
$4,501 – $5,000.................................................................... 5.6 percent
$6,501 – $7,000.................................................................... 8.3 percent
$5,001 – $5,500.................................................................... 4.0 percent
More than $7,000.............................................................. 19.9 percent
$5,501 – $6,000.................................................................... 2.4 percent
$6,001 – $6,500.................................................................... 1.8 percent • Contingent faculty are not the only ones impacted by the
poverty wages they are being offered. As when Amazon CEO Jeff
$6,501 – $7,000.................................................................... 1.9 percent
Bezos’ employees collect food stamps or enroll in Medicaid
More than $7,000................................................................ 5.1 percent instead of receiving employer-paid benefits, taxpayers bear a
Not applicable..................................................................... 7.1 percent significant portion of the hidden costs of low-wage faculty work
in their respective states. Among those who participated in the
• Nearly one-third of respondents earn less than $25,000 a year, survey, a substantial minority subsidized their low wages with
placing them below the federal poverty guideline for a family public assistance: 25 percent of respondents reported applying
of four. Another third earns less than $50,000, which keeps for one or more public assistance program listed. (Respondents
them just above the poverty line but trapped in a vicious cycle were asked about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
of poverty—never earning enough to reach financial security Program; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
and not earning a low enough income to receive the assistance Infants, and Children; Temporary Assistance for Needy Fami-
that would enable them to plan for their future. lies; Supplemental Security Income; Unemployment Insurance;
• This low annual income is a consequence of the low pay for governmental housing assistance; and Medicaid.)4
instruction. More than 41 percent of respondents told us they are
paid less than $3,500 a course. Contingent work is not only temp Basic needs and food security
work; it is piece work. As described in the House Committee on
Education and Labor report, “The Just-in-Time Professor,” Which of the following best describes your ability to cover month-to-
contingent faculty usually are paid a fixed amount of compensa- month basic nonhousing, nonmedical expenses?
tion for each unit produced, regardless of how much time it takes Household can comfortably cover basic costs............... 16.3 percent
to produce. For these workers, the unit of production is a college
course.3 Teaching a “four-four” load (four courses over two
semesters) as the typical respondent to this survey does would 4
This finding is in line with the April 2015 “The High Public Cost of Low Wages” report
by the UC Berkeley Labor Center, finding that 25 percent of part-time college faculty
received some form of public assistance. http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/pdf/2015/
3
https://edlabor.house.gov/imo/media/doc/1.24.14-AdjunctEforumReport.pdf the-high-public-cost-of-low-wages.pdf

4 | American Federation of Teachers

Household has other income (from spouse/partner, For your most recent contingent appointment, how far in advance of
investments, trusts, etc.) that helps cover expenses...... 43.0 percent the first day of classes did you receive an appointment (or appoint-
Household is usually fine but struggles during ment renewal) letter or contract from the institution?
summer or winter breaks when I am not working......... 27.2 percent Less than 1 week prior........................................................ 6.4 percent
Household is struggling (e.g., either must borrow 1 to 2 weeks....................................................................... 12.8 percent
money, do without, or not pay some bills)..................... 13.5 percent
3 to 4 weeks....................................................................... 14.2 percent
• When asked about the ability to cover nonhousing, nonmedi- 5 to 6 weeks....................................................................... 10.1 percent
cal expenses, 40 percent of respondents report struggling at 7 to 8 weeks....................................................................... 12.5 percent
points throughout the year when they’re not actively teaching.
More than 2 months prior.................................................. 35.9 percent
Some struggle year-round. Because so many contingent
faculty members work term to term, we find the same prob- After semester started........................................................ 4.3 percent
lems that impact other forms of temporary contingent work.5 Did not receive.................................................................... 3.8 percent

