Understanding Higher Education Hierarchy Part I.
This article contains information to help you understand the inner hierarchy of academia.
By Norrell Edwards — April 26, 2023
When I was in college, I had little idea what tenure entailed. Colleges do not always make clear that professors represent different levels of faculty—some who harbor better protections with tenure or tenure-line while others existed in the margins. Tenure offers faculty a permanent position at a university or college as well as a voice in governance of the institution. Tenure began to ensure that institutions could keep scholarly talent and protect from local state and national political shifts. Tenure is supposed to ensure academic freedom.
In recent years, major publications like the New York Times and the Atlantic have highlighted the precarity of some educators—those who are without shelter, health insurance and must cobble together multiple teaching gigs to make ends meet. When interacting with your professors it can be useful to understand the context of their position. Where there is high turnover and teacher instability, you can expect a noticeable impact on student experience. So, let's get started:
Teacher's Assistant (TA)
This is likely a graduate student in a doctoral (Ph.D.) program or a master's (MA) program in the department that houses your course. In some cases, they could be an advanced undergraduate student. If they are an undergraduate student, they have minimized responsibilities. The TA is not the 'instructor of record' or the main professor whose name is attached to the course in the registrar. If they are a graduate student, your TA likely leads weekly discussion groups and is responsible for grading your assignments while the main professor (who is likely tenured or tenure-line) provides lectures. If you have questions about your grade or difficulty with assignments, you should probably approach the TA before the professor.
Adjunct Professor
This is a professor who has a part-time teaching position at the college or university.
Experienced Practitioner
This designation used to be mostly for professionals-CEO's, politicians and others who taught a class or two on the side of their main career. While these types of adjunct professors usually do not have the academic credentials for a tenure line professorship, they typically have extensive career experience and background that makes them an expert in their respected field. These professors typically teach for the joy of teaching not because it is their career or their 'bread and butter.' If you have an adjunct professor who is mid-career or retired from a field within your major-you should ABSOLUTELY talk to them outside of class! They might still have industry connections that could help you with an internship or job.
Multiple 'Gigs' Adjunct
Unfortunately, due to academia's shift into the 'gig economy,' many adjuncts have similar academic credentials to tenure or tenure line professors but have less job security. There are more people with Ph.D. then there are full-time jobs, unfortunately. This kind of professor might teach at a few colleges in the area—so don't be surprised if you often see them running out of class to get to their next course at another campus 30 minutes away or sharing an office with 20 other adjunct faculty. Their contract can be on a semester basis and can be cut based on student enrollment numbers. It can be difficult to develop a long-term relationship with this kind of professor.
Lecturer
A lecturer is usually a fulltime professor who has a one-to-three-year renewable contract with benefits. They enjoy a bit more stability than adjunct professors. Lecturers can often become permanent fixtures in their department. Lecturers usually have more of a teaching focus. At some schools' lecturers are also called 'Teaching Professors.' This is a great person to get know to better understand the dynamics of a department, if you're so interested.
In Understanding Higher Education Hierarchy Part II, we'll discuss the difference between different tenure-line and tenure track professors.
Norrell Edwards
Norrell Edwards is a scholar, educator, and communications consultant for non-profit organizations. Her employment experience and research interests place her work at the nexus of global Black identity, cultural memory, and social justice. Norrell graduated with a BA in English Literature from Hunter’s College followed by a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park in 20th and 21st Century Black Diaspora Literature.
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