The Increasing Stratification of Faculty Employment at Colleges and Universities in the United States

Abstract

We use panel data models to examine variations and changes in faculty employment at four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The share of part-time faculty among total faculty has continued to grow during the last two decades, while the share of full-time lecturers and instructors has been relatively stable. Meanwhile, the share of nontenure track faculty among full-time faculty has been growing, especially among the professorial ranks. Dynamic panel data models suggest that employment levels of different types of faculty respond to a variety of economic and institutional factors. Colleges and universities have increasingly employed faculty whose salaries and benefits are relatively inexpensive; the slowly deteriorating financial situations at most colleges and universities have led to an increasing reliance on a contingent academic workforce. A cross-sectional comparison of the share of full-time nontenure track faculty also reveals significant variations across institutions.

Citation

Zhang, L., Ehrenberg, R. and Liu, X. (2021), "The Increasing Stratification of Faculty Employment at Colleges and Universities in the United States", Lewin, D. and Gollan, P.J. (Ed.) Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations (Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations, Vol. 26), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 73-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-618620210000026003