The High Cost. Adjunct Living: Upstate New York. A report by: 200 UNITED

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1 The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A report by: 200 UNITED

2 The Voices of Adjunct Professors I barely have enough money to survive. We re the majority faculty, yet we have no voice. I m not asking for the moon, but a living wage so that I can afford basic necessities. The only way I m affording [being an adjunct] right now is by living with my parents. These are the words of adjunct professors who struggle to make ends meet just to do the work they love teach.

3 Executive Summary There is a crisis in higher education. Quickly rising tuition has resulted in record levels of student debt, putting higher education out of reach for more and more working families. At the same time, universities are shifting resources away from instruction. Today, more than two-thirds of all faculty work on a contingent basis, facing low pay and no benefits or job security. Many do not even have access to basic facilities such as office space, making it increasingly difficult for adjuncts to do their best for their students. Being a university professor, once the quintessential middle-class job, has become a low-wage one. Upstate New York is no exception. Private, nonprofit and public colleges and universities in the Upstate New York market rely heavily on a contingent academic workforce; in 2012, 52 percent of faculty, or 20,585 employees, were not on the tenure track. Being a university professor, once the quintessential middle-class job, has become a low-wage one. This shift from a secure, well-compensated academic workforce to a temporary, lowpaid workforce impacts the area economy where these colleges and universities are located, surrounding communities, and Upstate New York in general. Through an analysis of cost-of-living measures and a series of interviews, this report will explore the impact casualization of academic labor has on Upstate New York professors and the potential impact on the economy and communities they call home. Specifically, the analysis poses the question: How many classes does an adjunct professor have to teach to afford basic cost-of-living measures housing, healthcare, food, the ability to retire? The median pay per course in the Mid-East the area of the country where Upstate New York is located was $2,700 for master s level institutions and $3,750 for doctoral level institutions at private not-forprofit institutions or up to $4,000 at public institutions. This means an adjunct teaching 12 courses a year an extraordinary course load may have an annual income of just $32,400. Findings include: An adjunct professor must teach between 10 and 17 classes a year to afford a home and utilities in metro Albany. An adjunct professor would need to teach up to seven classes per year to cover the cost of groceries for a family. An adjunct professor would need to teach three to six classes to pay for a cesarean delivery at certain Upstate New York hospitals.

4 The increasingly contingent nature of academic labor is not an accident of history but a deliberate business model that leaves taxpayers holding the bag by depriving faculty of wages, benefits and job security, forcing them to collect food stamps and subsidized healthcare, and forgo saving for retirement. In many ways, the crisis in higher education mirrors the crisis in the broader economy, where jobs are increasingly low wage and part time even while revenues and profits are increasing. Adjunct faculty are joining unions to raise standards. According to the Coalition on the Academic Workforce, unionized adjuncts report more job security and have a median pay per course that is 25 percent higher than their nonunion counterparts. This translates to campuses having a consistent and stable workforce and a more secure workforce puts less of a burden on city and county governments. Adjuncts in Upstate New York have already begun to come together to change the face of higher education in Upstate New York. The 10,700 nonunion adjuncts at nonprofit and public colleges and universities in Upstate New York can stand with more than 23,000 faculty that have already unionized with SEIU to improve higher education and improve working conditions and benefits for adjuncts in Upstate New York.

5 Transformation of the Academic Workforce: An Overview In 2013, more than 1.5 million teachers worked in postsecondary education in the United States. 1 Many of us think of these jobs as being filled by full-time, salaried professors who spend their days on campus educating their students, developing cutting edge research, and increasing the depth of our academic knowledge. The reality is that institutions of higher education are increasingly relying upon contingent academic labor: professors that are hired on a class-by-class basis, semester-to-semester with no job security, paid minimal compensation, provided no benefits, and are outside the tenure system. Faculty teaching jobs once considered a dream middle-class profession have become one of the many precarious positions created by the new economy. What does this transformation the casualization of the academic workforce mean? For colleges and universities, a well-paid, stable workforce is being replaced with a lower-paid workforce with no job security. For faculty, it means a dramatic decrease in quality of life and their ability to provide for their families in their chosen profession. The average annual pay in 2013 for a tenured professor at a private research university in the United States is $167, In comparison, the average pay per course reported by adjunct faculty is approximately $3, Even if an adjunct teaches eight courses per year considered a high course load that person is making just $24,000 annually with likely no benefits. The institutions of higher education in Upstate New York rely heavily on a contingent academic workforce. In 2012, approximately 52 percent of full- and part-time employees with faculty status at four-year not-for-profit, and two- and four-year public institutions 4, or almost 20,585 faculty employees, were not on the tenure track or in the tenure system. 5 This contingent academic workforce at Upstate New York s colleges and universities is frequently working on a part-time basis. In 2012, 39 percent of employees with faculty status, or 15,200 employees, are part time. 6 All of the adjuncts interviewed for this white paper reported a love of teaching and students, but many expressed concern for their future and their ability to afford continuing with the job. An interviewee said, Being an adjunct is a lot of work, it takes a lot of my time. I just feel like there has to be some type of monetary equivalent to the amount of time I m spending. It s a passion; nobody goes into teaching because they want to be rich; it s because I really love what I do. I wouldn t be doing it if I didn t love it. But when your family starts complaining that they don t see you, they don t hear from you and your job starts taking precedence to your family, that s a difficult situation. The shift from a secure, well-compensated academic workforce to a temporary, low-paid workforce impacts Upstate New York communities and the regional economy where these colleges and universities are located. This report will explore the impact that casualization of academic labor has on Upstate New York professors and the potential effects on the economy and communities they call home. Specifically, the analysis poses the question: How many classes does an adjunct professor have to teach to afford basic cost-of-living measures housing, healthcare, food, the ability to retire? 7 The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 5