Which of the following best describes your household’s ability to • Job security remains elusive for contingent faculty, regardless
cover month-to-month food expenses in the past 12 months? of the number of years of experience they have in the class-
Household had no problem or anxiety about room. Most respondents indicate they have been teaching for
consistently ccessing adequate food............................... 67.1 percent more than 10 years, but often don’t know until days or weeks
before an academic term whether their employment contract
Household at times had problems or anxiety will be renewed. Forty-one percent reported not knowing
about accessing adequate food, but meals whether they would be appointed to teach a class until a
were not substantially reduced....................................... 16.6 percent month before the academic term began, and 5 percent learned
Household reduced the quality and desirability of reappointment after the term had already began.
of diets, but the quantity of food intake and normal
eating patterns were not substantially disrupted.......... 10.0 percent What is the length of your average employment contract?
At times during the year, eating patterns of Less than an academic term.............................................. 5.9 percent
one household member (or more) were disrupted
Academic term................................................................. 71.8 percent
and food intake reduced because the household
lacked money or other resources for food........................ 6.2 percent Academic year.................................................................. 16.4 percent
Multiple academic years.................................................. 10.4 percent
• The low pay that contingent faculty face has also led to food
insecurity among some faculty members and their families, • For 3 out of 4 contingent faculty members, employment is only
with 26 percent saying they had problems accessing adequate guaranteed academic term to academic term. This leaves
food or opted to reduce the quality of food they eat to get by, instructional faculty in a perpetual state of anxiety and uncer-
and 6 percent reporting they’ve had to eat less to get by in the tainty about whether they’ll be employed in six months, and this
last year. anxiety impacts every decision they make, in and out of the
classroom. This can mean delays in starting families and buying
Lack of job security homes, but it can also mean being unsure of their ability to
support and mentor students they’re teaching. Only 10 percent
How many years have you been teaching in higher education/ of the survey-takers had contracts across multiple years.
postsecondary education, including time as a graduate employee?

1-3 years.............................................................................. 9.7 percent Healthcare

4-6 years............................................................................ 13.3 percent Where do you get your health insurance?
7-9 years............................................................................ 12.1 percent
Your employer.................................................................. 41.4 percent
10-15 years........................................................................ 25.2 percent
Spouse’s or domestic partner’s employer....................... 26.8 percent
More than 15 years........................................................... 39.8 percent
Purchasing individual or family coverage...................... 14.1 percent
Medicare/Medicaid.......................................................... 19.7 percent
5
https://www.gao.gov/assets/670/669766.pdf
I don’t have health insurance............................................ 5.0 percent

AFT 2020 Adjunct Faculty Quality of Work/Life Report | 5

• Less than half of the survey respondents currently access Retirement
health insurance through their employer. The low coverage is
likely the result of the Internal Revenue Service guidance to How secure do you feel about your retirement plan? (Check all that
colleges and universities on employer obligations to provide apply)
full-time employees with health coverage under the Afford- I and/or my spouse/domestic partner put
able Care Act. For contingent faculty, the guidance suggests money into a retirement plan every month................... 44.0 percent
using a multiplier for classroom hours taught that rarely
results in contingent faculty being considered full-time even I and/or my spouse/domestic partner put
if in actuality they’re working more than 30 hours a week. money into a retirement plan on a yearly basis............... 8.6 percent
• This dependence on partners’ earnings/benefits also creates I and/or my spouse/domestic partner have an
tremendous pressure on relationships, leaving people vulner- employer that puts money into a retirement
able to economic imperatives to get or stay in relationships plan every month............................................................. 27.1 percent
that don’t serve them well in other ways. I and/or my spouse/domestic partner have an
employer that puts money into a retirement plan
Have you had to do any of the following in the past 12 months on a yearly basis.................................................................. 4.8 percent
because of the cost of healthcare?
I and/or my spouse/domestic partner are relying
Put off/postponed getting dental care/checkups.......... 65.5 percent on Social Security to cover most of our
Put off/postponed getting healthcare (including expenses in retirement..................................................... 13.3 percent
mental health services) that you needed........................ 45.4 percent I cannot imagine how I’ll retire....................................... 37.4 percent
Did not go to see a doctor................................................ 41.8 percent
• A plan for secure retirement remains out of reach for most
Did not fill a prescription for medicine.......................... 19.6 percent
faculty today. Even with a large number contributing to their
Did not get a medical test/treatment own retirement (44 percent report monthly contributions) and
that was recommended by a doctor................................ 29.2 percent employer contributions (27 percent), we were shocked to find
Chose a less expensive treatment than that 37 percent said they cannot imagine how they’ll retire.
the one your doctor recommended................................ 22.8 percent Clearly, low wages, lack of job security and the high medical
bills have created a situation in which a significant percentage
Cut pills in half/skipped doses of medicine................... 11.8 percent
of contingent faculty feel that retirement is out of reach even
Skipped/postponed rehabilitation care that when they are actively saving for it.
your doctor recommended.............................................. 17.1 percent
How old are you?
• It’s shockingly common for contingent faculty to put off seeing
Under 25.............................................................................. 0.4 percent
a doctor because of costs not covered by their insurance.
Twenty percent have not filled a prescription due to costs, and 25-29.................................................................................... 1.9 percent
10 percent have resorted to cutting pills in half or skipping 30-39.................................................................................. 15.4 percent
doses of medication.
40-49.................................................................................. 19.2 percent
Does your employer provide or offer any of the following benefits as 50-59.................................................................................. 25.5 percent
part of employment? 60-69.................................................................................. 27.0 percent
Paid parental leave........................................................... 14.5 percent 70 or older......................................................................... 10.6 percent
Paid family leave............................................................... 17.4 percent
• The idea that contingent faculty cannot imagine how they’ll
Paid sick leave................................................................... 54.2 percent
retire is even more disturbing when the age of survey-takers is
considered: Sixty-three percent are 50 or older. Faculty
• When family crises arise, contingent faculty are often out of
members who should be preparing for retirement, with some
luck. Only 17 percent report being offered paid family leave by
considerable progress toward retirement security, are instead
their employer; 14 percent report having paid parental leave.
wondering how long they’ll be able to stay in the classroom,
This is a stressor for any employees who have a sick family
continuing to focus on just getting by.
member or relative, often forcing them to choose between
their job or their family.

