Supporting Adjunct Faculty: Research-Based Recommendations

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Adjunct faculty—defined here as part-time, non-tenure track instructors—account for nearly half of all teaching faculty in higher ed and are critical to the success of their students and the institutions they serve. To better understand how to address the needs of these instructors, the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) partnered in Summer 2021 to study the practices and policies that institutions use to support online faculty.

This webinar will highlight the findings of the aforementioned study and provide research-based recommendations aimed at several audiences—institutional leaders, support staff who work with adjunct faculty, and adjunct faculty members themselves. Attendees will leave the webinar with specific, actionable strategies that promote the success of these key members of our campus communities.

Speaker Bio

Van Davis, Ph.D.
Chief Strategy Officer – WCET
Service Design and Strategy Officer – Every Learner Everywhere

Dr. Van L. Davis joined the WCET as Chief Strategy Officer in 2021. In addition to his work with WCET, Van also serves as the Service Design and Strategy Officer for Every Learner Everywhere. Prior to these roles, he served as founder and principal at Foghlam Consulting where he worked with colleges, universities, and nonprofits on strategic planning, higher education policy, and research. Van has over 25 years of experience in higher education. During his career he has served as a faculty member and academic administrator, director of innovations at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and associate vice president for higher education policy and research at Blackboard Inc. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in 20th Century United States History with an emphasis in civil rights from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in History from Southwestern University. Van has devoted his career to improving educational access and affordability for students and has led numerous projects such as the development of Texas’ adult degree completion initiative (GradTX), Texas’ statewide course redesign project, and the development of the first competency-based baccalaureate degrees at Texas public institutions.
 

Abby McGuire, Ed.D.
Director of Research – Online Learning Consortium

Dr. Abby McGuire serves as the Director of Research where she supports the OLC’s research efforts and advances the reach and impact of the OLC’s Research Center. Abby collaborates with scholars, practitioners, OLC team members, and external partners to design and implement initiatives and publish research that advances online, blended, and digital teaching and learning. Abby loves creating and sharing ideas to deepen understanding and shift perspectives about teaching and learning. She is a bold, creative thinker and educational leader with professional writing, editing, and consulting experience, and she is a higher education professional with more than a decade of experience in administrative and faculty roles. Most recently, Abby led academic support and retention initiatives at Alma College and previously taught as a lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at Central Michigan University. Abby holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and a Master of Arts in English Composition and Communication from Central Michigan University.

Nicole Weber, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President, Learning – Online Learning Consortium

Dr. Nicole Weber is the Associate Vice President of Learning and is ready to promote online quality through OLC’s Quality Scorecard Suite, support OLC’s Institute for Professional Development, and grow the efforts of OLC’s Research Center. Before joining OLC, Nicole led a team of learning technology professionals in providing online and blended faculty development, technology support and training, and partnership in emerging technology integration and evaluation at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.