Free time – what’s that? Earlier this morning I noticed an email from a former student who was conducting a survey. She is attending the University of Evansville and her project is to study how professionals spend their free time. I almost laughed with some of the questions the survey asked. Although I am only on campus two days a week, many folks – including some of my family – believe I have a lot of free time. Sure, I may not be on campus but two or three days a week. There is more time I spend preparing for the courses I teach than actually teaching them.

The life of an adjunct

An adjunct faculty member is someone who is under a semester-by-semester contract. Since an adjunct has different responsibilities according to each college or university, I will share what I’ve found to be the core responsibilities. Most adjuncts teach college courses within their degree and field of study and keep reduced office hours to help students. Some require adjuncts to take part in faculty meetings and development training. And in some instances, adjuncts may be asked to advise students. Adjuncts are encouraged to become a part of campus life, take part in conferences, and continue their own academic development.

Normally adjunct pay is based on a per-semester hour rate. Some colleges pay better than others. Adjuncts do not have the safety of tenure, no retirement plan, and no vacation or sick time. But adjuncts do not have committee assignments and within reason, set the hours they are available to teach classes. In the past, I have taught at multiple colleges and universities at the same time, something I could not do as a full-time and tenured faculty member.

Learning never stops

I have higher degrees in history with my major fields for both my M.A. and Ph.D. in American history and American foreign policy. But just because I have those two degrees doesn’t mean my learning stops. In fact, I continue to read and study various topics which relate to the courses I teach. On average, I am reading about four or five books a year, mostly non-fiction. I also continue my research into areas that interest me and are related to either the courses I teach or my fields of specialty. Much of this research is incorporated in the classes I teach as a way to keep the information up-to-date for the students I have the honor a privilege to teach.

Not all my continued learning is related to history, though. I am fascinated by the concept of learning. There are other areas I enjoy researching which are outside of my profession. I am fascinated by astronomy and space exploration. My personal study includes applying academic methods to studying my faith, too.

Work away from the campus

Unlike full-time faculty, many adjuncts are only required to keep limited office hours. My college requires one hour for each course I teach per week. I divide my office hours between Tuesday and Thursday. But there isn’t enough time during those office hours to get everything done for the students in my courses. There are papers to grade, emails to answer, and students who need help understanding the assignments. There isn’t enough time to get everything done within my office hours. So, just like full-time faculty, whatever doesn’t get completed on campus must come home with me.

I also teach Internet-based classes each semester. Although there is no office hour requirement for an on-line course, I still have the e-mails and phone calls from students to answer and assignments to grade. Between the traditional and on-line courses, I spend nearly twenty-five to thirty hours a week working from home. As I have to remind family and friends often, just because I am home doesn’t mean I’m not working!

I teach more classes than the average adjunct. Most will teach one or two classes a semester and an outside job, too.  And because of this, most adjuncts teach either night, weekend, or early evening classes. I am able to teach morning classes. I use my afternoons to grade assignments and answer student emails.

Free time isn’t scheduled

The student’s survey asked if I had a schedule I try to keep so that I can have my free time. I am normally doing something related to work most of the week, and sometimes, on the weekend. I’ve had students send text messages and even call me over the weekend and on holidays. Within the last few years, I have added a section to my syllabi which explains I do not take phone calls or respond to emails from students on Sunday. Sunday is the day I set aside for my family and the participation in worshiping my Lord in church. This is something new I’ve started in the past year and it has done a lot of good for my state of mind. I do nothing work-related on Sunday. Other than that, I don’t have any more free time scheduled throughout the rest of the week.

Last semester I had to remind a student who worked a second shift that I was unavailable in the evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and during scheduled class time. Although it hasn’t happened in the last three years, I have had students approach me in the local public library, at Wal-Mart, or even when I am eating dinner out with my family. They were wanting to discuss their grade, an assignment, or any other number of things course-related.

Making time for free time

I teach all three semesters of the academic year with roughly two weeks between each semester. As an adjunct, this is necessary to maximize my earnings year round. Unfortunately, labor unions within Kentucky have successfully lobbied the state legislature to limit the number of classes adjuncts can teach any given year. While a traditional class may have anywhere from 15 to 30 students, my Internet-based course rarely has less than 35 students registered for it. There’s not a lot of free time in the regular semester and I normally use the two-week breaks between semesters to visit out-of-town family, redesign courses, and catching up on household odds and ends I let go during the normal semester. Again, I often neglect making sure I have some free time to unwind.

This sounds silly. Believe me, I understand. Everyone has some sort of challenge in making free time available. For me, around mid-terms and finals, it is easy  to work ten or twelve days straight and from the time I wake up until I am too tired to grade anymore. I feel I owe a timely response on every assignment to the students in my courses. But over the last few years I have learned it is important for me to set aside time for me and time for me to spend with my family. I’m also learning it is perfectly fine for me to pursue my own hobbies and interests. I’ve discovered that free time allows me to step out of the role of college instructor and put things in proper perspective.

So, how I spend my free time…

The survey had a list of hobbies for me to choose five. I will admit, I had a pretty good laugh. There is a common misconception that nearly everyone who teaches at the college or university level have similar interests. There were hobbies listed such as wine tasting, traveling overseas, cigar smoking, and theater. While I am sure there are instructors that do enjoy those things, I found myself using four of the “other – specify” spots to define my hobbies. When I have the time and resources, I enjoy composing and performing music, hiking and camping, model railroading, and playing computer games. Only one – reading – was listed within the survey. There are other things I enjoy doing, such as photography and quilting.

Because of some health-related issues and living in an apartment, I’ve not been able to do much camping, hiking, or model railroading. I read a lot, but I do not consider it as a hobby since most of what I read is related to research. I do balance the rest of my free time between reading, researching, learning and practicing musical instruments, and composing. Occasionally, I may spend some time playing a computer game, mostly when the rest of the family is watching television or playing their own computer or PlayStation games.