6 | American Federation of Teachers

The impact on students
What students experience once they enter college matters. It When this happens, the knowledge that they have about their
matters more to students who are the first in their families to attend students and the strengths and weaknesses of the courses they
college, because first-generation prospective students are less teach are not taken into consideration. In short, while many
likely to enroll in college and more likely not to complete their contingent faculty members are excellent teachers, their expertise
degrees unless they have strong academic support.6 Robust student and commitment is not recruited or deployed adequately by their
support services are crucial to the success of every college student, departments or institutions to enhance the education experience
but it is the faculty who are the linchpin to student success. It’s not for students.
just the professor leading a classroom—it’s the conversations
during office hours, the opportunities for collaboration on In treating contingent faculty as temporary workers rather than as
research, and the ongoing mentorship throughout college that not employees, colleges and universities are undermining the well-
only breed academic success in the classroom, but also produce being of the campus community. Instructors who are hired just
the innovative thinkers and engaged citizens a thriving democracy weeks or days before classes begin are often unable to receive
requires. The continuing trend of contingency undermines the institutional trainings directed at ensuring campus health and
faculty role in student success. safety, and which their colleagues with no employment end date
are routinely required to undergo. Faculty members, whether
Disinvestment by state legislators has led to financial pressure on contingent or not, are the first to see and respond to problems as
public colleges and universities to treat the people who most often they arise for students—but more often than not, they are not
interact with the newest and most vulnerable students as “temps.” prepared to put this privileged information to use for the protection
As a result, the majority of college educators are without the of everyone on campus.
professional supports they need to provide the highest-quality
education to their students. Faculty who are not assigned office Has your institution provided you with adequate training and/or
space or given compensated time to meet with students cannot information to prepare you for the following?
readily hold office hours. Faculty who are not paid to design or Don’t
adjust their syllabuses—who may not even be permitted to do Yes No know
so—cannot change their reading lists to adapt to developments or A natural disaster occurring 30.4 58.9 10.7
questions that arise during a semester, cannot modify assignments during a class on campus percent percent percent
to incorporate new research, and cannot adapt the modes of
An emergency situation on 49.1 44.4 6.6
instruction to meet students’ needs.
campus percent percent percent
The growth of contingency has exacerbated other trends in higher Directing students who come to 51.6 41.5 6.9
education that have a direct impact on the quality of education you and have been victims of percent percent percent
provided to students. The American Association of University crimes on campus
Professors notes numerous threats to the quality of education in In Directing students who come to 51.4 42.3 6.3
Defense of Knowledge and Higher Education7—the demands to you and have been targets of percent percent percent
vocationalize the college curriculum, the attacks on faculty by prejudice/discrimination on
those who seek to politicize research and teaching, and the campus
subversion of the very concept of “expert knowledge” by political Directing students who come to 45.3 46.3 8.4
leaders. Faculty have been on the frontlines resisting these trends, you and have witnessed an act of percent percent percent
but they are only able to do so with the protections of academic bias/intolerance on campus
freedom. The lack of meaningful job security means that contin-
Taking steps if a student comes to 53.3 41.2 5.6
gent faculty are often put in the position of placing their expertise
you with signs of depression or percent percent percent
on the shelf and toeing the line in order to keep their jobs. The
other mental health issues
result is a college experience in which students are not pushed to
think critically or exposed to controversial or innovative ideas. Taking steps if you feel a student 49.8 43.8 6.4
is a threat to themselves or percent percent percent
Faculty in contingent positions are often cut out of department and others
institution-wide planning, though they may teach the majority of Taking steps if a student or 56.9 37.6 5.5
some types of courses, especially in community colleges and at the colleague sexually harasses you percent percent percent
introductory and developmental levels in four-year institutions. Taking steps if a student comes 56.1 37.5 6.4
to you and reports experiencing percent percent percent
unwanted sexual advances from
6
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018421.pdf another campus employee
7
https://www.aaup.org/file/DefenseofKnowledge.pdf

