The One Faculty Campaign
The overwhelming majority of faculty in higher education are part-time, temporary employees, with little-to-no job security, doing generally the same work as, but paid much less than, their tenured colleagues. This over-reliance on, and exploitation of, "adjunct" faculty is widely acknowledged as one of the biggest problems in higher ed. Although minor improvements have been made over time, this situation has remained essentially unchanged for over 40 years.
The standard response from labor unions, faculty senates, and professional academic organizations has been to call for more full-time hires. Year after year this strategy has been the focus of legislative lobbying, resolutions, bills, and budget allocations, yet on the whole there has been no change in the ratio of courses taught by tenured and contingent faculty.
Many have come to realize that to simply call for more tenure lines is a failed strategy that has been utterly ineffective.
There is a movement, taking inspiration from the one-tier system instituted in Vancouver, to directly challenge the idea that there should be a permanent underclass of contingent faculty in higher education, specifically in the community college system, where tenured and contingent faculty do the same work. Summarized by the slogans of "end the two-tier system," "it's time for a one-tier system," or simply "the one faculty campaign," this movement seeks fundamental change in how higher ed is structured.
Resources for the One Faculty Campaign
- A Unified Faculty Model: The Remedy for Decades of Failed Education "Reform" in the California Community Colleges
- Develop a strategic plan to end the two-tier system in the community colleges (CFT resolution)
- How to Fix Community College (PDF)
- CFT passes resolution to develop a strategy to end the two-tier system in California community colleges (AFT 1493)
- One Tier Task Force Getting Down to Business (CFT, 12/13/23)
- The Campaign for Faculty Equality (CPFA, 12-9-23)
The “Vancouver Model” (a one-tier system for community college)
- Dreams of Tenure and the Program for Change (PDF)
- The Program for Change
- Vancouver Community College CBA (4/1/19–3/31/22)
- Building Job Security Into Community College Faculty Work
- Policies and Principles for Bargaining in British Columbia’s Universities
- The Two-Tier System vs. the Vancouver Model (PDF)
- A Canadian College Where Adjuncts Go to Prosper (Chronicle of Higher Education)
- Applicability of the Vancouver Model (Jack Longmate) (Word doc)
Graphics for the One Faculty Campaign
- These images are free to use for any labor union or nonprofit organization.
- No Two Tiers (150 x 150 GIF)
- No Two Tiers (300 x 300 GIF)
- No Two Tiers (600 x 600 GIF)
- No Two Tiers (1200 x 1200 JPG)
- No Two Tiers (high resolution PDF)
- One Faculty (150 x 150 GIF)
- One Faculty (300 x 300 GIF)
- One Faculty (600 x 600 GIF)
- One Faculty (1200 x 1200 JPG)
- One Faculty (high resolution PDF)
These images look great on T-shirts, buttons, mugs, etc.: