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Grading Papers
"Grading Papers" is a podcast that sheds light on the challenges faced by adjunct professors in higher education while offering practical solutions for professional growth and time management through technology innovations.
Grading Papers
Adjuncts Going Silent: A Crossroads
Something profound is happening in the adjunct community. After 14 years as an adjunct professor across multiple institutions, I've noticed a growing silence among my peers. We're scaling back, withdrawing from multiple teaching appointments, and questioning our relationship with academia. This episode explores this crossroads where many of us find ourselves.
What drives an adjunct to step away despite needing the income? Maybe it's fatigue from the endless scope creep. Perhaps it's the realization that $2,500-$5,000 per course doesn't justify the expanding workload. Or possibly, as in my case, we're maturing financially and seeking different avenues for professional fulfillment.
This reflection has led me to a concept I call "adjunctpreneurship" – transforming our academic expertise into digital assets and services. Your lectures, teaching guides, and specialized knowledge are valuable beyond the classroom walls. Why not create ebooks, online courses, templates, or consulting services based on what you already know and teach? This isn't about abandoning teaching but reimagining how we deploy our expertise for greater autonomy and reward.
The most powerful aspect isn't monetary – it's reclaiming connection in our increasingly digital world. Creating these pathways allows us to share knowledge meaningfully, extend care to others, and honor our own journey. Adjuncting is noble work, but it doesn't have to be your entire professional identity. You've earned your voice through years of dedication; now might be the time to own it digitally, financially, and professionally.
Have you felt this shift? Are you considering your own pivot? I'd love to hear your thoughts as we navigate this crossroads together.
Until next time, keep grading, keep growing, and keep making a difference in your students' lives.
Dr. Rutledge
Welcome back to Grading Papers, the podcast dedicated to supporting and empowering adjunct professors. I'm your host, Dr. Randy Anita Rutledge, a 14-year adjunct professor, and I am thrilled to embark on this journey with you. I feel like I'm on a crossroad right now and I know I've just started this podcast. I've only been able to record about six episodes, but I'm noticing and I'm observing things that are happening that I cannot overlook. I feel like adjuncts are going silent or getting quiet, and I want to understand the disconnect. Now, I say that as an observer, but I too have gone silent, and what I mean by silent is adjuncts that I am networked with normally work a nine to five position and they are adjuncts on the side. And this is a way and I'm going to say this from a personal perspective, and I'm going to say this from a personal perspective this is a way that I have been able to feel my self-actualization, because sometimes you're in a position you've been there for so many years and you're doing work and you have these different organizational changes, you have leadership changes, you have shifts in strategy and initiatives, and what you started out doing when you first got that position, you no longer are doing, and so you have to morph and pivot into different spaces, and so you typically and I'm talking from my perspective have to find ways to keep you motivated, especially if you need these resources for your family and your extended family. So when I say that I feel like adjuncts are going quiet, and I want you to understand what that disconnect is, for over a couple of years, and then most recently in the summer, I was teaching at more than one university part-time in the evening, and these were asynchronous courses, so I didn't have to actually teach, just grading and fielding emails and the like. But what I found was it was just this void.
Speaker 1:I was doing this, I was getting the money, but the money now does not mean as much as it meant to me before, and that, to me, is an epiphany, because when you are an adjunct and you're doing this on the side, you're in the grind and you normally need this money for whatever you do, and you could have, as I did at times, overextended myself, and now I needed this money. So I was somewhat forced to do it, even when I didn't want to do it. But now I'm in a space where I'm not forced to do it and I was still doing it and trying to stack it for other investments that I had on my agenda for 2004 and now other investments that I have for 2005. But you know what, over the summer I scaled back from three or four universities to one, and I'm only doing one university part-time right now, and I feel like that is a representation of the quietness. Now I don't know why other adjuncts may be doing this, but I'm going to switch the topic. So I'm feeling this because I put out a feeler for the last couple of weeks on LinkedIn, trying to see if there was a need or an appetite for AI grading group discussion, and it wasn't gonna be the same type of discussion that you typically get, where you have this one-sided unilateral person on the video and they're telling you everything but you cannot chime in.