AFT 2020 Adjunct Faculty Quality of Work/Life Report | 7

Contingent Faculty Quality of Work/Life Survey
FEBRUARY 2020
This report is based on the first nationwide survey of adjunct and other contingent faculty to be circulated since 2013. The 52-question survey was completed by 3,076 contingent
faculty—adjuncts/part-time faculty, full-time nontenure track faculty, and graduate employees—between May 22 and June 30, 2019. AFT and our affiliates advertised the survey via
email and social media. While the resulting sample is not random, taken together with other sources of feedback from and information about contingent faculty and their work/life
conditions, we believe that the size of the sample allows us to draw some robust conclusions about the conditions faced by this new majority of college faculty in the United States.

LOW PAY AND PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

• A third of respondents earn less than $25,000 a year, placing them below the federal poverty guideline for a
family of four. Another third earn less than $50,000, which keeps them just above the poverty line but trapped
in a vicious cycle of poverty—never earning enough to reach financial security but not earning little enough to
receive the assistance that would enable them to plan for their future.

What is your estimated total individual income annually,

across all teaching and nonteaching positions?

6%

11%
31%

19%

33%

Less than $25,000 $25,001 – $50,000 $50,001 – $75,000 $75,001 – $100,000 More than $100,000

About how much do you earn, on average, for a typical credit-bearing unit (for a
3-hour, 4-hour or 5-hour credit course) from your anchor teaching position?
16%
14% Randi Weingarten Lorretta Johnson Evelyn DeJesus
12% president secretary-treasurer executive vice president
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
 33%

• This low annual income is a consequence of the low pay for instruction. More than 41 percent of respondents told us that
they are paid less than $3,500 a course. Contingent work is not only temp work; it is piecework. As described in a report
by Less
the House Committee
than $25,000 on Education
$25,001 – $50,000and$50,001
the Workforce, “The$75,001
– $75,000 Just-in-Time Professor,”
– $100,000 Morecontingent faculty usually are
than $100,000
paid a fixed amount of compensation for each unit produced, regardless of how much time it takes to produce. For these
workers, the unit of production is a college course.1 Teaching a “four-four” load (four courses over two semesters), as is
typical of survey respondents, would lead to only $28,000 in income before taxes and other deductions.

About how much do you earn, on average, for a typical credit-bearing unit (for a
3-hour, 4-hour or 5-hour credit course) from your anchor teaching position?
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%

le
0

00
s
es

50

00

50

00

50

00

50

00

50

00

ab
,0
l

2,

3,

3,

4,

4,

5,

5,

6,

6,

7,

lic
or

$7
-$

-$

-$

-$

-$

-$

-$

-$

-$

-$

pp
00

an
01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

ta
,0

th
,0

,5

,0

,5

,0

,5

,0

,5

,0

,5
$2

No
$2

$2

$3

$3

$4

$4

$5

$5

$6

$6

e
or
M
• Contingent faculty members want their contributions recognized with equitable compensation: More than 53 percent
indicated that they believe at least $5,000 a course would be considered “fair and adequate compensation.”

