New Data on the Academic Workforce

Today the AAUP released a data snapshot on patterns of faculty appointments and graduate student employment in US higher education from fall 1987 through fall 2021. The snapshot documents the shift in US academic employment from mostly full-time tenured or tenure-track appointments to mostly contingent appointments, as well as disparities that remain for women faculty and faculty of color.

• Over two-thirds of faculty members in US colleges and universities held contingent appointments in fall 2021, compared with about 47 percent in fall 1987.
• Nearly half of faculty members in US colleges and universities were employed part time in fall 2021, compared with about 33 percent in fall 1987.
• Women and underrepresented minority (URM) faculty members held part-time appointments in greater proportions than men and non-URM faculty members in fall 2021.
• Among full-time faculty members, women and URM faculty members held contingent appointments in greater proportions than men and non-URM faculty members in fall 2021.
• The number of graduate student employees increased 44 percent from fall 2002 to fall 2021, compared with a 19 percent increase among both full-time and part-time faculty.

Go to the data snapshot.