Colleges’ Use of Adjunct Instructors Comes Under Pressure – WSJ

Colleges’ Use of Adjunct Instructors Comes Under Pressure – WSJ.

I commented.

“What matters is not whether a university uses adjuncts;  what matters is how a university sees its students and what goals the administrators have for themselves.

If the university sees students as naïve consumers; and the administrators’ goals are self-aggrandizement (from rankings and money), then the university will fit David Riesman’s  description,

 “…advantage can…be taken of [students] by unscrupulous instructors and institutions..the student estate often does not grasp its own interests, and those who speak in its name are not always its friends.”

If the university sees students as young people with a need to learn, they will pick adjuncts based on their ability to achieve that.  (Normally, those adjuncts will cost more, but the university will be willing to pay.)

To see how Washington University sees its students, read “A Tale Out of School” on my blog, inside-higher-ed ,or, just search for them on the blog.  It is very different than schools like Carnegie Mellon.”