6 Transformation of the Academic Workforce: A National View Tenured, full-time faculty positions are on a steady decline. In 1969, tenured and tenure-track positions made up approximately 78.3 percent of the faculty and nontenure-track positions comprised 21.7 percent. In 2009, tenured and tenure-track faculty had declined to 33.5 percent and 66.5 percent of faculty were ineligible for tenure. 8 Share of U.S. college and university faculty by tenure, 1969 and % 90% 80% 21.7% 70% 60% 65.5% 50% 40% 30% 78.3% 20% 10% 0% 33.5% Tenured and tenure-track Non-tenure track From 1970 to 2003, the numbers of part-time faculty members in the United States increased 422 percent while full-time faculty have only increased 71 percent. 9 In 2011, part-time faculty represented 50 percent of all teaching faculty at degree-granting institutions, up from 34 percent in 1987 and 22 percent in Part-time faculty as percent of all faculty 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Adjunct or contingent faculty positions are often thought to be professionals that have careers outside academia, who teach a class occasionally to offer a specific expertise or experience to students, or because they want to make some extra money. Part-time teaching, however, is not a choice for many part-time faculty members. A National Study of Postsecondary Faculty report showed that more than 35 percent of part-time faculty, and half of part-time faculty in the humanities, would have preferred a full-time position in their institutions The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU

7 Transformation of the Academic Workforce: Impact on the Individual In New York, full-time professors are paid a salary that varies widely across disciplines, but averaged between $90,674 and $154,224 in Generally, full-time professors may teach up to five or six courses per year and spend the rest of their time developing research, serving on committees, meeting with students, advising graduate students, and preparing for classes. Adjunct faculty often try to teach as many courses as possible to make enough money to pay their bills many teaching six to 15 courses per year with classes at multiple colleges. An adjunct is often paid by the course, and the median pay per course for part-time faculty members in the Mid-East region the area of the country where Upstate New York is located is $2,700 at a master s level private not-for-profit institution; $3,750 at a doctoral level private not-for-profit institution; $2,300 at an associate level public institution; $3,238 at a master s level public institution; and $4,000 at a doctoral level public institution. 13 In comparison, the average tuition at a four-year not-for-profit institution in New York was $23,790 in Despite the high cost of tuition, an adjunct could teach six courses a year and only earn $13,800 to $24,000, or 12 courses a year and have an annual income of $27,600 to $48,000. As one adjunct explained: Last year, I realized by the end of the year that I had actually taken on six part-time jobs and they were working at two different schools, working at a store, tutoring, all these sort of things, and still, I think I made like $20,000, which is crazy because I was constantly on the go. In one day I could be in three different places doing three different things, and of course it really shouldn t be that way. Contingent or adjunct faculty are rarely provided benefits. Even as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, often referred to as Obamacare, goes into effect, colleges and universities have begun to institute new limits on adjuncts hours to avoid their responsibility for providing affordable healthcare to adjunct professors. 15 In Upstate New York, the majority of adjuncts interviewed accessed their healthcare through N.Y. State of Health, the New York health insurance exchange, although some are able to access health insurance through a spouse. Adjuncts have no job security. Generally, their contracts are per semester and they have to reapply for their jobs for the following semester. In addition, classes can be canceled up to the day they are scheduled to begin, and if that happens an adjunct is often not compensated for that class or for the work they have already done to prepare for the class. One adjunct explained: I don t sign a contract until the first day of class. Up until the first day of class I could get a phone call or get notified by , Hey, sorry! We don t have any classes for you. There s no guarantee that I m going to be teaching until the class starts and then I sign a contract. Part-time professors get little support for research, scholarship or any professional development. In 2003, part-time faculty reported spending 90 percent of their time on teaching, 6.6 percent on administrative and other duties, and 3.4 percent on research. 16 The growth of the academic contingent workforce with limited time or support for research or creative work has long-term negative consequences for scholarship and the public benefit. It also negatively impacts the adjunct s professional development as it limits or prevents the possibility of professional advancement. Meanwhile, the shrinking availability of tenure-track positions means that newly minted Ph.D.s are finding it increasingly difficult to find full-time work and are more willing to teach as adjuncts at low rates with no security, resources or benefits. One interviewee explained his frustration: This situation is dragging all college teaching down. Administrators can just say, Look we ve got an immense army of labor that we can pull from, if you don t like this job, we ll give it to somebody else!, and as a result you have administrators who are making in the millions. It s morally wrong, economically wrong, educationally wrong, it s wrong in every possible way, there s no justification for it, none! And the main reason why it s still going on is because people don t know that it exists. The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 7

