Adjunct Faculty: Personal Finances and Retirement Savings
The ranks of adjunct faculty have increased rapidly in recent decades. How are these individuals faring financially?
Adjuncts – defined as part-time nontenure-track faculty who have neither retired from a tenured position nor have a career outside higher education – account for about a third of all faculty today. This report leverages data from the TIAA Institute’s 2018 Adjunct Faculty Survey to examine adjuncts’ personal finances and financial behavior, including their retirement savings, across all sectors of American higher education. A previous TIAA Institute report based on the same survey data examined adjuncts’ demographic characteristics and work experiences.
This report’s findings are based on an online survey of 502 adjunct faculty members conducted from May 14 to June 8, 2018. Respondents were selected from members of the Research Now online research panel – one of the most comprehensive and deeply profiled online survey panels available – and represent all sectors of higher education.