Does Cheaper Mean Better? The Impact of Using Adjunct Instructors on Student Outcomes

In an effort to reduce labor costs, higher education, like many other sectors of the economy, has increasingly relied on part-time, temporary employees. In the case of colleges, this has translated into dramatic increases in the use of adjunct instructors. Critics argue that adjuncts reduce educational quality because they often have less education. On the other hand, adjuncts may specialize in teaching or be concurrently employed and therefore could enhance student learning experiences. This paper quantifies how adjunct instructors affect subsequent student interest and course performance relative to full-time faculty using a unique dataset of over 43,000 students. To deal with selection issues, the paper uses an instrumental variable strategy that exploits variation in the composition of a department's faculty over time. The results suggest that adjuncts often have a small positive effect on student enrollment patterns, especially in fields related to particular occupations. JEL Classifications: I2, J2 The authors' names are listed alphabetically, and the researchers share authorship equally. The authors’ email addresses are [email protected] and [email protected]. The authors thank the Ohio Board of Regents for their support during this research project. Rod Chu, Darrell Glenn, Robert Sheehan, and Andy Lechler provided invaluable help with the data. All opinions and mistakes are our own. Does Cheaper Mean Better? The Impact of Using Adjunct Instructors on Student Outcomes Bettinger & Long 1