Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics: 2008
Digest of Education Statistics: 2008

NCES 2009-020
March 2009


Table 251. Percentage distribution of part-time faculty and instructional staff in degree-granting institutions, by type and control of institution, selected instruction activities, and number of classes taught for credit: Fall 2003
Instruction activity and number of classes All institutions Research Doctoral Comprehensive Private liberal arts Public 2-year Other
Public Private Public Private Public Private
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Number of part-time faculty and instructional staff (in thousands) 530.0 (0.02) 39.7 (0.78) 23.2 (0.96) 20.8 (0.82) 15.4 (0.83) 60.3 (2.49) 53.5 (2.17) 28.4 (2.19) 230.1 (2.00) 58.7 (3.38)
                                         
Percentage distribution 100.0 (†) 7.5 (0.15) 4.4 (0.18) 3.9 (0.15) 2.9 (0.16) 11.4 (0.47) 10.1 (0.41) 5.4 (0.41) 43.4 (0.38) 11.1 (0.64)
                                         
Average hours worked per week 39.9 (0.30) 41.1 (0.85) 42.6 (1.24) 43.5 (1.37) 42.1 (1.29) 38.8 (1.01) 42.7 (1.14) 39.6 (1.23) 38.0 (0.45) 41.8 (1.18)
Paid activities within institution 13.7 (0.13) 19.0 (0.61) 14.0 (0.65) 16.4 (0.76) 13.5 (0.97) 14.9 (0.48) 12.1 (0.56) 13.5 (0.73) 12.5 (0.19) 14.2 (0.46)
Unpaid activities within institution 1.7 (0.06) 1.8 (0.25) 2.5 (0.25) 2.3 (0.28) 2.8 (0.37) 2.3 (0.19) 2.7 (0.12) 2.6 (0.17) 2.1 (0.08) 2.5 (0.17)
Paid activities outside institution 22.1 (0.28) 18.3 (0.98) 23.9 (1.34) 23.3 (1.55) 24.1 (1.40) 19.9 (1.00) 26.6 (1.38) 21.9 (0.98) 21.6 (0.41) 23.3 (1.06)
Unpaid activities outside institution 2.3 (0.06) 2.0 (0.25) 2.2 (0.25) 1.6 (0.28) 1.7 (0.37) 1.8 (0.19) 1.3 (0.12) 1.6 (0.17) 1.7 (0.08) 1.8 (0.17)
                                         
Work time distribution (percent) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†)
Teaching 88.3 (0.32) 74.1 (1.79) 80.6 (1.89) 84.9 (1.71) 87.2 (1.87) 90.8 (0.83) 90.4 (0.70) 90.2 (1.20) 91.3 (0.43) 85.4 (1.19)
Research/scholarship 3.9 (0.80) 13.3 (1.62) 7.0 (0.97) 7.4 (1.35) 5.2 (1.42) 3.2 (0.46) 2.4 (0.49) 2.6 (0.54) 2.1 (0.21) 4.4 (0.61)
Other 7.8 (0.20) 12.6 (1.04) 12.4 (1.75) 7.6 (1.03) 7.6 (1.22) 6.0 (0.63) 7.2 (0.81) 7.2 (0.92) 6.6 (0.40) 10.3 (0.93)
                                         
Faculty/staff distribution by instruction activity (percent)                                        
                                         
Distribution by hours taught per week 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†)
Less than 4.0 45.3 (0.80) 58.1 (2.25) 62.4 (3.87) 53.3 (2.71) 48.0 (2.67) 45.5 (1.68) 39.8 (2.34) 44.8 (2.96) 41.3 (1.30) 46.5 (2.46)
4.0 to 5.9 12.2 (0.48) 9.3 (1.25) 12.9 (2.46) 12.5 (1.49) 15.0 (1.57) 9.7 (1.25) 17.7 (2.07) 13.2 (1.73) 11.7 (0.71) 12.6 (1.62)
6.0 to 7.9 14.3 (0.57) 12.5 (1.50) 10.1 (1.69) 14.5 (1.76) 14.3 (2.01) 19.4 (1.68) 12.9 (2.14) 13.8 (1.98) 14.5 (1.04) 13.0 (1.72)
8.0 to 9.9 10.4 (0.47) 8.9 (1.22) 5.6 (1.46) 8.3 (1.82) 7.8 (1.58) 10.8 (1.11) 11.7 (1.93) 10.7 (1.54) 11.3 (0.73) 9.5 (1.45)
10.0 to 14.9 9.4 (0.47) 7.5 (1.27) 3.0 (1.16) 5.5 (1.29) 7.3 (2.03) 8.0 (1.27) 7.7 (1.29) 8.3 (1.55) 11.7 (0.99) 9.8 (1.27)
15.0 or more 8.3 (0.43) 3.6 (0.90) 6.0 (1.94) 5.9 (1.50) 7.6 (1.26) 6.5 (1.05) 10.3 (1.61) 9.1 (2.38) 9.5 (0.67) 8.5 (1.19)
                                         