• Contingent faculty are not the only ones impacted by the poverty wages they are being offered. As when Jeff Bezo’s
employees collect food stamps or enroll in Medicaid instead of receiving employer-paid benefits, taxpayers bear a
significant portion of the hidden costs of low-wage faculty work. A substantial minority of survey respondents subsidized
their low wages with public assistance: 25% of respondents applied for one or more public assistance program. (The
survey asked about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, Unemployment Insurance,
Governmental housing assistance, and Medicaid). This finding affirms “The High Public Cost of Low Wages” report by the
UC Berkeley Labor Center, which found that 25% of part-time college faculty received some form of public assistance.

What would you consider fair and adequate compensation, on

average, for a typical credit-bearing unit (for a 3-hour, 4-hour or 5-
hour credit course) from your anchor teaching position?
More than $7,000
$6,501-$7,000
$6,001-$6,500
$5,501-$6,000
$5,001-$5,500
$4,501-$5,000
$2,501-$3,000
$2,001-$2,500
$2,000 or less

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

1 House Committee on Education and the Workforce Democratic Staff, “The Just-in-Time Professor” (January 2014).
 What would you consider fair and adequate compensation, on
Contingent Faculty Quality of Work/Life Survey
average, for a typical credit-bearing unit (for a 3-hour, 4-hour or 5-
hour credit course) from your anchor teaching position?
FEBRUARY 2020
This report is based on the first nationwide survey of adjunct and other contingent faculty to be circulated since 2013. The 52-question survey was completed by 3,076 contingent
More than $7,000
faculty—adjuncts/part-time faculty, full-time nontenure track faculty, and graduate employees—between May 22 and June 30, 2019. AFT and our affiliates advertised the survey via
$6,501-$7,000
email and social media. While the resulting sample is not random, taken together with other sources of feedback from and information about contingent faculty and their work/life
conditions, we believe that the size of the sample allows us to draw some robust conclusions about the conditions faced by this new majority of college faculty in the United States.
$6,001-$6,500
$5,501-$6,000
$5,001-$5,500
$4,501-$5,000 BASIC NEEDS AND FOOD SECURITY
$2,501-$3,000
$2,001-$2,500
• When asked about the ability to cover nonhousing, nonmedical expenses, 40 percent of respondents
report struggling
$2,000 or less at points throughout the year when they’re not actively teaching. Some struggle
year-round. Because so many contingent faculty members work term to term, we find they have the
same problems that0% affect other forms
5% of temporary 10%
contingent work.15%
1 20% 25%

Which of the following best describes your ability to cover

month-to-month basic nonhousing, nonmedical expense?

Household is struggling (e.g., either must borrow money,

do without, or not pay some bills)

Household is usually fine but struggles during summer or

winter breaks when I am not working

Household has other income (from spouse/partner,

investments, trusts, etc.) that helps cover expenses

Household can comfortably cover basic costs

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Randi Weingarten Lorretta Johnson Evelyn DeJesus

president secretary-treasurer executive vice president
 • The low pay that contingent faculty face has also led to food insecurity among some faculty members
and their families, with 26 percent saying they had problems accessing adequate food or, to get by,
opted to reduce the quality of food they ate, and 6 percent reporting they’ve had to eat less in the
last year to get by.

Which of the following best describes your household’s ability to

cover month-to-month food expenses in the past 12 months?

At times during the year, eating patterns of one household

member (or more) were disrupted and food intake
reduced because the household lacked money or other…

Household reduced the quality and desirability of diets,

but the quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns
were not substantially disrupted

Household at times had problems or anxiety about

accessing adequate food, but meals were not substantially
reduced

Household had no problem or anxiety about consistently

accessing adequate food

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

How many years have you been teaching in higher

education/postsecondary education, including time as a
graduate employee?

