Research on liberal arts colleges (LACs) has yet to consider possible effects of using Non-Tenure Track Faculty (NTTF) on the character of LACs. LACs are characterized by their strong academic ethos, collegial faculty-student relationships, all at a sanctuary-like setting. Tenure Track Faculty (TTF) and administrators at three LACs were…

Institutional reliance on tenure-line faculty reached a historic low after the Great Recession in 2009, remaining at approximately a third of all faculty through 2022. Postsecondary institutions have steadily increased their reliance on full-time adjunct faculty over the last two decades. Part-time adjuncts, meanwhile, were hired in great numbers…

The percentage of female faculty members who have achieved tenure is disproportionately represented against their male peers. Even more so, female faculty members who are also mothers, or mother-scholars, represent less than half of tenured female faculty. Current research posits that a lack of female faculty in higher education translates to a…

Nearly three-fourths of faculty at U.S. institutions of higher education (IHEs) are classified as non-tenure track faculty (NTTF), and more than 70% of higher education students had taken online courses following the move to emergency online instruction in 2019. Remote faculty relationships with leaders have been shown to play a vital role in…

It was not known if, and to what extent classroom management training is related to the number of student misbehavior incidents. The purpose of this comparative and correlative study was to examine if, and to what extent differences exist between student disciplinary issues in classrooms with non-tenured teachers that completed classroom…

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent that contingent faculty from Michigan's 15 public universities engage with on and off-campus professional development (PD) to improve their teaching practice. Addressing a spectrum of research questions, this study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative…

Current literature shows a trend away from hiring faculty on a tenure line and instead hiring full-time non-tenure track faculty. Full-time non-tenure track faculty are becoming the majority base of the full-time faculty. It is unclear how this new majority of full-time non-tenure track faculty perceive shared governance at their respective…

Research on first-year college students (FYCS) indicate that faculty, including part-time, non-tenure track faculty (PTNTTF), play a vital role in meeting the academic needs of FYCS to facilitate their academic success. However, the literature on PTNTTF suggests that the departmental culture they experience may impact their ability to meet…

The rise in numbers of non-tenure track faculty (NTTF) and the impact on student success is not a simple causal relationship. Rather, it is a complex formula of academic supports, strategic staffing, and professional socialization that drives student retention and, inevitably, graduation. At the center of the administration, policies, students,…

Many research studies have found that faculty value collaborative professional development (PD) activities that provide practical applications. Faculty seek out PD for improved skills and career support, including advancements. To acquire promotions in higher education, these employees must complete high-stakes evaluations through annual reviews,…

Attaining the rank of faculty in higher education is much like being inducted into a secret society. Institutional and professional knowledge are shared like secret passwords and handshakes…to new tenure-track faculty. Those on the tenure track receive orientation and participate in mentoring and professional development programs during their…

This dissertation explores the perceptions of part-time and full-time non-tenure track (NTT) faculty at a Midwestern university with a focus on teaching. As NTT faculty are increasingly utilized to instruct a majority of the undergraduate courses in U.S. postsecondary education understanding their experience is essential to their integration into…

This qualitative ethnographic single case-study was conducted to investigate what influences pre- and post-tenured humanities faculty course design, the effects of those influences, and their perceptions about career readiness. This study focused on a career readiness initiative at Mid-western Michigan University (MMU), which was built around the…

Despite efforts to attract Black women in the professoriate, higher education has historically excluded marginalized populations, specifically Black women. This qualitative case study investigated the problem of insufficient representation of tenured Black women in the academy at Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs). Additionally,…

This quantitative study sought to identify faculty perceptions about job satisfaction at one small, private university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and the connection to intent to stay at the same institution. This study was a conceptual replication study, patterned off Rhone's 2010 doctoral dissertation study, "Faculty…