Hiring, Evaluating, and Labor Issues
Lauren prefaced our interview by stating that “in addition to WPA, I also serve as associate department head… All of the questions you ask for this week fall under the purview of the ADH responsibilities rather than WPA. This may not mean much to you, but that is the way the duties are divided at NMSU. So, hiring and evaluating are tasks done by the ADH, yet the WPA is the ADH—part of an odd structure of department governance.” In “Towards an Ecology of Sustainable Labor in Writing Programs (and Other Places)”, Seth Kahn reminds readers that “A carefully developed ecological frame can help show us what we miss when we think too big. We already know that everything is interconnected. We already know about the Butterfly Effect. We already know that systems are complex. When our scope is too wide, we lose the details that comprise complexity. I really wanted to write a letter to President Corcoran at IVCC, castigating him for equating crappy labor conditions and moral superiority” (116). Since Lauren is both WPA and ADH, she does not have the disconnection with her employee’s needs as Kahn describes “President Corcoran” as having. She works with employees frequently as a WPA while also handling more administrative duties, like salary, as ADH. Lauren’s position highlights Kahn’s statement of “everything is interconnected.”
When discussing the makeup of instructors of record under Lauren’s supervision, she shared that “Aside from adjuncts and GAs, non-tenure track faculty teach our gen ed writing classes. They are full time members of the English department who are not hired by the writing program…We don’t post a job ad for adjuncts. They come to us. Typically, potential adjuncts contact the English department and send their CV. Twice a year, when it is time to staff classes for the next semester, I send out a course request form to GAs and adjuncts. If new adjuncts wish to apply for a job, I will ask them to come in for an interview. College track faculty who want to teach in the writing program usually teach our 200-level classes. They simply request the courses for their schedule for the next semester. There is no screening process since they are faculty.”
When discussing who she would like to hire and how adjuncts/GAs are compensated, Lauren shared that “If we could hire more GAs, that would be our choice because the GAs are trained to teach in the writing program. Adjuncts do not receive that training, although many of them are graduates of our MA/MFA programs and were GAs in the past…Adjuncts are paid by the course. They can teach up to 8-credits/semester (usually this is 2 courses). GAs are required to teach one course/semester…Faculty salaries are determined separately from GAs and adjuncts who get paid on a scale. GAs are paid according to certain levels. Incoming MA/MFA are considered Level 1. Students who have received their MA are at Level 2 (so, for example, PhD in coursework and taking exams). ABD doctoral candidates are at Level 3.”
Formal evaluations of adjuncts and Gas are conducted by Lauren. She shared that “Last summer, I began a process of evaluating adjuncts once a year. I read their student evaluations and syllabi and complete a form that was created by the dean’s office. This goes into the teacher’s file, and the teacher receives a copy. For GAs, I complete a similar evaluation every 4th semester. It is a somewhat different form, more detailed, and made up by me. I do not evaluate faculty who teach in the writing program as they are evaluated by the department head during their annual performance review.” Lauren does not require a teaching portfolio as an assessment practices for many reasons outlined in Carrie Shively Leverenz’s “The Ethics Required Teaching Portfolios,” such as “teachers worry about how to construct representations of their teaching that show themselves in their best light while also identifying areas for improvements. Similarly, many QPAs worry about how to respond to those representations both critically and supportively” (112). Instead, she focuses on other assessment practices, such as student evaluations, syllabi, and program forms. This also reflects the ideas of multiple teacher evaluation tools highlighted by Cindy Moore, who states, “It helps to point out, for example, that any single-source method of evaluation is prone to error, and that errors can be costly” (140). Therefore, implementing multiple forms of assessment of teaching, as Lauren does, is most beneficial for WPs. To be considered for reappointment and/or a promotion, Lauren reviews adjuncts based on the following: “For adjuncts, they have to have good evaluations and be good colleagues. For GAs, they are pretty much guaranteed the GA for the length of their degree program. The reappointment and promotion of faculty is another matter, not connected with gen ed writing.”