More than 15 years

10-15 years

7-9 years

4-6 years

1-3 years

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

1 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Contingent Workforce: Size, Characteristics, Earnings, and Benefits, GAO-15-168R (April 20, 2015).
 Which of the following best describes your household’s ability to
Contingent Faculty Quality of Work/Life Survey
cover month-to-month food expenses in the past 12 months?
FEBRUARY 2020
At times during the year, eating patterns of one household
This report is based on the first nationwide survey of adjunct and other contingent faculty to be circulated since 2013. The 52-question survey was completed by 3,076 contingent
member (or more) were disrupted and food intake
faculty—adjuncts/part-time faculty, full-time nontenure track faculty, and graduate employees—between May 22 and June 30, 2019. AFT and our affiliates advertised the survey via
reduced because the household lacked money or other…
email and social media. While the resulting sample is not random, taken together with other sources of feedback from and information about contingent faculty and their work/life
Household
conditions, we believe that the size ofreduced the
the sample quality
allows us toand
drawdesirability
some robust of diets, about the conditions faced by this new majority of college faculty in the United States.
conclusions
but the quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns
were not substantially disrupted

Household at times had problems or anxiety about

LACK OF JOB SECURITY
accessing adequate food, but meals were not substantially
reduced

Household had no problem or anxiety about consistently

accessing adequate food
• Job security remains elusive for contingent faculty, regardless of the number of years of experience
they have in the classroom. Most respondents indicate they have been teaching for 10-plus years, but
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
often don’t know until days or weeks before an academic term whether their employment contract
will be renewed.

How many years have you been teaching in higher

education/postsecondary education, including time as a
graduate employee?

More than 15 years

10-15 years

7-9 years

4-6 years

1-3 years

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Randi Weingarten Lorretta Johnson Evelyn DeJesus

president secretary-treasurer executive vice president
• Forty-one percent reported not knowing whether they would be appointed to teach a class until a
month before the academic term began, and 5 percent learned of reappointment after the term had
already began.

For your most recent contingent appointment, how far in

advance of the first day of classes did you receive an
appointment (or appointment renewal) letter or contract from
the institution?

Did not receive

After semester started

For your most recent contingent appointment, how far in
More than 2 months prior
advance of the first day of classes did you receive an
7 to 8 weeks
appointment (or appointment renewal) letter or contract from
5 to 6 weeks
the institution?
3 to 4 weeks
Did not receive
1 to 2 weeks
After semester started
Less than 1 week prior
More than 2 months prior
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
7 to 8 weeks

5 to 6 weeks

3 to 4 weeks
What is
• For 3 in 4 contingent the members,
faculty length ofemployment
your average
is onlyemployment
guaranteed from term to term. This
leaves instructional 1 to 2 weeksin a perpetual state of anxiety and uncertainty about whether they’ll
faculty
still be employed
contract?
Less than in six months,
1 week prior and this anxiety affects every decision they make, in and out of the
classroom. This can mean delays in starting families and buying homes, but it can also mean being
unsure of their ability to support 0% and mentor
5% 10%
the students15% 20%
they’re teaching. 25% 30%
Only 10 percent of 35%
the 40%
Multiple academic years
survey-takers had contracts across multiple years.

Academic year

What is the length of your average employment

Academic term
contract?

Less than an academic term

Multiple academic years

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Academic year

Academic term

Less than an academic term

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Contingent Faculty Quality of Work/Life Survey
FEBRUARY 2020
This report is based on the first nationwide survey of adjunct and other contingent faculty to be circulated since 2013. The 52-question survey was completed by 3,076 contingent
faculty—adjuncts/part-time faculty, full-time nontenure track faculty, and graduate employees—between May 22 and June 30, 2019. AFT and our affiliates advertised the survey via
email and social media. While the resulting sample is not random, taken together with other sources of feedback from and information about contingent faculty and their work/life
conditions, we believe that the size of the sample allows us to draw some robust conclusions about the conditions faced by this new majority of college faculty in the United States.

HEALTHCARE

• Fewer than half of the survey respondents currently access health insurance through their employer.
The low coverage is likely the result of the Internal Revenue Service guidance to colleges and
universities on employer obligations to provide full-time employees with health coverage under the
Affordable Care Act. For contingent faculty, the guidance suggests using a multiplier for classroom
hours being taught that rarely results in them being considered full-time, even if they’re actually
working more than 30 hours a week.

• This dependence on partners’ earnings/benefits also creates tremendous pressure on relationships,

leaving people vulnerable to economic imperatives to get in or stay in relationships that don’t serve
them well in other ways.1

Where do you get your health insurance?

