ETSU’s move toward a decentralized budgeting model allows the colleges better access to their funding. It still seems that this move will not fix the issue of adjunct pay that Adjunct Action addresses but will only shift the blame.
This problem cannot be solved by the colleges alone. In ETSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, adjunct faculty members making less than $800 per credit hour will be paid an extra $100 to counteract financial instability. This does not mention the adjuncts who are still making only $800 per credit hour. In consideration of the college’s support for adjuncts, this move may be a small one but an important one. It also shows that colleges can’t pay adjuncts what they deserve on their own terms and especially not without the appropriate funding. They need financial support from President Noland and the Board of Trustees, from state funding, from private donors, and of course, the students.
Though tuition has been steadily rising for the past few years, nothing (until now) has changed for adjunct pay. Students’ opinion on adjunct raises should matter as much as anyone’s, considering tuition pays for the courses they’re taking. More than 500 adjuncts teach about 25 percent of courses provided at ETSU, meaning a large portion of the student population directly interacts and benefits from adjunct faculty.
After attending the Adjunct Action protest, hearing the testimonies of one of the speakers and learning more about the disparities adjunct faculty face contextualizes the situation. Adjunct responsibilities as teachers (attending class, preparing material, lecture hours, grading assignments, etc.) match many of the same responsibilities full-time professors must adhere to, and yet adjuncts are paid what is strikingly below what they deserve.
While raising wages by an extra $100 is a good start for Adjunct Action, and though I certainly commend the College of Arts and Sciences for making that first step, I hope to see more progress in the future from the university as a whole.
