Survey: U of A contingent faculty worry about pay, job security, more

A University of Arizona Faculty Senate report shows 63% career-track faculty surveyed in 2023-24 felt their actual workload was much higher than expected, 64% worried about their job security and 31% worked additional jobs to make ends meet.

The responses “indicate a challenging environment for faculty, one that is characterized by high workloads, concerns about job security and financial stress,” said Kristin Litte, co-chair of the Career-Track Faculty Needs Ad Hoc Committee, convened by Chair of the Faculty Leila Hudson in March 2023.

“Calls for improved recognition, compensation and support are prevalent throughout the responses,” Little told faculty senators Monday. “Many responses paint a picture of faculty members stretched thin and often working well beyond a standard 40-hour work week to meet all of their responsibilities.”

The report, presented by Little and Co-Chair Romi Wittman, was based on a survey sent out in fall 2023 and spring 2024, which encapsulated anonymous responses from 1,192 career-track (CT) faculty members and featured 690 fully completed responses. The goal was to get a sense of working conditions for career-track or contingent faculty, who are part-time or full-time instructors not eligible for tenure.

Little and Wittman’s presentation listed recommendations: granting cost-of-living adjustments to create living wages; establishing university-wide guidelines for work expectations and to measure the work; adjusting workload to include reduced class sizes; improving job security through multi-year contracts; and ensuring academic freedom.

Feb. 25 was the 10-year anniversary of National Adjunct Walkout Day, in which faculty at universities across the country demonstrated for multi-year contracts, livable wages and more in 2015, Little said. This is an opportune time to check on progress, she said.

“For example, we are still fighting for reduced class sizes, a wage commensurate with the cost of living and academic freedom,” said Little, a UA principal lecturer in the UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The survey examined key areas of workload and job security, promotions and pay, and recognition and support, said Wittman, an associate professor of practice in the UA College of Applied Science and Technology, at the meeting.

“Our findings indicate that, despite UA leadership undertaking initiatives to improve working conditions for career-track faculty, much work needs to be done,” Wittman later added in an interview Wednesday.

“In our previous administration, prior to this administration for which we have high hopes, personnel, staff, faculty were seen as an expense rather than an investment, and I remember our previous provost talking about payroll as money walking out the door,” said Hudson. “I think our current president understands the single greatest asset of a university is its academic workforce — faculty and support staff.” The university has an opportunity, she said, “to reaffirm that value, that we shouldn’t have a two-tiered faculty.”

UA President Suresh Garimella, who started his role Oct. 1, has indicated he supports faculty and is committed to morale and increased salaries, Wittman said.

He recently announced faculty and staff will have raises in FY 2026, which she said are modest increases but “very welcome news after a few years with no wage increases.”

“Going forward, we are excited to work with him on the issues of job security and course loads,” she said.

Interim Provost Ron Marx told the Star Wednesday, “The university values the contributions of career-track faculty in serving our students and the broader university community. Since President Garimella’s arrival, we’ve demonstrated this through an expansion of multi-year contracts for career-track faculty and raises for university employees. Senior leaders meet with career-track faculty to discuss issues and concerns regularly and will continue to do so. The President and I are actively engaged with shared governance groups, including the Faculty Senate, to support our faculty.”

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In terms of positives at the UA, the survey reported 55% of contingent faculty agreed annual performance review criteria were clear and achievable and 60% reported they had access to the resources and support they needed. It also showed people were happy that a process for obtaining multi-year contracts exists at the UA.

However, in ranking their concerns, 70% listed the ratio of their salary versus cost of living, 51% said workload, 44% said a dearth of multi-year contracts, 42% said promotion and career-advancement opportunities, and 39% said value and respect within the department.

“While these faculty members are crucial to the university’s mission, teaching undergraduate classes, supporting research, keeping academic departments running, they often feel undervalued and overworked,” Little said.

Secretary of the Faculty Katie Zeiders said contingent faculty’s job security and fair wages are essential to students’ success.

“I am encouraged that we will enter the next academic year with greater job security for CT faculty, pay raises, and a prioritized focus on wage increases for employees earning less than $250K. While there is still more work to be done, I am confident that together, we can achieve it,” she said Wednesday.

Only 14.3% of respondents said they experienced high job satisfaction.

“The survey shows that in many colleges, there has been an undermining of career-track faculty by increasing their teaching responsibilities without adjusting their other responsibilities,” Little told faculty senators.

“One respondent noted, ‘I spend 60 hours per week on teaching, and one hour on service.’ We ask, ‘How is this best negotiated?’ If service is reduced and teaching loads are increased, then CT faculty have less time to participate in shared governance and their voices are lost,” Little continued. “And if faculty are required to teach more classes, the quality of instruction is diminished.”

Approximately 60% of respondents said they feared their contracts wouldn’t be renewed.

Combined with the 31% percentage who said they work additional jobs, that finding points to a few things, Little said: inadequate salary and keeping their foot in the door at other colleges in case they aren’t renewed at the UA.

Forty percent said that as career-track faculty, they didn’t have as much instructional autonomy and academic freedom as their tenure-track colleagues, while 49% said they did.

“Many indicated that when they speak up about inequity, they are worried that they could be let go for no reason, even if they have a history of strong performance reviews, merit raises, and a multi-year contract,” she said.

“The U of A, like other universities across the country, is facing significant challenges regarding federal funding. And yes, the U of A is still coming out of a financial crisis,” Wittman said Wednesday. “However, it’s important to note that the issues concerning career-track faculty — specifically salaries, workload and multi-year contracts — precede the financial crisis. Career-track faculty have been advocating for equity since at least 2015.”