Think back on your college days and some of your favorite professors were likely adjuncts. Adjunct faculty have long played an essential role in higher education, offering colleges and universities an affordable, flexible way to staff courses while giving students access to teachers with real-world experience and the stories to go with it.
Yet, as colleges navigate challenging financial conditions and rising enrollment, the need for adjunct faculty is growing, creating new opportunities for professionals and schools.
“We are always looking for new adjuncts,” said Richard Wiscott, provost at Johnson & Wales University. “They bring current, real-world experience into the classroom and help keep our academic programs relevant.”
As of September, there were approximately 185 job postings from Rhode Island colleges and universities seeking adjunct professors, according to HigherEdJobs.com. ZipRecruiter reports that adjunct instructors in Rhode Island earn an average of $39.66 per hour, with wages ranging from $28.27 to $56.49. For many, these flexible teaching positions offer additional income or a post-retirement path.
“I’ve never been drawn to the idea of teaching full time, but I really value being able to bring real-world experience into the classroom. I love getting to work with the different students and focusing on the subjects where I have hands-on knowledge,” said Christine Gadbois, CEO of CareLink Inc., who has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Salve Regina University, Brown University, and will teach at Rhode Island College in the fall.
Gadbois is one of many professionals who bring their expertise into the classroom as adjuncts. It’s a role that colleges are increasingly working to support and strengthen.
“One of the challenges has been navigating the transition from student to instructor, especially at the same institution where I earned my degree,” said Shelby Perry, a New England Institute of Technology adjunct professor. “While it has been an incredibly rewarding shift, it also came with a learning curve. I had to learn how to establish expectations, build credibility and step confidently into a leadership role in the classroom.”
TEACHING PATHWAYS
To help prospective adjuncts prepare for teaching at the college level, both Johnson & Wales and the University of Rhode Island offer professional-development pathways.
“A lot of people who teach as adjuncts or per-course instructors are experts in their discipline – accounting, chemistry, art history – but they may not have any training in teaching. So, we’re trying to support our graduate students and part-time instructors,” said Annemarie Vaccaro, associate dean at URI’s Feinstein College of Education.
As Rhode Island’s colleges continue to adapt to changing student needs and institutional challenges, adjunct faculty are increasingly seen as a vital part of the solution.
URI is launching a new graduate certificate in college teaching this fall. Designed for anyone who wants to build on prior teaching experience, the program includes coursework and in-class teaching practice – valuable credentials for anyone hoping to break into higher education.
“We want people to walk away with a real toolkit – to know how to design, deliver and evaluate learning, whether in small classes, large classes, or online,” Vaccaro said.
The certificate program consists of four graduate-level courses that can be completed in as little as a year or spread out over two to three years. Courses are offered in a rotating cycle to make yearlong completion possible. All classes are in the evening, with a mix of in-person sessions and Zoom options to accommodate different schedules.
Two of the courses are fully online and synchronous. The other two include hybrid components, which were important to URI for the adjuncts to practice in a classroom. The certificate is open to instructors from across Rhode Island and nearby states.
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CLASS DISCUSSION: Annemarie Vaccaro, standing, dean and professor at the Feinstein College of Education, teaches a class on higher education at the University of Rhode Island. She is speaking with students, from left, Kelly Richmond, Kaitlin Bevins and Cassie Santiago.
PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM[/caption]
“It’s kind of hard to teach someone how to be in a classroom without ever having classroom experience. We’re trying to balance flexibility with the need for practical, hands-on learning,” Vaccaro said.
At Johnson & Wales, after getting hired, adjuncts go through the mechanics of teaching classes.
“We want to support them and for them to feel valued and be successful,” Wiscott said.
Many of the university’s most successful adjunct instructors are retired K–12 teachers who want to stay connected to education by teaching the occasional course. Regardless of the adjunct’s background, all go through training through the Center for Teaching & Learning, and all faculty, full time and adjunct, can also sign up for additional training and workshops as they desire.
The workshops are designed to help the faculty best support and engage students and faculty professional development.
“I’ve spent most of my career working in health care administration, so I’ve been able to teach health care policy and health care financing – subjects that give department of nursing students perspective on the overall health care landscape,” said Gadbois, who typically takes on one course per semester alongside her regular job.
Qualifications to become an adjunct professor vary by institution, but in most cases, a master’s degree in the field one hopes to teach is the baseline requirement. Additional experience, whether professional, academic or both, can make candidates more competitive.
Programs such as URI’s certificate program and Johnson & Wales’ training can help fill the gaps for those transitioning from K–12, corporate training or other nontraditional backgrounds.
“We haven’t even promoted the program widely yet, but we’ve already had 10 or 12 students reach out just by word of mouth,” Vaccaro said. “There’s a real demand for this kind of support.”
