REVIEWING INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITATION AND STANDARDS REGARDING CONTINGENT-ACADEMIC FACULTY

WHEREAS, accreditation is a status granted to an education institution or program that has agreed to meet or exceed stated criteria of educational quality and is designed to assure the quality of an institution and assist in its improvement; and

WHEREAS, although American universities are authorized at the state level, the U.S. Department of Education (DoEd) recognizes those universities holding regional accreditation as being eligible for financial assistance; and

WHEREAS, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (DHEA) recognizes the following accrediting bodies for colleges and universities in the United States: Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges; and

WHEREAS, there is no consistent standard regarding work conditions for contingent faculty, and accrediting agencies do very little to discourage the abuse of part-time faculty; and

WHEREAS, although some accrediting agencies ask for ratios of part-time to full-time faculty, colleges are not required to disclose the percentage of courses taught by contingent faculty and others ineligible for tenure; and

WHEREAS, various states have established laws and propose ratios of full-timers to part-timers that are rarely implemented, and some states have endorsed standards of equity for contingent faculty that are also not implemented or monitored:

RESOLVED, that the AFT examine practices of accreditation bodies, report their findings and propose to the accreditation bodies best practices for use, treatment and ratios of part-timers to full-timers.the employment and treatment of both full- and part-time contingent faculty including the ratios of part-time to full-time and tenure-track to nontenure-track faculty.