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This study sought to describe the status of part-time faculty in Maryland public and private 4-year colleges and universities as perceived by department chairs and to explore any significant differences between perceptions of those in private versus public institutions. Statistical results revealed a significant difference (p < .10) between the perceptions of chairs from public and private institutions regarding the extent to which adjunct faculty are evaluated and for which evidence is required. A strong, significant association (Cramer's V = .317, p < .05) emerged between the type of school and the perception that adjunct faculty are expected to use student-centered effective teaching techniques.
Introduction
The growing use of part-time, nontenure-track faculty (also known as adjuncts) in higher education is a nationwide phenomenon. "Part-time faculty" generally refers to nontenured personnel who teach less than a full-time course load per semester. For clarity and consistency, the terms part-time and adjunct faculty are used interchangeably throughout this article.
The part-time instructor is often isolated, independent, and detached from the world of the university. A two-tier faculty ranking within the university exists; the top tier includes full-time faculty with tenure and a living wage, while the lower tier includes part-time instructors with low pay, lack of job security, and poor working conditions (Hoeller, 2014b; Hoffman & Hess 2014). Part-time instructors'employment is in a contingent state. They are, in fact, not really ever fired; their contracts are simply not renewed.
Across the United States, institutions of higher education increasingly rely upon parttime faculty members to teach for-credit and noncredit courses (American Association of University Professors [AAUP], 2006). Curtis (2005) reported that, in 1975, full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members made up approximately 56% of faculty at America's 2- and 4-year colleges and universities; full-time nontenure-track faculty and part-time faculty comprised 13% and 30%, respectively. By 2003, full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty had fallen to 35%; the latter two categories had risen to approximately 19% and 46%, respectively (Curtis, 2005). From 1995 to 2003, although overall growth in faculty numbers occurred, the actual number of full-time faculty positions declined by more than 2,000 (Curtis & Jacobe, 2006). By 2007, full-time tenured positions had dropped to 22% of all faculty positions, and adjunct faculty held the majority of all faculty...