For the past year and a half I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of great faculty members at DePaul University.  I design online courses for the School for New Learning (SNL), DePaul’s online school. As a result, I rarely get the opportunity to meet in person many of the adjunct faculty that I am constantly collaborating with. A few months ago I attended a SNL spring professional development and some of the faculty members present were adjunct. At this time I was finally able to put names with faces. I almost felt like a superstar because so many people were saying with so much excitement in their voices, “Oh so you are Veronica! It’s finally a pleasure to put a face with a name!”

Although it was a pleasure meeting some adjunct faculty members, I have heard how sometimes there may be a struggle in making them feel as though they are essential to the growth and development of a learning institution. I can see how this can be plausible especially when adjunct faculty are teaching online. I taught for 14 years in the K-12 sector and the task of developing educators in that field is quite easy.  Every day they are physically reporting to work, and at least once a week teachers are required to meet for collaboration or professional development. However, when a faculty member is teaching online part time how do you get them to strengthen their teaching skills? How do you motivate adjunct faculty so they will want to participate in the events that are sponsored by the learning institution? These were some questions that I have had for a while and this past August my questions were answered when I attended the Distance Learning & Teaching Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. While at the conference I had the opportunity to attend a workshop facilitated by Brad Garner and Mike Mendenhall of Indiana Wesleyan University. The purpose of this workshop was to give strategies on how to motivate adjunct faculty members. Below I have listed 6c’s to follow and if this is done correctly then it will ensure that adjunct faculty members will be successful when teaching online.

Competent

“Many people use the word competent but how do you measure it? “

WAYS TO MEASURE COMPETENCY

• Have written policies for online
• Have required online courses to take before teaching online
• Offer professional development for online faculty
• Create universal design standards

Consistent

We have all experienced a time in our lives in which our day to day routine can become hectic due to unforeseen life changes. However, if we practice being consistent we lessen our chances of allowing chaos into our environment. In order for faculty to be successful they must know that the learning institution will offer them consistency in regards to professional development, resources, etc. Think about the institution that you are working for and ask yourself how much consistency is provided for faculty? We live in an ever changing global society, and as a result there must be guidelines in place for anything to prosper and be considered to be in good standing.

Measuring Consistency

One way to measure consistency is to do a survey that measures the following things:

• Gather information on adjunct satisfaction
• Make informed decisions on how to best serve adjunct faculty
• Learn how to better communicate with adjunct faculty
• Create a baseline

Close

Earlier I mentioned how when individuals are working online it may be difficult for them to feel as though they are an intricate part of the learning institution. It is essential for people to be able to build relationships. Some ways to build a sense of community amongst online adjunct faculty members are to provide them with opportunities in which they can collaborate online in which they share ideas, ask baffling questions, and display certain projects they have done using a particular technological software or tool. These items can be showcased in a faculty blog area, a Facebook page that is designated for faculty, or the monthly faculty newsletter.

Collaborative

WAYS TO PROMOTE COLLABORATION WITH ONLINE FACULTY

• Provide professional development in the form of a webinar. At this time allow time at the end for questioning and answering.
• Have adjunct faculty members conduct some of the webinars so this way other faculty members will have a peer who they can go to for support
• Assign new adjunct a mentor.

Creative

In order to keep our adjunct faculty motivated we must present them with opportunities that allow them to be creative. Since we live in an ever changing global society, the learning institution should always look for opportunities to invest and/or expose their faculty to the ever changing technological programs and society. When most people feel as though someone is investing in them that gives them the push to produce at an even greater rate.  Since faculty play a vital role in helping learners to become productive citizens, it is essential to supply them with resources that will inspire them to do the best job possible.

Celebrative

At some point in our lives we all have been or desired to be celebrated for some type of accomplishment. Many of us today are where we are because some educators invested in us. As a result, it is essential to celebrate faculty for all of their time and dedication that they give to help people become productive citizens.

WAYS TO CELEBRATE FACULTY

• Create digital badges
• Announce accomplishments via email
• Implement giving away incentives like gift cards for completing certain tasks promptly.
• Offer stipends for taking on extra duties

In closing, adjunct faculty are vital to the success of an online program. As a result adjunct faculty must be provided with the following tools to be successful:

• Opportunities to ensure they stay competent in online teaching
• Provide consistency to them so they can receive the proper resources and support
• Develop a community in which they feel a sense of closeness so they can collaborate with each other
• Allow opportunities for adjunct to be creative in their courses
• Celebrate the adjunct faculty