8 Transformation of the Academic Workforce: Where do we go from here? As many as 2,845,000 New York residents may be struggling to make ends meet more than 15 percent of New York s population. 17 Adjuncts in Upstate New York have decided it is time to come together to build a marketwide movement to improve compensation, benefits, job security, access to the tools and materials to do their work well, support for research and scholarship, meaningful access to academic freedom, and inclusion in the academic life and governance of their institutions. Unionizing has made demonstrated improvements to the working conditions of adjuncts. In fact, median pay per course is 25 percent higher for part-time faculty represented by a union than for those that are not unionized. According to the 2012 Coalition on the Academic Workforce report, unionized part-time faculty also fare better on job security: 19 percent of unionized part-time faculty report they have some kind of job security, and 18 percent are even paid for course cancellation. In comparison, only 4 percent of nonunionized part-time faculty report having any job security, with only 10 percent reporting they receive compensation when a course is canceled. 18 Unionized adjuncts also report improved working conditions, such as increased access, support from their institution and opportunities to participate in governance. 19 Nationally, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents 22,000 faculty, 74,000 nonfaculty higher education employees and 80,000 early childhood educators. Our adjunct faculty are organized in colleges throughout the country, from the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges to the California State University system. And we are growing with campaigns in Washington, D.C., Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Baltimore, St. Louis, the San Francisco Bay Area, New Hampshire, Vermont and Upstate New York. In addition, the 2 million SEIU members and their children have a huge stake in the quality and accessibility of education and we have a unique perspective on the challenges facing colleges and universities and an understanding that educational success depends on more than just the classroom. In October 2014, part-time faculty at Tufts University in Boston overwhelmingly approved a landmark first union contract that makes groundbreaking progress in job stability, includes a significant increase in per course pay, and establishes new pathways for professional development. According to a Boston Globe report, most part-time professors at Tufts University will get a 22 percent pay raise over the next three years and improved job security under a new contract that could influence negotiations at other schools in the Boston area and beyond where adjunct faculty have recently organized or are considering doing so. 20 In the District of Columbia, SEIU Local 500 represents more than two-thirds of the adjuncts in the adjunct labor market, and has won improvements in compensation and benefits for their adjunct members. Contractually guaranteed benefits include increased job security, such as enhanced procedures for assignment and reappointment, and standards for discipline and dismissal. SEIU Local 500 has also negotiated better compensation packages, including pay increases that resulted in one department at George Washington University receiving an increase of up to 32 percent. 21 California Faculty Association (CFA) represents tenure-track and nontenure-track faculty at the California State University system and is affiliated with SEIU, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the National Education Association. CFA s contract often considered the gold standard of adjunct contracts includes increased job security, such as renewable, three-year contracts reserved for incumbents, and access to health insurance and retirement The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU

9 Methodology The adjunct cost-of-living index in this report assumes an adjunct is compensated at a rate of $2,300 per course or $4,000 per course. According to AAUP s Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, , the median pay per course for part-time faculty members in fall 2010 in the Mid-East was $2,700 at a master s level private not-for-profit institution; $3,750 at a doctoral level private not-for-profit institution; $2,300 at an associate level public institution; $3,238 at a master s level public institution; and $4,000 at a doctoral level public institution. 23 The four-year nonprofit colleges examined in this report include bachelor s level, master s level and doctoral level institutions and so the actual rate of pay an Upstate New York adjunct is earning may be lower or higher depending on the school and the subject matter of the course. Interviews with adjuncts living and working in Upstate New York were done in September Adjuncts with teaching experience at 12 different nonprofit and public colleges and universities in Upstate New York were interviewed. 24 In this report, full- and part-time faculty that are not in the tenure track or in the tenure system will be referred to as contingent or adjunct faculty. The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 9

