Great piece fellow Scholars!

I know what would motivate me as an online adjunct that lives right around the corner…tickets to events on campus and free continuing education courses. ;-)

I don't think the solutions are always about scholarly work ideas. Sometimes it can be helpful to make adjuncts feel apart of the larger on-campus academic community. Guest lecturing both in an online video (live or pre-recorded format) or ground format could be another idea for those who enjoy that aspect of teaching. Promoting adjuncts to areas of service or advancement is always important as well and helps to further one's academic career. I completed a study on burn-out and know all about if from an adjunct perspective and as I interviewed my participants. My study revealed that full-timers felt better about their jobs than did the adjuncts. The bottom-line is adjuncts want to feel appreciated, valued, given sufficient pay for their work with raises over time, opportunities for advancement, service, leadership, and a sense of community. Great study. Now we need to see how leadership in higher education institutions will use these stats with results for our growing body of adjunctpreneurs.

Dr. Lisa Marie Portugal

Greetings Jean, Justin, Shanna, and Christina,

I found myself fully engrossed in your presentation on faculty engagement in comparative learning environments. As the percentage of online adjunct professors increases the importance of the topic you have broached will be essential for university consideration as they strive to achieve academic excellence. You have laid excellent groundwork for future studies.

In reviewing your presentation I found what seem to be three minor wording issues; two on page 15 and one on page 18. On page 15, under "Discussion," the manuscript reads, in part, "It was originally hypothesized that full-time faculty would have higher engagement scores and a thus equally reflect a higher sense of community . . ." I think the sentence would flow better if the a accented were removed. Also on page 15, the manuscript reads, "With the increased focus fiscal accountability in . . ." I believe the word "on" should be inserted between "focus" and "fiscal." On page 18, the manuscript reads, "as well as a faculty learning communities . . ." As in the first example, the thought would flow better without the a between "as" and "faculty." These issues are minor in an otherwise expertly written presentation.

Thank you for your presentation and for presenting this needed research.

Blessings,

Ron Steadman

I completely enjoyed reading this article. Engagement is a topic that interests me very much. I would also hypothesize that people who work as adjuncts tend to have a more distant relationship with the institutions they work for. Since adjuncts can live anywhere if they are online instructors, many times they do not even live near the college they work for or work for multiple colleges. Many times there are opportunities to be further involved. For instance, GCU offers the Online Teaching Showcase and opportunities to attend graduation. How many adjuncts take the university up on these offers, however? It reminds me of the old adage that you can lead a horse to water but cannot make him drink. 

I know from experience that as an adjunct, one sees the job as another means of money or a way to share life experiences and knowledge. As a  full-time faculty member, one feels more a part of the structure of the institution. Perhaps there are different motives for being full-time and being adjunct. Have these faculty motives been addressed or uncovered? I was also quite surprised to find that online full-time faculty were less engaged than online adjunct faculty! 

It also struck me how similar the needs and methods of support were for faculty as for those who are K-12 teachers (Tyler & Brunner, 2014). One significant finding in the Tyler & Brunner (2014) study was that educators who have low levels of workplace decision-making skills were much more likely to leave the field. This, to me, indicates that educators at any level may need strategies in decision-making to feel engaged in their field. Perhaps this is an area to further explore?

Tyler, T.A. & Brunner, C.C. (2014). The case for increasing workplace decision-making: Propsoing a model for special educator attrition research. Teacher Education and Special Education, 37(4), 283-308.