Abstract

The State University of New York College at Buffalo, like many post-secondary institutions faced with ever-tightening budgets and exploding enrollments, has come to rely on a significant number of non-tenure-track adjunct instructors to achieve its mission. Student achievement in upper-level courses often depends on the foundation learned in the introductory and preparatory classes which are usually taught by this sector of the faculty. These instructors help the college as a whole and departments in which they teach to be positioned favorably with national accrediting organizations. However, because these are part-time, non-tenure-track instructors, they can be relegated to second-class citizen status with no meaningful contact with full-time faculty and department administration. Therefore, it is critical that colleges and universities foster an environment that fully includes the part-time faculty into the academic operation. The communication department of the New York State University College at Buffalo has developed a mentoring program that fosters an active, advantageous relationship with its adjunct instructors, which outnumber full-time faculty by a four-to-one margin. This article demonstrates how the program includes, manages and recognizes these faculty members, its principal underpinnings and how it can be applied across the institution.