Faculty Hiring

Academic Program Directors are responsible for making adjunct faculty hiring decisions to staff courses in their disciplines.  At a minimum, new adjunct faculty added into our adjunct pool must have a master’s degree in the discipline for which they are being considered and industry experience, though prior teaching, especially online and with adult students, is preferred.  Hiring decisions from among the existing adjunct pool are based on how well adjunct instructors embody expectations for demonstrating faculty competencies as gauged by the Faculty Evaluation Rubric, and defined and identified by program directors, academic technology staff, academic advisors, and other stakeholders, as well as students’ perceptions of the faculty members’ ability to engage and enhance their learning, as gauged by the student course evaluations.

We evaluate first-time faculty after their first course with us so that new faculty benefit from all the support and guidance we have available.  A Faculty Evaluation Rubric is used throughout the evaluation process to encourage faculty to reflect on their teaching and learning practices.  The purpose of our competency list, rubric, and evaluation plan is to help faculty continually improve their practice as educators. The feedback provided during the evaluation process can provide guidance on how to engage the professional development community, courses, and tools that are available to faculty.

The University policy stipulates that adjuncts can teach no more than 6 courses per academic and calendar year.  Contract employees are limited to working no more than a total of 900 hours within a 12 month period in a calendar year and in Bay Path’s fiscal year that begins July 1st.  Each adjunct’s individual teaching load is determined by the Program Director, based on past instructional performance, scheduling of courses, and adjuncts’ availability and scheduling preferences.

Enrollment in most courses is capped at 25 students per course.  Low enrolled courses are evaluated in the weeks prior to the course start, and a determination is made to cancel a course or run it as a Directed Study, based on enrollment.  Typically a course with fewer than 5 students will either be cancelled, if student schedules can be rearranged without impacting their graduation timeline, or offered as a directed study.  Adjuncts are paid according to the matrix approved by the Academic and Student Affairs Cabinet, based on academic credentials and teaching experience.

Faculty Contracts

While the Program Director oversees the hiring of a quality pool of adjuncts in each discipline, the Assistant to the Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Instruction manages the administration of contracts, Rehire Forms, and faculty credentials.  We open our courses to faculty two weeks prior to the start of class, and final grades are due five days after the last Saturday of each session. In the infrequent situation that a student needs an Incomplete, we grant up to two weeks beyond the last day of class to submit assignments.  For these reasons, faculty contract dates begin two weeks before the official start of class, and conclude on the due date for final grades.  In cases when an Incomplete is approved for a student, faculty are expected to grade the outstanding assignment(s) within the Incomplete window (2 weeks past the last day of class).

Compensation is distributed according to the University’s bi-weekly payment schedule starting after the first week of classes begin.