Advocate Online - Special Issue
Status of the Academic Professions: 2003-04

Nontraditional Faculty Ranks Grow Faster Than Tenured Positions

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 22 percent boost in postsecondary teaching jobs, driven by expected increases in both undergraduate enrollment and faculty retirement. BLS estimates that college enrollments will move up to 16.1 million students in 2008. This reflects the rise in the number of traditional college-age (18 to 24) students, as well as some increase in the share of high school graduates attending college.

Retirement rates are growing
Given the current faculty age structure, the National Science Foundation expects the number of retiring professors to increase over the next five to 10 years if current retirement patterns hold.

The rate of faculty retirement normally hovers around 2 percent annually, but that rate is set to step up to 3 percent, according to the American Institute of Physics. If government funding for higher education continues to slide, the BLS predicts that the proportion of adjunct or part-time faculty will continue to grow, at the expense of growth in full-time positions.

More faculty members without academic rank
Part of this cost-saving trend is reflected in the share of faculty members classified as instructor, lecturer, or having no rank, which has grown sharply over the last 12 years. This category represents two types of faculty members: those hired with no tenure, and those who work in institutions that do not have academic rank. It is not possible to separate them, based on the way the data are reported. The corresponding share of faculty members in the traditional academic ranks has dropped over the 12 years.

Chart 3: Change in the share of faculty members by academic rank.

Part-time faculty numbers continues to grow
The share of faculty members working part-time continues to increase relative to the full-time staff. The number of full-time faculty members has increased by 11 percent since 1993, while the number of part-time faculty members increased by 30 percent. Chart 4 shows the growth in full and part-time faculty. In 2002-03, 44 percent of all faculty members taught part-time. In community colleges, the Department of Education reports that 63 percent of the faculty members teach part-time. This growing reliance on part-time faculty raises a series of questions about the character of higher education employment.

Chart 4: Number of part-time faculty members is growing