10 Academic Work and the Upstate New York Economy Upstate New York is an expensive place to live; for example, the cost of living in Albany is 8 percent higher than the U.S. average. 25 This analysis will compare certain cost-of-living measures in Upstate New York with the compensation paid to adjuncts in the market. As one adjunct describes, Teaching is the only job I have but I also get some income through my family; I get some help. You do the calculation, 5 courses times $3,000 is $15,000 a year. If I was relying on that as the totality of my income I wouldn t be able to feed myself. Although many adjuncts express a love for their profession, they also are concerned about the sustainability of the profession with its current conditions. One instructor said: I can t see how I can sustain it much longer. It wears on you after a while; working at three or four different schools, four or five different classes; plus a night job. After a while you just can t. I m getting to the point where I ve been doing it for 10 years, and I don t know how much longer I ll be able to keep it up. on top of teaching, I also work a night job. And the reason why I got that is because it allows me to get health benefits and gives me extra money. To supplement their low income and make ends meet, adjuncts often take on additional, nonacademic jobs. One adjunct said: I m limited at [a college] by how much I can teach because there s this benefit ceiling. It used to be that I could teach more than three courses per year, but then they changed the math and the way they did the contracts. The main point I m trying to make is that I have to get other jobs that aren t teaching in order to fill in the gaps. Another adjunct explained: What I ve had to do is that on top of teaching, I also work a night job. And the reason why I got that is because it allows me to get health benefits and gives me extra money, because I couldn t live off of teaching alone. Academic Work and the Cost of Housing How many classes must an adjunct professor teach to afford an apartment in Upstate New York? Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Maryland is $1, As the federal Office of Affordable Housing Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in metro Buffalo is $ As the federal Office of Affordable Housing Preservation notes, households spending more than 30 percent of income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care. 27 An adjunct professor must teach between nine and 16 classes a year to afford rent in metro Buffalo. 28 In metro Rochester, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $895. An adjunct professor must teach between nine and 16 classes a year to afford rent in metro Rochester. In metro Albany, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,200. An adjunct professor must teach between 12 and 21 classes a year to afford rent in metro Albany. In metro Ithaca, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,200. An adjunct professor must teach between 12 and 21 classes a year to afford rent in metro Ithaca. In metro Poughkeepsie, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,500. An adjunct professor must teach between 15 and 26 classes a year to afford rent in metro Poughkeepsie. 10 The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU

11 In Utica, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $700. An adjunct professor must teach between seven and 12 classes a year to afford rent in Utica. In Binghamton, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $750. An adjunct professor must teach between eight and 13 classes a year to afford rent in Binghamton. In metro Syracuse, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,379. An adjunct professor must teach between 14 and 24 classes a year to afford rent in metro Syracuse. Many adjuncts are burdened by rental costs. One adjunct explained: My rent is about $700 a month, on top of that I have a car payment and all my other bills and my student loans are about $400 a month. So for 10 years as a professional, I m just still at the same place, I haven t really advanced that much. Just being able to pay the bills is pretty much where I am. Many of the adjuncts we interviewed rent instead of purchase a home because of the instability of the work. An instructor explained: Constantly looking for work, that s what this job is. People are always looking for classes, and at least for me, right now I m searching for another part-time job because I didn t get to teach the classes that I normally do. And I normally have part-time work on top of those three classes, so that s why I m looking for work now. The lack of job security results in an adjunct living with the constant stress that their income could be taken away. One adjunct said, I look for work several times a week. I mean when I wasn t preparing for class, I was always looking for new jobs and applying to new jobs. I must have like 200 cover letters on my computer. Constantly looking for work, that s what this job is. How many classes must an adjunct teach to afford a house in Upstate New York? Median home cost in metro Buffalo is $128,700, 29 which results in monthly housing payments of $ An adjunct professor must teach between seven and 13 classes a year to afford a home in metro Buffalo. 31 Median home cost in metro Rochester is $125,100, which results in monthly housing payments of $703. An adjunct professor must teach between seven and 12 classes a year to afford a home, in metro Rochester. Median home cost in metro Albany is $185,400, which results in monthly housing payments of $998. An adjunct professor must teach between 10 and 17 classes a year to afford a home in metro Albany. Median home cost in metro Ithaca is $191,700, which results in monthly housing payments of $1,028. An adjunct professor must teach between 10 and 18 classes a year to afford a home in metro Ithaca. Median home cost in metro Poughkeepsie is $215,400, which results in monthly housing payments of $1,145. An adjunct professor must teach between 11 and 20 classes a year to afford a home in metro Poughkeepsie. Median home cost in Utica is $93,500, which results in monthly housing payments of $453. Owners median utilities costs are $549 per year. An adjunct professor must teach between five and 10 classes a year to afford a home in Utica. The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 11