I don't have health insurance

Medicare/Medicaid

Purchasing individual or family coverage

Spouse’s or domestic partner’s employer

Your employer

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Have you had to do any of the following in the past 12 months

because ofLorretta
Randi Weingarten the cost of healthcare?
Johnson Evelyn DeJesus
president secretary-treasurer executive vice president

Skipped/postponed rehabilitation care that your doctor…

Cut pills in half/skipped doses of medicine

Chose a less expensive treatment than the one your…

 Your employer

• It’s shockingly common for contingent faculty to put off seeing a doctor because of costs not covered
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
by their insurance. Twenty percent have not filled a prescription due to costs, and 10 percent have
resorted to cutting pills in half or skipping doses of medication.

Have you had to do any of the following in the past 12 months

because of the cost of healthcare?

Skipped/postponed rehabilitation care that your doctor…

Cut pills in half/skipped doses of medicine

Chose a less expensive treatment than the one your…

Did not get a medical test/treatment that was…

Did not fill a prescription for medicine

Did not go to see a doctor

Put off/postponed getting healthcare (including mental…

Put off/postponed getting dental care/checkups

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

• When family crises arise, contingent faculty are often out of luck. Only 17 percent report being
offered paid family leave by their employer; 14 percent report having paid parental leave. This is a
stressor for any employee who has a sick family member or relative, often forcing them to choose
between their job and their family.

Does your employer provide or offer any of the

following benefits as part of employment?

Paid sick leave

Paid family leave

Paid parental leave

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

How secure do you feel about your retirement plan? (Check all
that apply)
1 Francis, Stacy. (2019, August 13). Money stress traps many women into staying in unhappy marriages.
I cannot imagine how I’ll retire.
Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/13/money-stress-traps-many-women-into-staying-in-unhappy-marriages.html.

I and/or my spouse/domestic partner are relying on Social

Contingent Faculty Quality of Work/Life Survey
Does your employer provide or offer
FEBRUARY 2020 any of the

following benefits as part of employment?

This report is based on the first nationwide survey of adjunct and other contingent faculty to be circulated since 2013. The 52-question survey was completed by 3,076 contingent
faculty—adjuncts/part-time faculty, full-time nontenure track faculty, and graduate employees—between May 22 and June 30, 2019. AFT and our affiliates advertised the survey via
email and social media. While the resulting sample is not random, taken together with other sources of feedback from and information about contingent faculty and their work/life
conditions, we believe that the size of the sample allows us to draw some robust conclusions about the conditions faced by this new majority of college faculty in the United States.
Paid sick leave

RETIREMENT
Paid family leave

• A plan for secure retirement remains out of reach for most faculty today. Even with large numbers
contributing to their own retirement (44 percent report monthly contributions) and receiving
Paidemployer contributions (27 percent), we were shocked to find that 37 percent said they cannot
parental leave
imagine how they’ll retire. Clearly, low wages, lack of job security and high medical bills have created
a situation in which a significant percentage of contingent faculty feel that retirement is out of reach
even when they 0%are actively
10%saving for
20%it. 30% 40% 50% 60%

How secure do you feel about your retirement plan? (Check all
that apply)

I cannot imagine how I’ll retire.

I and/or my spouse/domestic partner are relying on Social

Security to cover most of our expenses in retirement.
I and/or my spouse/domestic partner have an employer
that puts money into a retirement plan on a yearly basis.
I and/or my spouse/domestic partner have an employer
that puts money into a retirement plan every month.
I and/or my spouse/domestic partner put money into a
retirement plan on a yearly basis.
I and/or my spouse/domestic partner put money into a
retirement plan every month.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Randi Weingarten Lorretta Johnson Evelyn DeJesus

president secretary-treasurer executive vice president
• The idea that contingent faculty cannot imagine how they’ll retire is even more disturbing when
the age of survey-takers is considered: 64 percent are 50 or older. Faculty members who should be
preparing for retirement, with some considerable progress toward retirement security, are instead
wondering how long they’ll be able to stay in the classroom, continuing to focus on just getting by.

How old are you?

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Under 25 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70 or older
American Federation of Teachers, afl-cio
555 New Jersey Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
202-879-4400

#FundOurFuture