At the heart of every great institution are the dedicated educators who shape the minds of tomorrow. For many years, the College of the Desert Adjunct Association (CODAA) has been advocating for one critical cause: pay parity for adjunct faculty. As part-time professors, we put in the same effort, energy, and dedication as our full-time colleagues, yet when it comes to compensation, the scales tip unfavorably.

What Adjunct Faculty Do

Much like full-time faculty, adjunct professors carry out the essential tasks of teaching, guiding, and inspiring students. We prepare lectures, develop syllabi, create assessments, and spend countless hours grading and communicating with students. Many of us take on these responsibilities in addition to other jobs, and it often feels like we’re balancing the workload of a full-time position.

Despite this, adjuncts are often seen as “Guest Lecturers,” only compensated for classroom instruction, leaving much of our work outside the classroom—like preparation, grading, and student outreach—unacknowledged and unpaid.

Breaking Down the Pay Gap

To truly understand the pay disparity, let’s look at the numbers. If an adjunct professor were to teach five courses, the same as a new full-time professor with a master’s degree (step 1, column 3 of the full-time salary schedule), this is how the pay compares:

            •          Full-Time Professor: $84,064 per year ($42,032 per semester)

            •          Adjunct Pay per Course:

            •          Lecture Hours: $75.41 x 54 hours = $4,072

            •          Office Hours: $64.10 x 16 hours = $1,026

            •          SLO Prep: $64.10 x 1 hour = $64.10

            •          Total Pay per Course: $6,610.10

For five courses, this amounts to $33,050. Add in compensation for required FLEX hours ($770), and the total adjunct pay for the semester is $33,820.

Now, compare this to the full-time professor’s pay of $42,032 for the same number of courses, and you’ll see a pay gap of $8,212 per semester, or $1,642 per course. That translates to an hourly difference of approximately $30.40 per hour for the same work.

What Needs to Change

To achieve pay parity, we need a 40% increase in pay, raising the lecture rate from $75.41 to $105.81. Additionally, adjuncts deserve:

            •          Pay for optional committee work at the support rate

            •          Compensation for 12 hours of FLEX at the lab rate

            •          Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) at the same rate as full-time faculty going forward.

Why It Matters

Adjunct faculty play a crucial role in providing high-quality education to our students. Achieving pay parity isn’t just about fair compensation; it’s about recognizing the value of the work we do. It’s time for us to be treated as equals alongside our full-time peers. Let’s continue working together to make this vision a reality.