Distribution by number of students taught 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†)
Less than 25 52.0 (0.82) 55.6 (2.16) 68.9 (3.98) 44.6 (2.68) 56.9 (3.29) 41.6 (2.07) 57.9 (2.45) 60.5 (2.34) 49.7 (1.37) 54.0 (3.15)
25 to 49 24.9 (0.58) 17.4 (1.54) 16.9 (2.13) 27.4 (2.51) 20.7 (2.48) 24.5 (2.10) 29.4 (1.90) 24.1 (1.76) 26.7 (0.97) 22.6 (2.74)
50 to 74 12.1 (0.54) 11.6 (1.23) 3.7 (1.15) 12.5 (1.71) 9.8 (2.48) 17.5 (1.52) 8.5 (0.77) 10.0 (1.65) 12.9 (0.95) 11.7 (1.55)
75 to 99 5.8 (0.30) 5.4 (0.89) 4.1 (1.57) 7.6 (1.52) 6.8 (1.62) 6.7 (1.22) 2.0 (0.44) 3.7 (0.97) 6.2 (0.48) 7.5 (1.18)
100 to 149 3.4 (0.23) 4.8 (1.07) 2.0 (0.72) 4.2 (1.46) 2.9 (0.89) 7.2 (1.14) 1.8 (0.55) 1.2 (0.66) 3.2 (0.41) 2.4 (0.76)
150 or more 1.9 (0.19) 5.2 (0.96) 4.5 (1.35) 3.7 (0.94) 2.8 (1.12) 2.6 (0.59) 0.4 (0.30) 0.4 (0.34) 1.2 (0.35) 1.7 (0.44)
                                         
Distribution by student classroom contact hours per week1  100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†)
Less than 50 33.9 (0.80) 41.6 (2.52) 53.4 (3.98) 27.7 (2.98) 40.2 (2.67) 25.4 (1.88) 36.0 (2.52) 38.2 (2.66) 31.3 (1.34) 36.7 (3.40)
50 to 99 17.0 (0.54) 13.1 (1.46) 17.5 (2.13) 23.0 (3.38) 17.0 (2.30) 18.9 (1.40) 19.5 (1.53) 17.4 (1.97) 16.6 (0.96) 14.5 (1.65)
100 to 199 13.2 (0.49) 13.3 (1.51) 8.5 (1.44) 14.2 (2.34) 7.5 (1.56) 14.8 (1.72) 13.3 (1.65) 14.1 (2.01) 13.4 (0.82) 13.5 (2.19)
200 to 349 11.2 (0.46) 10.8 (1.29) 5.6 (1.42) 10.9 (1.97) 12.3 (1.88) 10.3 (1.80) 13.5 (0.93) 10.1 (1.26) 11.4 (0.66) 12.1 (1.62)
350 to 499 7.2 (0.34) 6.1 (0.98) 3.0 (0.96) 7.7 (1.74) 8.5 (1.74) 10.2 (1.00) 4.5 (0.64) 5.5 (0.95) 8.0 (0.69) 6.0 (0.93)
500 or more 17.5 (0.58) 15.1 (1.89) 12.1 (2.50) 16.5 (2.29) 14.5 (2.58) 20.3 (1.97) 13.3 (1.53) 14.6 (2.85) 19.3 (0.98) 17.2 (1.87)
                                         
Distribution by total classroom credit hours 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†)
Less than 4.0 53.3 (0.89) 59.8 (2.39) 67.5 (3.65) 62.2 (2.96) 55.4 (2.34) 52.0 (2.05) 51.3 (2.05) 58.9 (2.14) 50.2 (1.43) 52.2 (3.00)
4.0 to 5.9 11.7 (0.52) 12.2 (1.52) 11.8 (2.12) 10.8 (1.63) 10.6 (1.81) 9.3 (1.09) 14.1 (1.77) 10.3 (1.68) 12.2 (0.75) 11.5 (1.68)
6.0 to 7.9 16.9 (0.55) 12.8 (1.61) 10.2 (2.20) 14.9 (1.96) 18.7 (2.12) 23.1 (2.10) 18.1 (1.22) 15.4 (1.81) 16.5 (0.98) 17.5 (1.62)
8.0 to 9.9 9.4 (0.42) 8.2 (0.92) 6.2 (1.22) 8.5 (1.64) 8.3 (2.03) 9.5 (0.99) 9.0 (1.08) 8.3 (1.34) 10.8 (0.81) 7.4 (1.33)
10.0 to 14.9 6.6 (0.35) 5.6 (1.48) 1.8 (0.75) 3.6 (0.97) 4.8 (1.22) 3.8 (0.81) 5.2 (0.82) 5.1 (1.57) 8.1 (0.62) 9.2 (1.54)
15.0 or more 2.1 (0.21) 1.4 (0.58) 2.5 (0.91) (†) 2.2 (0.78) 2.2 (0.57) 2.3 (0.64) 2.0 (0.80) 2.2 (0.31) 2.2 (0.63)
                                         