Speaker 1:I wanted to make it a WebEx or a video situation where others would be able to chime in, share and have a real conversation, because I feel like we've gotten away from the connect with all this online and social media and I believe there is a need for the connect. You hear me, the connect. You hear me Well, but I only got two respondents from the content post that I put out. So I'm going to continue posting to the end of the month and to see if I get more people with an appetite for the AI grading discussion group. But I've already pivoted in a way and my goal is to no matter how many people I get or don't get, I'm going to work with those people, I'm going to give them all that I have and give them an opportunity to ask their questions and show them what I know, because I believe it's going to be a value. But I feel like they're Is some understanding to be had of the disconnect. Now it could be.
Speaker 1:The nine to fivers are tired. They just don't feel like expending themselves. The money is too little, the whole $2,500 to $5,000 for all that you have to deal with, and you know what I'm talking about. You have to do a lot sometimes for these courses, and then you get these emails instructing you to do more, and I talked about this in a previous episode about the scope creep for adjunct professionals. So when you get that, and then the whole thing about the job insecurity, you know maybe adjuncts are maturing and that could be a thing. Maybe we're maturing and we're making better decisions and maybe we don't need these $2,500 to $500 every eight weeks or 16 weeks, because we made better decision, better investments.
Speaker 1:I don't know about others, but that's the case with me. Know about others, but that's the case with me. But I want to pivot right here because, like I said, I felt like I am at a crossroad. And even I've created the Easy Adjunct, which is a platform and it has all of the different apps that enable adjuncts to grade and to regain their time, but I feel like adjuncts could be pivoting, or they may want to pivot right. So think about it.
Speaker 1:Maybe adjuncts want to pivot from being an adjunct to an adjunctpreneur and I mean, is that a word, adjunctpreneur? And maybe you want to turn your academic hustle, that whole eight week thing, into a roadmap for you moving into the entrepreneurial space. And when I say that I'm really talking about the digital space, and when I say that I'm really talking about the digital space, now hear me out. I mean you teach three to four, maybe five classes across two to three schools and you're still asking how am I going to make rent or the next month's rent? Maybe that's you, maybe that's not, maybe it sounds familiar, maybe it doesn't, but this is what I want to let you know. You've got decades of knowledge and real world experience, but no pathway to build security or ownership of that over time, and you know that's a problem.
Speaker 1:But here's the opportunity. What if your lectures, your teaching guides, your deep dives on subjects? What if you could use it to create other kinds of content, like digital assets? What if you could shift from being an adjunct to an adjunctpreneur? Now I'm making it up. I'm making up the adjunctpreneur because you know how we are.
Speaker 1:But what if you could do that? What if you had a six-step journey mapped out to tell you how you could take digital tools, you, how you could take digital tools for each phase and walk through them so that you could find a way to start to craft digital products that you could put out on the internet, on whatever medium. Maybe it could be Stan, it could be Etsy, it could be all kinds. There are so many platforms that you could put your information out on, and it's not like you're desperate, you're not desperate, I'm just saying pivot from where you are to start on a path that could be an extra thousand to $2,000 a month. So what if you had an ebook? An ebook to show you how to launch with various case studies and mindsets. What if you could create that ebook to tell people about the thing you know how to do the most right? What if you could take that ebook and craft it into a blueprint to show academics like yourself how to take their information and bundle it into templates or workflows and how to move them into online courses? And this is whether you're using it for synchronous students or evergreen content for Lifeline learners.
Speaker 1:We all have something we know how to do, and even if you think that the industry is saturated, it's not. We all have a voice and if we just get out there and use it, you would be surprised how many people gravitate to your voice, the sound of your voice, what you're saying. You would be surprised because everybody doesn't resonate with everybody. So what do you need to build? Think about your niche. What is it? What reflections do you have? How could you take this information and build out a guide? Out a guide, build out a presentation or webinar, build out your sellable assets and think about a program or a platform that you could put your assets on.
Speaker 1:I'm not talking about a get rich quick scheme. I'm talking about pivoting from being an adjunct and taking all your knowledge and crafting it and packaging it in a way that you could start to talk to audiences about what you know and what it means to you and talk to people and connect and reconnect, because I fear we're losing connection. I fear as we go deeper into social media and we become these internet brands and we're so engulfed in what we do on the internet that we forget about the person on the other side, that they're human and they may be lacking connection and they may be missing a conversation. Right? So, using your assets and the things that you create as a way to connect with people, I mean you don't have to sell things.
