By the Numbers: Temporary Instruction

We recently examined our faculty-to-student ratios across our four academic programs – advertising and public relations, broadcasting, journalism and sports media and communication. Faculty-to-student ratios only account for permanent faculty in the college and does not give us insight into our utilization of temporary instructors. Examining the courses we hire temporary instructors to teach can give us further information about our faculty hiring needs.  

We employ 10 different types of instructors. Seven of these types are considered permanent instructors. They are permanently budgeted; we expect these individuals to continue with the college indefinitely and to contribute to the development of our academic programs. Three types of faculty positions are considered temporary. They are not permanently budgeted; they have short-term contracts and they are not expected to contribute to the development of our curriculum.  

During the 2022-2023 academic year, which includes fall 2022 and spring 2023, the college taught 300 separate course sections (some courses had multiple sections). We offer courses in a variety of formats and for a variety of credit hours. Some courses, like JOMC 20 and JOMC 98 are zero credit hours. Our pop-up courses are one credit hour and most of our required and elective courses are three credit hours. During AY 22-23, we taught a total of 692 credit hours. 

*Independent Study, professional project and thesis courses are not included in the totals. 

A majority of our credit hours, 57.5%, were taught by permanent faculty. However, a significant minority, 42.5% were taught by temporary instructors. 

Lecturer/ts taught the highest percentage of credit hours in 22-23, at 28.8%, followed by lectures at 11% and graduate assistants as 2.6%. 

A majority of the credit hour taught by temporary instructors is at the 100 and 200 level. Of the 294 credit hours taught by temporary instructors, 199 or 68%, were 100 or 200-level courses. 

Required vs. Elective
Temporary instructors were most heavily utilized to teach elective courses in the college. However, they also taught a significant number of required credit hours. 

Academic Programs

The use of temporary instruction is highest in journalism general (JGEN),  the journalism and mass communications core (JOMC) and advertising and public relations (ADPR). The use of temporary instructions is smaller in broadcasting, journalism and sports media and communication.  

In advertising and public relations, temporary instructors accounted for 23% of the credit hours taught. They were utilized throughout the program, teaching a mix of required and elective courses. 

In JOMC, temporary instructors were concentrated in the communication design program, with these courses accounting for 55 of the 80, or 69%, of the sections taught by temporary instructors. 

The JGEN program is almost entirely offered through the use of temporary instruction, with only 11% of credit hours in the program taught by permeant faculty. 

Budget Implications

Temporary instructors are unbudgeted, meaning that we do not have recurring funds to support hiring these instructors. Instead, the college must rely on and manage its cash flow to support these costs.

We employ standard rates to pay our temporary instructors. Lecturers are temporary faculty who have a 1.0 FTE appointment and a one to two-year contract. The college pays lecturers $65,000 per year to teach eight three-credit hour courses, which equates to a cost of $2,708.33 per credit hour. As full-time employees, lecturers are benefits eligible. The current benefits estimate for employees with salaries between $40,000 and $70,000 is 41% of salary.  Therefore, the estimated cost of lecturer instruction is $3,818 per credit hour.

In AY 22-23, the college utilized lecturers to teach 76 credit hours at a total estimated cost of $290,189. 

Lecturer/ts have an FTE of .5 or less and a one-semester contract. The college pays lecturer/ts $1,333.33 per credit hour taught. Lecturer/ts are not benefits eligible. However, the college must still cover FICA tax, Medicare tax and Worker's Compensation tax. Therefore, the estimated benefit rate for lecturer/ts is 8% of salary, for a total estimated cost of $1,440 per credit hour.

In AY 22-23, the college utilized lecturer/ts to teach 199 credit hours for a total cost of $286,560. 

Overall, the college’s estimated cost of temporary instruction for AY 22-23, is $576,749.