12 Median home cost in Binghamton is $112,560, which results in monthly housing payments of $642. An adjunct professor must teach between six and 11 classes a year to afford a home in Binghamton. Median home cost in metro Syracuse is $109,400, which results in monthly housing payments of $626. An adjunct professor must teach between six and 11 classes a year to afford a home in metro Syracuse. Affordable housing was often cited as a struggle by the adjuncts interviewed for this project. Some of the adjuncts even have to incur debt so they can continue to teach. One Upstate New York adjunct said: I own my house so I pay utilities and taxes. I regularly have a hard time paying my bills, I have to defer, and I have a credit card bill of $10,000. I also have a home equity loan of $12,000 that I m not able to repay. An adjunct who bought a home with her husband a couple of years ago stated: The pay as a graduate student was actually better. Our mortgage is about $1,200 a month and we re able to afford it because of my husband s income. We have two kids now and we would like to buy a larger house, but we re not able. Adjuncts also report living off their savings. One adjunct said: Sometimes I m offered classes during the summers; it just depends. We ve had to take money out of our retirement during the summer to make ends meet. Academic Work and the Cost of Groceries How many classes does an adjunct professor have to teach to afford groceries? An adjunct professor would need to teach one or two classes per year to cover the cost of groceries for one person. An adjunct professor would need to teach up to seven classes per year to cover the cost of groceries for a family. 32 [My income] is called Capital One, I have about $5,000 in my credit card from the past nine months. I use a credit card to fill in the gaps and it adds up. Adjuncts with small course loads, a common occurrence in the summer, may struggle to afford groceries. One adjunct explained that her family struggled when her husband lost his job. She stated: We were on public assistance for a short time just to get through that period. We were using WIC and were eligible for food stamps but I never ended up getting them, so I used a local food pantry. Courses available to teach are often in short supply during the summer, making already tight budgets tighter. One interviewee said: [My income] is called Capital One, I have about $5,000 in my credit card from the past nine months. I use a credit card to fill in the gaps and it adds up. One adjunct explained that her family struggled when she was the main breadwinner; she stated: We had to be careful about buying meat. We ate a lot of pasta, we ate a lot of mac and cheese, and we ate a lot of ramen noodles; kind of like college kids do. We couldn t afford meat or poultry or fish for a long time. Courses available to teach are often in short supply during the summer, making already tight budgets tighter. One interviewee said: During the summer, it is very hard for a part-timer to get work; there s almost none given and so you have the whole summer with no paychecks. You do have to think twice about how you spend your money. 12 The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU

13 Academic Work and the Cost of Day Care How many classes does an adjunct professor have to teach to afford day care for one child? According to reports, New York has one of the most expensive day care costs in the United States. 33 An adjunct professor would need to teach four to six classes a year just to cover the average cost of fulltime infant care at a child care center in New York. An adjunct professor would need to teach three to five classes a year just to cover the average cost of fulltime care for a 4-year-old at a child care center in New York. An adjunct professor would need to teach three to five classes a year just to cover the cost of before and after-school care for a school-age child at a child care center in New York. 34 One adjunct said: I feel like we re able to kind of scrape by because we have one full income but my income doesn t even really count. By the time I pay for babysitters and gas, there s really nothing left. It doesn t even really go to support our family. By the time I pay for babysitters and gas, there s really nothing left. It doesn t even really go to support our family. At times, the high cost of day care can have a negative effect on family life. An adjunct explained, Since I don t have child care during the day, when my husband works, I feel the impact on family time because I m trying to work when he is able to be with the children, which are evenings and weekends. Another adjunct offered: I m on three different college schedules, so I have to hire someone to watch my son when he has sick days because my days don t coordinate with his. His spring break doesn t coordinate with mine. We don t even have an opportunity to go on vacation because I never know where I m going to be or what I m doing from year to year or semester to semester. Academic Work and the Cost of Transportation How many classes does an adjunct professor have to teach to afford to get around the city of St. Louis? An adjunct professor would need to teach two or three classes to cover the cost of automobile expenses and gasoline. 35 Many of the adjuncts interviewed reported that a car is necessary to travel long distances between campuses to teach classes. One adjunct who teaches at three different institutions said: I calculated it the other day. I m driving 150 miles a week. I m spending $100 on gas a week. My truck is 16 years old and the check engine light is on. I don t know what I m going to do if I can t fix it enough to pass inspection this month, and that might be it. Transportation has made employment decisions for me; since I don t have reliable enough transportation to drive far on a daily basis. The long commutes between schools result in an additional layer of stress to the lives of Upstate New York adjuncts. One adjunct reports: I probably spend more time driving than anything. Especially the term that I taught at three different schools, it was a lot of driving back and forth between schools and paying for parking permits for each school; or seeing if I could find parking that didn t involve paying for a parking pass. The expense of owning a car also weighs on many of the adjuncts. One adjunct said: My truck is 16 years old and the check engine light is on. I don t know what I m going to do if I can t fix it enough to pass inspection this month, and that might be it. I m already in a hole and I don t have money to invest in another vehicle, and I don t have money to afford a car loan. Transportation has made employment decisions for me, since I don t have reliable enough transportation to drive far on a daily basis. The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 13

