I wish here to respond to the comments accompanying the note circulated on JESSE LISTSERV. I am writing
not only as an adjunct but as the convener of the ALISE Part-time and Adjunct Faculty SIG.
First, I would like to remind our colleagues that PTA faculty are not the only educators
"who are judged in their student evaluations by how well they are liked." All faculty are submitted to the same multiple choice student evaluations and all educators are automatically entered by students in a popularity contest. Therefore it would seem
that our tenure track colleagues share our lot and would be as vulnerable as we are
in "want[ing] to be liked ] . . . [and being] more likely to assign 2 two-page essays and a multiple choice final exam for . . . [their] course, rather than a big term paper and other assignments and a comprehensive written
exam."
A prejudicial implication seems to be that adjunct and part-time faculty are not doing their job as educators properly because of the precariousness of their employment. Still, let us not debate this point;
I would like instead all our colleagues to focus their energies on trying to answer the question regarding the administration's role in supporting the goals of achieving popularity status rather than educational goals deserves consideration
as well as the question "what are the goals and motivations of higher education administrators for our LIS programs?" In particular, I would to invite Dr. Whitney to participate as a panelist in the Part-time and adjunct faculty SIG session
Casualties and Collateral Damages: A Critical Look at Educational Entrepreneurship
at the ALISE 2014 conference.
Catherine Closet-Crane, Phd, MLS
Convener ALISE PTA Faculty SIG