Employing Graduate Students At Two Year Colleges: A Missed Opportunity?

A good opportunity that is rarely exploited exists for both graduate students and twoyear colleges. Supplemental faculty play an important role at many two-year colleges, yet for a variety of reasons, schools often have trouble finding enough people to meet their needs. This author feels that engineering graduate students can play a fundamental role in filling the void. Many graduate students have a strong desire to teach and therefore, are working towards their Ph.D. in pursuit of a career in academia. While many universities give graduate students the opportunities to be teaching assistants, many graduate students never have their own class. By teaching at a two-year school, they are gaining valuable classroom experience while still being “students” themselves. It also shows them another side of academia they are probably unfamiliar with since many graduate students have only experienced large universities. Also, teaching at a two-year school is a good way for graduate students to supplement their income. Some graduate students find that they need to have a part-time job while in graduate school. Working at a twoyear college allows them to teach both at night and during the summer thereby providing additional income while doing something that is relevant to their future career choice. Teaching at a two-year college is a great opportunity for graduate students, yet most are unaware this opportunity exists. Many two-year colleges hire a significant number of supplemental faculty members. By actively searching for graduate student employees, two-year colleges would be filling an increasing void. Graduate students interested in academia have a strong desire to teach and despite their limited time in front of the classroom, most learn quickly. In addition, due to their flexible schedules, graduate students are willing to work a variety of hours. This allows the college to schedule classes that might otherwise be hard to find instructors for, such as at night and during the summer. Finally, graduate students are qualified to teach a variety of subjects since their background is frequently diverse. Overall, graduate students can be a positive addition to many two-year college departments. Graduate Student Perspective While in graduate school, many students are given the opportunity to be teaching assistants, but as a teaching assistant, they are frequently relegated to holding office hours and grading homework. Only if they are fortunate will they get to participate in course development or be in P ge 554.1 front of the class. Some graduate students are laboratory instructors so they get significant lecture experience, but usually are still lacking in their development since they do not write syllabi or exams. Despite these deficiencies, they are working towards a career in academia. Typically, their graduate student responsibilities do not fully prepare them for their future faculty positions. Normally, when recent graduates start their first academic jobs, they have immediate job pressures. They are expected to quickly learn the inner-workings of their new department, school, and university, while adjusting to life in a new city, starting a research program, serving on a committee, advising students, and, time permitting, teaching. This can be a daunting task for someone straight out of graduate school. Sometimes schools give new faculty members reduced workloads in their first couple of terms to ease the transition, but not always. There is precious little time for new faculty members to learn their place in the department and develop a plan for a course they have most likely never taught before. By teaching at a two-year college, graduate students can gain classroom experience while still in school. More than likely, an engineering graduate student will not have the opportunity to teach courses in their major at the two-year college level, but the experience still offers a valuable perspective. Even teaching just a few semesters can be invaluable for a future faculty member. It gives them the opportunity to improve interpersonal skills, hone classroom presentation, and develop an educational philosophy, all before the rigors of a full-time appointment start. When teaching at a two-year college there are many opportunities for graduate students to grow academically. Most community colleges have significant resources for faculty development that an adjunct faculty member can take advantage of. These resources can include teaching evaluation, course development, and literary sources. For example, at Jackson Community College, adjunct faculty members are encouraged to develop as a teacher and have the following tools available: • mentoring programs where young faculty can ask questions from more experienced peers. • course syllabus records, which give examples of previous used syllabi and suggestions on syllabus improvement. • student evaluations of your classroom performance. • optional professional evaluations of classroom performance. • numerous professional journals both on teaching and specific subjects. • reprints of articles on effective teaching, classroom enhancement, and student interaction circulated in a newsletter titled “Teaching for Success.” • professional staff trained to deal with classroom problems and special student needs. • seminars, workshops, and departmental meetings. While all two-year colleges may not have the same programs, most have some form of faculty development for adjunct faculty. Some of these programs may exist at the university level, but many do not have the infrastructure in place for a new faculty member to thrive in the classroom. Additionally, teaching at two-year school can give a graduate student another perspective on college life. Many of them have only experienced large-scale research institutions, which P ge 554.2 contrast significantly from two-year schools. Two-year schools frequently offer smaller class sizes, more student interaction, no research pressure, and fewer hours. These features make teaching at a two-year school a very personally and professionally rewarding experience. It may also open a future job opportunity for a graduate student who decides that teaching at a two-year college is a good career choice. Finally, working at a two-year college is a way for graduate students to earn additional income while doing something extremely beneficial to their future career. Locally, I have found that two-year colleges pay between $22.50 and $35 per contact hour. This may not be significant income to a professional making upwards of $35,000 per year but the extra $1500 per semester can be of extreme benefit to a graduate student who may be struggling to make ends meet. Plus, two-year colleges offer many courses at night and in the summer which are ideal times for graduate students to work. Finally, most two-year colleges offer tuition credits for employees and their immediate family. This may be an opportunity for a graduate student or their spouse to take a “fun” class such as dance, cooking, or aerobics for free.