Typical community-college adjunct experience
Pros
You will not meet friendlier or more concerned people anywhere. They are 100% dedicated to serving the students, graduating them and getting them into good lives, and that attitude pervades the institution on all levels. Central office and upper-level site administration is extraordinarily accessible and responsive. Many faculty/staff development opportunities. Excellent tuition benefit (6 credit hours free each semester for employee AND immediate family).
Cons
Even for an adjunct job the pay is low. There are several mandatory meetings each year that occur outside of the contract period, which means a half-day of unpaid work. Despite assertions and public declarations of the importance of the 70% of faculty who are adjunct, the administration rarely asks for adjunct faculty opinions when making major decisions. Course evaluations by students happen but the instructor is not offered the opportunity to review the results. The friendliness and concern sometimes borders on cult-like: there are a lot of overly peppy, Pollyanna-ish people in the administration. Health benefits for adjuncts are available but are 100% employee-paid and aren't very good for the high cost. Once flush and expanding, the system is now losing enrollment and money and is cutting back on courses and sites; they are also reducing the per-adjunct maximum course load to avoid being required to pay benefits under the ACA. Administration is heavy on low-paid clerical workers.
