September 27, 2010
Dear Colleague:
The American Anthropological Association works with many different organizations and institutions to enrich and broaden the spectrum of resources that the Association can offer members. Its affiliation with the Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW) addresses issues of working conditions and their effect on college and university students in the United States. It is our hope that you will participate in this survey that will gather data critical to our work in AAA, the future of our Association, and the Association’s context within higher education.
AAA and CAW invite all members of the contingent academic workforce in U.S. colleges and universities to participate in this survey. The survey inquires about course assignments, salaries, benefits, and general working conditions as members of the contingent academic workforce experience them at the institutional level. We invite participation from all instructional and research staff members employed off the tenure track, including faculty members employed either full- or part-time, graduate students remunerated as teaching assistants or employed in other roles, and researchers and post-doctoral fellows.
Most of the data on the working conditions of the contingent academic workforce—particularly data about salaries, benefits, and course assignments—exist in large data sets that have been aggregated and averaged at the national level. Consequently, the similarities and differences that contingent academic workers experience across different institutions and institutional sectors, geographic regions, and disciplines become obscured. This survey aims to examine salaries, benefits, course assignments, and general working conditions as contingent academic workers experience them at the institutional level. The survey will collect institution- and course-specific information to create a more textured and realistic picture of contingent academic workers’ working lives and working conditions.
It is our hope that sufficient numbers of respondents will complete this survey to permit developing a rich dataset that will help CAW and its member organizations advocate on behalf of professional compensation and working conditions for the contingent academic workforce. To that end we deeply appreciate the time and effort given by all who fill out this survey.
Individuals who wish to be entered in a drawing for one of several $50 book gift cards may include contact information at the end of the questionnaire, but this information will not be used to connect survey data with specific persons.
Please visit the following URL: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VNNNRVS
We hope you will fill out the questionnaire today, but if you cannot, please do so by November 30, 2010. Winners of the gift cards will be notified the following week. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kathleen A. Terry-Sharp
Director, Academic Relations
The Coalition on the Academic Workforce
Organized in 1997, CAW is a group of the 21 higher education associations, disciplinary associations, and faculty organizations listed below who are committed to addressing issues associated with deteriorating working conditions and their effect on college and university students in the United States. For more information about CAW, please visit www.academicworkforce.org.
American Academy of Religion
American Anthropological Association
American Association of University Professors
American Federation of Teachers
American Historical Association
American Philological Association
American Philosophical Association
American Political Science Association
American Sociological Association
American Studies Association
Association of American Colleges and Universities
College Art Association
Community College Humanities Association
Conference on College Composition and Communication
Linguistic Society of America
Modern Language Association
National Council of Teachers of English
Organization of American Historians
Society of Biblical Literature
Society for Cinema and Media Studies
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.
