Faculty Advisor

Abdolrahim Javadzadeh

Location

GC Ballrooms

Start Date

30-3-2016 9:00 AM

End Date

30-3-2016 10:00 AM

Session

Session 1

Session Topic

Poster

Abstract

In recent years, the rise of student debt has not been the only number increasing when it comes down to higher education. While students are now being expected to make a living with a large financial burden once they graduate, one does not need to look far to realize that the majority of professors teaching these students are also expected to not only perform at a high standard, but also work and live under tedious conditions. The rise of part-time professors, or adjuncts, in college institutions all across the United States can be linked to a systematic model that emulates the neoliberal corporate world, neglecting the needs of the workers that make every university function, the professors. I believe Florida International University is not an exception to this trend as they too have adjuncts that struggle between being the agents of knowledge and critical thinking to students, as well as being victims of a model that underappreciates their value. After receiving IRB approval, participants will go through a series of surveys that include Likert scale questions and semi-formal interviews with faculty and administrators to see how they view the neoliberalization of higher education. This study aims to document the working conditions of FIU adjunct professors, determining that FIU has also been molded by a neoliberal higher education agenda. Some organizations and universities have conducted studies on the working conditions of adjunct professors on their campuses or conducted nationwide studies, but this will give me the opportunity to shed light on the troubles that adjuncts face in FIU. Aside from students, adjunct professors have become one of the most vulnerable populations on campuses because of their low pay, lack of benefits and job control, having to teach in various schools in one semester, and the non-existing job security that they have.

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Mar 30th, 9:00 AM Mar 30th, 10:00 AM

Adjunct Professors in FIU: Victims of a Neoliberal Education

GC Ballrooms

In recent years, the rise of student debt has not been the only number increasing when it comes down to higher education. While students are now being expected to make a living with a large financial burden once they graduate, one does not need to look far to realize that the majority of professors teaching these students are also expected to not only perform at a high standard, but also work and live under tedious conditions. The rise of part-time professors, or adjuncts, in college institutions all across the United States can be linked to a systematic model that emulates the neoliberal corporate world, neglecting the needs of the workers that make every university function, the professors. I believe Florida International University is not an exception to this trend as they too have adjuncts that struggle between being the agents of knowledge and critical thinking to students, as well as being victims of a model that underappreciates their value. After receiving IRB approval, participants will go through a series of surveys that include Likert scale questions and semi-formal interviews with faculty and administrators to see how they view the neoliberalization of higher education. This study aims to document the working conditions of FIU adjunct professors, determining that FIU has also been molded by a neoliberal higher education agenda. Some organizations and universities have conducted studies on the working conditions of adjunct professors on their campuses or conducted nationwide studies, but this will give me the opportunity to shed light on the troubles that adjuncts face in FIU. Aside from students, adjunct professors have become one of the most vulnerable populations on campuses because of their low pay, lack of benefits and job control, having to teach in various schools in one semester, and the non-existing job security that they have.

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