RE: more about adjuncts [HAPP-L]

[Alice Mills <amills@xxxxxxx>]

> Two important issues that have not been addressed here (at least from
> my recollection) are; 1) What pressures are there on the adjunct
> instructor in regards to grade distribution?, and 2) Does the
> administration have a specific "target goal" in mind when adjuncts are
> evaluated (prior to contracts being renewed)? I can think of at least
> one instance in which the academic dean of a small school in the
> midwest expected that the average grade in any class would be in the C+
> to B- range. Adjunct instructors that did not meet these requirements
> were not offered contract renewals. It is quite possible that some
> adjunct instructors are "fitting" their students into pre-determined
> grade distributions merely as a means of survival. I know of a few
> non-tenured faculty that have been "pressured" by administrators to
> alter the way that they teach (or the way that they assess) their
> students.Although it was not explicitly stated, the underlying message
> was this: "If grades do not improve in your course, then your bid for
> tenure will be denied." I am wondering if any one else has encountered
> these types of cases?

These are good points.  As a new tenure track fac. many years ago, I
received a letter from the dean addressing the grade distribution in my
class, suggesting that with effort I can change that.  Most colleagues in
my dept. dismissed that as coming from a former math professor who didn't
understand the type of thinking involved in doing well in biol., and the
types of students we have.  I crossed my fingers, and while I always try
to improve, and put a lot of thought into how charitable I should be, I
didn't intentionally address his fears.  I got tenure.
After, another faculty in a casual conversation about someone else, said
only a fool gives Fs before s/he has tenure.  If I had talked to him
during my pre-tenure days, I might have been scared enough to inflate my
grades.
I'd like to see a convincing argument that a college student's grades
should reflect anything other than true success on exams and assignments
that require thinking.


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