Faculty/staff distribution by number of classes taught for credit (percent)                                        
                                         
Faculty/staff with undergraduate classes only,
by total for-credit courses
100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†)
1 49.2 (0.90) 53.1 (3.85) 62.3 (5.20) 58.8 (4.27) 45.4 (4.58) 48.4 (2.43) 54.1 (2.78) 53.7 (3.42) 47.9 (1.20) 43.2 (3.57)
2 29.7 (0.86) 31.2 (3.04) 28.5 (5.51) 26.9 (3.12) 39.8 (4.33) 33.1 (2.35) 29.2 (2.27) 25.0 (2.20) 29.3 (1.24) 29.7 (2.70)
3 12.5 (0.47) 9.4 (1.83) 6.9 (2.33) 11.5 (2.36) 13.1 (3.15) 10.8 (1.26) 9.4 (1.35) 10.2 (1.62) 13.9 (0.84) 13.7 (1.71)
4 5.3 (0.41) 4.6 (1.41) (†) (†) (†) 4.0 (1.06) 5.4 (1.08) 5.6 (1.95) 5.9 (0.65) 6.9 (1.73)
5 or more 3.3 (0.32) 1.7 (1.03) (†) 2.6 (1.27) 1.3 (1.11) 3.7 (0.95) 1.8 (0.77) 5.5 (1.69) 3.1 (0.44) 6.5 (1.87)
                                         
Faculty/staff with graduate classes only, by total for-credit courses 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†)
1 72.6 (1.73) 71.7 (5.24) 81.7 (4.89) 81.8 (4.93) 72.2 (5.28) 74.8 (5.62) 62.2 (3.67) 69.9 (6.67) (†) 75.6 (5.21)
2 16.6 (1.30) 20.6 (4.61) 7.4 (3.23) 10.8 (4.07) 16.2 (4.50) 12.9 (4.45) 23.3 (2.37) 18.8 (5.77) (†) 16.4 (3.91)
3 5.3 (0.93) 4.0 (2.25) 5.7 (2.74) 7.4 (4.52) 5.7 (3.51) 3.7 (2.40) 7.6 (2.41) 2.9 (2.09) (†) 3.8 (2.34)
4 3.1 (0.81) (†) 5.2 (3.18) (†) 4.0 (1.41) 5.2 (3.55) 3.9 (1.32) 6.6 (4.24) (†) (†)
5 or more 2.4 (0.53) 3.7 (2.05) (†) (†) (†) (†) 2.9 (1.38) (†) (†) 3.0 (1.45)
                                         
Faculty/staff with both undergraduate and graduate classes, by total for-credit courses 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) 100.0 (†) (†) 100.0 (†)
1 46.5 (2.05) 51.3 (5.19) 46.4 (10.59) 59.3 (5.24) 63.7 (8.93) 38.0 (6.03) 38.9 (4.23) 44.1 (8.69) (†) 47.4 (6.18)
2 28.7 (1.96) 29.6 (4.47) 36.3 (8.39) 18.5 (6.24) 18.1 (5.75) 30.7 (3.91) 32.7 (5.11) 35.1 (9.57) (†) 23.9 (5.54)
3 13.5 (1.78) 11.3 (3.25) 11.4 (5.72) 16.9 (6.27) (†) 17.8 (4.04) 16.6 (3.72) 12.3 (4.69) (†) 9.5 (4.84)
4 5.9 (1.19) 3.3 (1.63) (†) (†) 7.8 (5.97) 7.9 (3.54) 5.4 (3.06) 5.8 (2.25) (†) 10.0 (4.03)
5 or more 5.4 (1.18) 4.4 (2.08) (†) 5.0 (2.36) (†) 5.7 (2.75) 6.4 (2.36) 2.7 (2.30) (†) 9.2 (4.56)
†Not applicable.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 Distribution by student classroom contact hours per week is based on the number of contact hours that faculty and instruc-tional staff spend each week with students during classroom instruction multiplied by the number of students taught.
NOTE: Totals may differ from figures reported in other tables because of varying survey methodologies. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04). (This table was prepared December 2008.)