College: Overuse of part-time faculty must stop

For years our colleges have been employing a mostly tenured staff, about 75 percent. These professors work on a yearly salary income and have steady employment. The rest of the teaching staff consisted of adjunct professors, who are considered part time and do not know from quarter to quarter whether they will have a job or not.

This ratio has completely flip-flopped over recent years, meaning the bulk of college professors are now adjunct. As a result, the quality of education is going down while the prices are still increasing.

To put this into perspective, some adjunct professors have an income qualifying them for food assistance. If the main focus for a professor becomes survival, there is less focus on high-quality teaching. As a student, I feel with the price of education so high, it’s only fair to address and find a solution to this national issue.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 12:14 PM with the headline "College: Overuse of part-time faculty must stop."