Speaker 1:I mean sometimes I get I get all you know janky about selling, because I used to work for Deloitte Consulting and Accenture and when I did, every year and every quarter, part of your performance was that you had to sell and I don't mean little money, I mean millions of dollars if you were going to continue in this consulting space, continue in this consulting space. And so oftentimes I mean I've built so much and I just got to tell you I built so many offers and marketed the offer, got people in the offer. After one or two people bought the offer, I was just like, okay, it works. Now, what you know, I was just like this isn't what I'm trying to do with my life. What I'm trying to do with my life is be a human that cares about myself, my life, my journey, and extends that care to others. Now, that's not to say I want to be abused and used and abused, but that's just to say that I believe the connection is worth more than selling something.
Speaker 1:I believe giving good value Is worth more than selling, and, of course, you have to keep the lights on, so there's ways to do that too. But I want you to know that you have so much value, you have so much to give, and there's ways to package that. When you think about adjuncting, it is noble, but it doesn't have to be your whole story. You've done the hard work and you've earned your voice. Now it's time for you to own your voice Digitally, financially and professionally. You can scale your knowledge beyond the classroom. You can scale your knowledge beyond the classroom. You can create assets, you can consult, you can teach on your own terms, and you don't have to be a slick car salesman and you don't have to try to get all the sales, all the sales. Just find a space where you feel like you have self-actualization and you're doing what you were sent here to do. That's going to mean more than anything, and so I'm going to continue to put out my little feelers on LinkedIn about AI grading discussions group and at the end of the month I'm going to reveal how many individuals I had that actually they answered the different surveys I put out. They answered the call, and whomever it is, whether it's a little or it's a lot, I'm going to give to them and I'm going to give great value. But I also want to let you know that I am at a crossroad too, and I understand the silence I'm thinking about. How can I take all of my adjunct experience, my consulting experience?
Speaker 1:These 14 or 15 years, I've created over 20 graduate courses for some of the major universities. I started by thinking about the skill set I wanted to impart to my students, and then I created the course around that, all the way from picking the book to creating the modules, to creating the content, to creating the quizzes, to the assignments, the discussions, the midterm. I've created it all from scratch. And do you know what? I gave that to the universities for the fee that they gave me. That was my knowledge, it was who I am and I got so many survey feedbacks from students.
Speaker 1:I remember one student saying and it made me feel so good I wish Dr. Rutledge taught all the courses in this program because from day one I was able to use what she was teaching. It has not been like any other course that I've taken at this university which has been nothing but theory and research. Dr Rutledge courses are hard, but I leave her courses with a skill set I did not have. That was gold to me. And you know what? I feel some kind of way because I've taught for that school for 14 years and you know I never got and I'm just going to tell you I never got teacher a teaching award.
Speaker 1:I got close and I always got the letter telling me to congratulate the person who got number one, and it always seemed to be the same person and I don't know if that was because I was an adjunct or what, but I want to let you know that I understand why adjuncts seem to be getting silent. I think there's a lot of reasons for that and I just want you to know that I enjoy the fact that you take your time to listen to the Grading Papers podcast. I do not take it for granted and I am thrilled that this podcast has been getting the downloads that it has been getting. I had some issues in our family in the last month or the last couple of weeks and I hadn't been able to come and provide you with an episode. But I've thought long and hard about the silence of adjuncts and the pivoting, and even my issue with coming to the crossword.
Speaker 1:But I want to be real with you and let you know that this is not a broadcast that is superficial.
Speaker 1:I'm living here and, because I'm a Jersey girl and I hung out in New York all the time, I'm walking here as well.
Speaker 1:All right, and I just am so thrilled that you took the time to listen to the Grading Papers podcast and I appreciate each and every one of you and I am going to do my best to bring you the best knowledge and insights and understanding as it relates to adjuncts, who are real people. We're teachers out there trying to help those who are learning and those who are entering industry, no matter what age they are they could be young adults or even older adults trying to get a second career, but I want to let you know we are valuable and, whether or not they hear us at the university or even in Washington, I hear you and I see you. Thanks again for being a part of this grading papers journey. We thank you for tuning in to grading papers. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share this episode with your colleagues and friends. Until next time, keep grading, keep growing and keep making a difference in your students' lives.