14 Academic Work and the Cost of Health and Medical Care How many classes must an adjunct teach to afford medical care at certain Upstate New York hospitals? 36 An adjunct professor would need to teach two to four classes to afford care for a fever; 37 An adjunct professor would need to teach three to six classes to pay for a cesarean delivery; 38 An adjunct professor would need to teach 12 to 20 classes to afford care for a heart attack. 39 Although emergency medical care is expensive, it is often chronic medical conditions that cause the most stress. For example, one adjunct said: I can only have my surgeries that I need to have done during the summer months. I can t take time off; [the college] is not going to pay me for any time off. Some adjuncts report forgoing medical care because of the expense. One adjunct reported, I need some dental work, which I m forgoing right now because I don t have the money to pay for it. How many classes does an adjunct have to teach to afford health insurance? An adjunct professor would need to teach one or one and a half classes to afford the lowest-priced single coverage health insurance. An adjunct professor would need to teach two or three classes to afford the lowest-priced health insurance for family coverage. These low premiums often come with high deductibles $2,000 per year for individuals and $4,000 for families before the insurance plan will cover certain services, including some prescription drugs, emergency room visits, and hospital stays. 40 Repeatedly, interviewees pointed to health insurance as one of their biggest concerns. One person said: I have to purchase my own health insurance at $1,000 a month. On $16,000 a semester, it s big chunk of my budget. Academic Work and the Cost of Student Debt How many classes must an adjunct teach to pay back student loan debt? The average cumulative student loan debt is $40,208 for individuals with a master s degree and $58,967 for individuals with a doctorate. 41 An adjunct professor would need to teach one to four classes per year just to cover student loan payments. 42 Many adjuncts live with large student debt bills. The burden of high educational debt, which cannot be discharged through bankruptcy and can follow an individual for life, hinders meaningful savings and the ability to make major purchases such as a home. I originally borrowed about $45,000 total for undergraduate and graduate school. I was able, over almost 20 years, to pay about half of that off with a really bad interest rate. 14 The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU

15 Many of the interviewees were impacted by high student debt. One adjunct with student loan debt said: I originally borrowed about $45,000 total for undergraduate and graduate school. I was able, over almost 20 years, to pay about half of that off with a really bad interest rate. And then about a year or two ago, my wife and I paid off our loans in full with a home equity loan. So both she and I still owe considerable money, but now it s in a home equity loan. I still owe about $20,000 but it s got a much better interest rate now that we did that, but if my wife didn t have a house then we would still be paying that terrible interest rate. Academic Work and the Cost of Entertainment Adjuncts interviewed for this project talked about not being able to afford to participate in some of the fun things in life going to restaurants or on vacations because they could not afford the expense. One said, We really can t afford to do anything for entertainment. Another adjunct offered: You find ways of being able to do things; if we travel we do a lot of camping. I don t have expendable income to fly and get hotels. I do everything in balance and moderation. Academic Work and the Cost of Retirement Although some of the public and nonprofit colleges and universities allow adjuncts to enroll in their retirement savings plans, rarely, if ever, do colleges offer a matching contribution. Most adjuncts cannot afford to participate in any retirement savings plan. One adjunct professor said: Other than Social Security, I have a little bit of savings. After 10 years of teaching, there s no compensation in terms of a retirement package, so other than my little savings, there s really no long-term plan. I m really not saving enough. There isn t enough to pay for that. It s $100 a month, that s a lot. I have it automatically taken out of my account and that s not even close to what I should have at this point. When interviewees were asked how they are preparing for retirement, most said they are not, including one who said: I m going to need to have Social Security to get through. I don t have a private retirement package. I m going to need to rely on Social Security, work and the little bit that I saved. Often, interviewees expressed feelings of anxiety when discussing retirement. An adjunct said: I m really not saving enough. There isn t enough to pay for that. It s $100 a month, that s a lot. I have it automatically taken out of my account and that s not even close to what I should have at this point. She added, I m assuming because of the job I have that I can at least work until I m 67 to 70 years old. The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 15

16 Academic Work and the New York Economy What does this low rate of pay mean to an adjunct living and working in Upstate New York how do adjuncts make ends meet? Through our interviews, we found a reliance on the low- and no-cost programs offered through New York s social welfare programs. The majority of adjuncts interviewed were either insured through a spouse or they accessed free or low-cost health insurance through N.Y. State of Health, New York s health insurance exchange. Until recently, certain eligibility requirements may have prevented many adjuncts from qualifying for the Medicaid program in New York, although many may meet the income guidelines. For example, to qualify for Medicaid, an individual must have an income of $16,105 or less and a family of four can earn no more than $32,913 annually in If an adjunct teaches seven courses a year and earns $2,300 per course, he or she will have an annual income of $16,100 and may qualify for Medicaid. 44 An adjunct that is the sole breadwinner in his or her family of four could teach up to 14 classes and still qualify for Medicaid. 45 In addition to increased usage of the healthcare safety net, a low-paid academic work force may need other social welfare programs to subsist. For example, to qualify for New York s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), an individual can earn no more than $15,180 per year and a family of four can earn no more than $31,008 annually in An adjunct can teach six classes per year and still qualify for food stamps. An adjunct with a family of four can teach 13 classes and still qualify for food stamps. 46 Also, adjuncts living in Upstate New York may qualify for Section 8 rent vouchers. For example, adjuncts living in Albany may qualify if they are a family of four earning less than $23,500 a year. An adjunct earning $2,300 per class could teach up to 10 classes and still qualify for a family of four. Adjuncts living in Buffalo may qualify if they are a family of four earning less than $19,150 a year. An adjunct earning $2,300 per class could teach up to eight classes and still qualify for a family of four. 47 Additionally, adjuncts may qualify for New York s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which provides assistance with heating bills. To qualify, an individual can earn no more than $26,100 per year. An adjunct can teach 11 classes per year and still qualify for this assistance. 48 The impact of high student debt loads may further complicate adjuncts lives and limit their spending power and their ability to save. Adjuncts may have to delay or forgo home ownership and will struggle when facing retirement. When asked the question: How are you preparing for retirement? many of the adjuncts interviewed laughed out loud in response. One adjunct stated, I m not. I have no plan. I have no retirement plan and I m 40 years old, and I don t know how I could have one. 16 The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU

