Case Studies Highlight 2020 Delphi Award Winning Programs to Support Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

Louisiana State University and Northcentral University detail the paths they took to improve working conditions and professional development for adjunct faculty on their campuses.

Titled “Inclusive Faculty Development at Louisiana State University” and “Supporting Adjuncts from a Distance: Adjuncts as Subject Matter Experts & Values Members of the Northcentral University Community,” these new publications highlight the recent successful efforts these campuses have made to significantly improve their faculty policies and culture. The new publications, available for free download from the Pullias Center’s website, were written by Jordan Harper of the Pullias Center in collaboration with the featured campuses.

Louisiana State University (LSU) and Northcentral University (NCU) are the third set of winners of the Delphi Award, an annual $15,000 cash award given to individuals or organizations who have worked to support adjunct, contingent, and non-tenure-track faculty in promoting student success. The award is an initiative of The Delphi Project for the Changing Faculty and Student Success, an effort of the Pullias Center with the Association of American College and Universities (AAC&U) to help create new faculty models and better support faculty off the tenure track to enhance higher education institutions.

“Non-tenure-track faculty are an essential component of higher education who do the vast majority of teaching in colleges and universities while traditionally receiving significantly less institutional support and compensation in the face of many potentially daunting challenges,” notes Adrianna Kezar, director of the Pullias Center and Principal Investigator for the Delphi Project.  “The steps taken by Louisiana State University and Northcentral University are shining examples that can serve as a blueprint for other universities and colleges looking to make a difference for NTTF in their institutions.”

“Inclusive Faculty Development at Louisiana State University” examines the five-part framework of practices deployed by LSU to better support non-tenure-track faculty.  One part includes certified communication-intensive courses which embark on a pedagogy that promotes deeper learning of content while also providing advanced instruction on effective, discipline-specific communication skills.  Faculty-to-faculty and student-to-faculty Interaction spaces were created where students and faculty gather to use contemporary communication-intensive learning resources, technologies, and training. LSU also deploys multi-level professional development to support NTTF who are balancing numerous commitments.  Targeted outreaches and intentional timing, where NTTF have their own listservs and social media channels, ensure optimal timing for networking, professional, and developmental events, while LSU also works towards ensuring NTTF are given monetary support through professional development mini-grants.

“Supporting Adjuncts from a Distance: Adjuncts as Subject Matter Experts & Values Members of the Northcentral University Community” provides numerous instances and initiatives taken by the 100% online Northcentral University to support NTTF.  Northcentral University declared part-time adjunct faculty as vital actors in carrying out their mission for student success and initiated a task force to explore the working conditions and challenges adjunct faculty face. The task force findings led to several actions that benefit NTTF including the integration of adjuncts into University governance, the development of a substantive NTTF evaluation and feedback process, as well as a reworking of the NTTF compensation and benefits programs. NCU also provides professional development to help NTTF prepare for their responsibilities as adjunct faculty.

More information on the current status of non-tenure track faculty can be found in the State of the Faculty report from the Pullias Center.  Additional tools and resources from the Pullias Center and The Delphi Project to assist campuses in supporting non-tenure track faculty include Departmental Cultures and Non-Tenure-Track Faculty: A Self-Assessment Tool for Departments and Non-Tenure-Track Faculty on our Campus: A Guide for Campus Task Forces to Better Understand Faculty Working Conditions and the Necessity of Change. Additionally, case studies of last year’s award-winning projects from Penn State and Santa Monica College are also available on the Pullias Center website. AAC&U’s webinar with the 2019 winners is also available for viewing.

Representatives from the two winning institutions will officially receive their awards as part of the Association of American Colleges & Universities Annual Meeting on January 20-23, 2021.  Applications for the 2021 Delphi Award will become available in February 2021.  The Delphi Project has received generous funding from The Spencer Foundation, The Teagle Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York and TIAA-CREF Research Institute.