When an adjunct instructor created a Web site
specifically designed to help adjuncts, she intended
to provide other adjuncts with teaching tips and links
to VCU services.
But Meriah Crawford, an adjunct instructor of
English, said she also hoped to help fellow adjuncts
save time.
“A lot of adjuncts don’t have time because they
have day jobs, families,” she said. “They don’t have
time to go to formal Blackboard training.”
Crawford’s Web site is an outgrowth of a new
initiative to support part-time instructors. The site
will feature teaching tips and other links to VCU
services.
“If there were an office of adjunct affairs where you
could go to ask questions, this is it,” Crawford said.
Crawford created the page as part of her work in
the Adjunct Faculty Learning Community, a group
of 10 adjuncts from a variety of disciplines across
campus, which was created by the Center for Teaching
Excellence.
“(One of the community’s goals) is to develop
a support structure for adjunct faculty in order to
provide instructional resources and services more
effectively,” states the CTE Web site.
Crawford’s site will include Web tutorials for
commonly used resources, such as Blackboard, VCU’s
course management system.
Jeff Nugent, associate dean of the CTE, did not
respond to questions about the possible effectiveness
of Crawford’s Web site.
However, one member of the AFLC expressed
caution.
“A Web site is an important tool for providing
information as long as it is accurate, updated regularly
and marketed well,” adjunct professor and AFLC
member Esther Hyatt stated in an e-mail.
In response, Crawford said, “It would take one to
two hours a month for maintenance. The challenge
would be reaching out to the adjuncts.”
Crawford also said the adjunct Web site will
list adjunct accomplishments, such as awards and
publications. Features, such as a discussion board,
might be implemented in the future.
To succeed, the project will need not only promoting
but also input from the ranks of VCU adjuncts,
Crawford said.