17 Conclusion The current situation at institutions of higher education is not sustainable for adjuncts who represent 52 percent of all teaching faculty at public colleges and universities in the Upstate New York area. As one interviewee summarized: While the work itself is enjoyable I love teaching, I love working with students it s a struggle to teach as an adjunct because we re trying to juggle so many different things so that we can put a living together. I don t think that helps things at all. Unionization has made demonstrated improvements to the working conditions of adjuncts. According to the Coalition on the Academic Workforce, unionized adjuncts report more job security and have a median pay per course that is 25 percent higher than their nonunion counterparts. 49 While this report has focused on adjuncts struggling to survive on adjunct wages, there are also adjuncts from Maine to California who, in forming a union, have greatly improved their financial situation. Adjuncts at American University, for instance, not only fought for and won an increase in minimum pay rates per course, but also protections on recurring assignments and an expanded and more transparent evaluations process, among other important gains. While unionization has the potential to improve compensation and benefits, it also provides an avenue to improve job security, ensure a voice in the administration, protect academic freedom, and provide a community for an atomized workforce. Adjuncts in Upstate New York have begun to come together with Adjunct Action, a project of SEIU, to change the face of higher education in Upstate New York. This work must continue and grow so the approximately 10,700 nonunion adjuncts at nonprofit and public colleges and universities in Upstate New York can stand with more than 23,000 faculty that have already unionized with SEIU to improve higher education, and improve working conditions and benefits for adjuncts. The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 17

18 End Notes 1 Occupational Employment Statistics Data: May 2013, National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates United States: Postsecondary Teachers, Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed August 18, 2014, 2 Tamar Lewin, Gap Widens for Faculty at Colleges, Report Finds, The New York Times, April 8, 2013, accessed August 18, 2014, education/gap-in-university-faculty-pay-continues-to-grow-report-finds.html?_r=2&. 3 Audrey Williams June and Jonah Newman, Adjunct project reveals wide range in pay, Chronicle of Higher Education, January 4, 2013, accessed August 18, 2014, chronicle.com/article/adjunct-project-shows-wide/136439/. 4 Hereinafter, colleges and universities in the Upstate New York area specifically refer to all four-year private not-for-profit, two-year public, four-year and above public, Title IV-eligible colleges and universities in New York, excluding those in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. Metro Area Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). 5 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System: Final release data, 2012, National Center for Education Statistics, accessed October 3, 2014, ipeds/datacenter/default.aspx. Data pulled for all employees with faculty status for full-time and part-time employees. Analysis includes data provided by all Title IV-participating private, not-for-profit four-year; two-year public; and four-year and above public colleges and universities in New York, excluding those in the New York- Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. Metro Area Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). 6 Ibid. 7 A cost-of-living index is a theoretical measurement that examines the amount a consumer needs to spend on goods and services to reach a certain standard of living over a specific amount of time for a specific location. 8 The Changing Faculty and Student Success: National Trends for Faculty Composition Over Time, University of Southern California Rossier, Pullias Center for Higher Education, accessed October 3, 2013, pdf. 9 Ibid. 10 U.S. Department of Education Digest of Education Statistics, 2012, Table 290, National Center for Education Statistics, accessed July 24, 2013, programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_290.asp. 11 Part-Time Instructional Faculty and Staff: Who They Are, What They Do, and What They Think, supplemental tables for Fall 2003, Table 19, National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, accessed September 30, 2013, 12 U.S. Department of Education Digest of Education Statistics, 2013, Table , National Center for Education Statistics, accessed October 3, 2014, ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_ asp. United States and New York average in for full-time instructional faculty on nine-month contracts in fouryear degree granting institutions at not-for-profit master s and doctoral institutions. 13 John Curtis and Saranna Thornton, Here s the News: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, , American Association of University Professors, accessed October 3, 2013, 14 Author analysis on file. Original source: Fall 2012, Institutional Characteristics component and Spring 2013, Student Financial Aid component, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), accessed October 3, 2014, 15 Carl Straumsheim, Tackling the Cap, Inside Higher Education, April 24, 2013, accessed October 3, Part-Time Instructional Faculty and Staff, supplemental tables for Fall 2003, Table 28, supra n New York State Poverty Report, New York State Community Action Association, accessed October 3, Documents/News/NYSCAAs_2013_Poverty_Report.pdf 18 A Portrait of Part-Time Faculty Members, Tables 25, 39, Coalition on the Academic Workforce, June 2012, accessed October 3, 2013, 19 Colleen Flaherty, Union raises for adjuncts, Inside Higher Education, July 26, 2013, accessed October 3, 2013, adjunct-union-contracts-ensure-real-gains-including-better-pay. 20 Rocheleau, Matt. Tufts part-time professors to get better pay, job security. Boston Globe. October 27, Flaherty, Union raises for adjuncts, supra n Ibid. 23 Curtis and Thornton, Here s the News, supra n Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, supra n Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2010, U.S. Census Bureau, accessed August 30, 2013, 26 For Example: Buffalo Metro Home Prices and Values Zillow, Buffalo Metro Rentals, accessed November 2014, These numbers are calculated on a monthly basis and updated as of September 30, Affordable Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 3, 2013, comm_planning/affordablehousing/ 28 For Example: Annual cost for a $900 per month apartment is $10,800, which means an individual would need an annual income of $36,000 to avoid being housing cost burdened. 18 The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU

