Report critiques adjunct, tenure-line faculty models

A new report from the University of Southern California's Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success says that a decrease in tenured and tenure-track faculty at US colleges and universities could compromise institutions' ability to fulfill their missions. The report argues that institutions' reliance on adjunct faculty members is making it more difficult for full-time faculty to fulfill their obligations to serve the public good. It recommends that institutions create a faculty model based on professionalism in faculty roles; institutional needs and mission; faculty, administrator, student, and accreditor input; and an understanding of the greater PSE landscape. The report goes on to critique the adjunct faculty model but also the tenure-track model, stating that a "disproportionate emphasis on conducting research and publishing have essentially downplayed the importance of teaching—the core mission of most institutions." Inside Higher Ed | Full Report