- About CELTUA
- Calendar and Events
- Full and Part-time Faculty and Staff
- Grad and Undergrad Students
- Grants and Awards
- Overview
- Past Recipients and Project Summaries
- Distinguished Teaching Award
- Major Teaching Project for Departments/Programs
- Major Teaching Project for Individual or Small Groups of Faculty
- Minor Teaching Project for Individual or Small Groups of Faculty
- Minor Teaching Project for Individual or Small Groups of Graduate Students or Undergraduate Students
- Visiting Teacher Award for Departments/Programs
- Faculty Exchange Relocation Grants
- Engaged Learning and Top 25
- Assessment
- Publications and Library
- Consulting and Resources
- Contact Information
Part-Time Survival Guide
Welcome to Miami University!
The Survival Guide is an orientation packet for part-time faculty. Whether you are participating part time as adjunct practitioner, researcher, instructor or lecturer, it is our commitment for your engagement at Miami University to be challenging, invigorating and rewarding. The career path ahead of you will be enhanced by your involvement and understanding of all that Miami University offers to its faculty, staff, administrators, students. The Survival Guide is intended to provide you with a general background and perspective about Miami and part-time teaching, as well as practical tools to help you get started.
Your experience, talent and the capability we envision in you shall continue to serve as a sustaining force in driving the present and future of Miami University. We hope you will enjoy our four campuses at Oxford, Hamilton, Middletown and Voice of America, as well as our communities in Southwestern Ohio.
What is “part-time” teaching at Miami University?
So-called part-time teaching is actually the full-time responsibility for teaching one or more classes on a semester to semester basis. The average length of service of part-time faculty members on the Middletown campus is about twelve years; on the Hamilton and Oxford campuses it is about nine years. Part-time faculty teach slightly over 20% of all undergraduate classes at Miami.
What is involved in part-time teaching?
Teaching goes beyond knowing the subject matter and telling students what they need to know. Good teachers provide a learning environment in which students thrive. Miami is proud of its reputation for excellent teaching. Teaching at Miami is both an honor and a privilege. Consistent with this is the responsibility to know not only the subject matter one is teaching, but to be well-versed in the art and science of teaching.
How would I go about enhancing my teaching expertise?
Miami offers a host of seminars and workshops on various aspects of teaching and learning. The university also makes the latest teaching technology available to its faculty. Any faculty member can use these resources for formal or informal advice and counsel on various aspects of teaching and learning, from theory to adapting teaching practices and technology for the classroom.
What are these resources?
The resources available to faculty and staff are so varied and numerous that it is difficult to list them in one place. However, the Center for the Enhancement of Learning, Teaching and University Assessment (CELTUA) is a good starting point for questions and information involving teaching or general matters pertaining to part-time faculty. CELTUA is staffed during regular business hours, is located in Laws Hall on the Oxford campus, and operates on a university-wide basis. The Middletown campus also has its own Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and is an excellent resource for that campus. In addition to the resources provided in your Survival Guide, we encourage you to take advantage of the other resources on our website.
What are some quick tips?
The number one tip is to get involved. Get to know your colleagues and take part in various university activities where you will find Information that cannot be found in handouts and manuals – such things as where and when to find the best parking spaces, or who can (quickly) fix glitches in your audio-visual equipment. The wisdom and tips that come from talking with classroom veterans is invaluable. For more tips, see the attached essay by Kent Bradshaw, a fellow part-timer.
Part-Time Survival Guide
Background/Overview
- Miami University History and Structure
- History of Part-Time Faculty in Academia
- A personal account by a survivor of part-time teaching