19 29 Buffalo Metro Home Prices and Values Zillow, accessed November, 2014, These numbers are calculated on a monthly basis and updated as of September 30, For Example: Assumes the following: (1) 20 percent down payment of $25,740; (2) an interest rate of 4.1 percent, which is the 30-year fixed mortgage rate for the week ending November 1, 2013 ( Selected Interest Rates (Daily) - H.15, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, releases/h15/data.htm); (3) annual premium of $1,097 for home owners insurance (New York State median for and (4) $132 in property taxes (State median of 1.23 percent according to 31 For Example: $ per month is $8,650 annually, which means an individual would need an annual income of $28,833 to be paying no more than 30 percent of income for housing. 32 Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels: U.S. Average, August U.S. Department of Agriculture, accessed October 3, 2014, Estimates are based on the following: for individuals, moderate to liberal food plan for male and female between the ages of 19 and 70; for families, moderate to liberal food plan for all families. 33 Parents and the High Cost of Child Care, 2013 Report, Child Care Aware of America, accessed October 3, 2014, files/cost_of_care_2013_103113_0.pdf. 34 Ibid. Average annual costs for full-time care at a child care center in New York is $14,939 for an infant, $12,355 for a 4-year-old, and $11,690 for a school-age child. 35 Estimates using the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission s Commuting Calculator, Assumes the following: (1) a roundtrip commute of 50 miles, the average U.S. commute time is 25 minutes, based on the 2011 Commuting in the United States: 2009 report, census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acs-15.pdf; (2) a fuel-efficiency rating of 25 miles per gallon; (3) $3.63 per gallon of gasoline (the regular rate as of September 29, 2014, based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration, (4) $ per mile for registration, maintenance, taxes, financing, insurance and depreciation (calculator default value); and (6) $0 in monthly parking costs. 36 Assumes no insurance. 37 Hospital Inpatient Cost Transparency: Beginning 2009, Health Data N.Y., accessed October 3, 2014, Transparency-Beginning-200/7dtz-qxmr. Median cost at Buffalo General Medical Center for care for a fever is $8, Ibid. Median cost at Rome Memorial Hospital for a cesarean delivery is $12, Ibid. Median cost at Albany Medical Center for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) is $46, Premium estimates obtained October 3, 2014, using N.Y. State of Health for individuals and families, Used the second lowest price bronze level plan for sample family to obtain estimates. The second lowest premium provided for a single individual was $270 per month. The second lowest premium provided for a sample family was $540 per month. 41 Student Loans, Finaid, accessed October 3, 2013, 42 Assumes a 6.8 percent interest rate and a standard, 120-month repayment for direct Stafford loans, 43 Medicaid in New York State: 2014 Income and Resource Levels, New York State Department of Health, accessed October 3, 2014, health_care/medicaid/#income. 44 Ibid. In 2014, an individual making less than $16,105 would qualify for Medicaid. Assumes one course is compensated at $2, Ibid. In 2014, a family of four making less than $32,913 would qualify for Medicaid. 46 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, accessed October 3, 2014, ny.gov/programs/snap/#eligibility. Assumes one course is compensated at $2, Section 8 FY 2014 Income Limits, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, for New York State, accessed October 3, 2014; org/portal/datasets/il/il14/ny.pdf. Assumes one course is compensated at $2, Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, accessed October 3, 2014, programs/heap/program.asp#income. Assumes one course is compensated at $2, Portrait of Part-Time Faculty Members, supra n. 18. The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Upstate New York A Report by Adjunct Action, a Project of SEIU 19