The Adjunct Faculty Problem: Why 60% of Your Professors May Not Know About Student Accommodations
Key Takeaway
Adjunct faculty teach over 50% of courses at many institutions but receive the least training on accommodations, have limited access to institutional email, and often lack relationships with DRC staff. The result: accommodation letters go unread, students don't receive supports, and DRCs face compliance exposure they may not even know about.
The Faculty Gap Nobody Measures
When I managed the testing center at a mid-size state university, I noticed a pattern: the accommodation complaints almost always involved adjunct faculty.
Students would show up for accommodated testing and tell me their professor "didn't know" about the accommodations. Or the professor gave the wrong exam time. Or, worst case, the professor told the student accommodations "don't apply in my class."
I started tracking it. Over two semesters, 73% of our accommodation implementation failures involved adjunct or part-time faculty. Not because they were bad teachers. Because the system was failing them.
Why Adjuncts Are Different
The Numbers
- Adjunct and contingent faculty teach over 50% of courses at most institutions
- They receive less than 5% of the training budget for disability services
- Many are hired days before the semester starts: after accommodation letters have been sent
- Many teach at 2-3 institutions simultaneously and check institutional email irregularly
The Communication Breakdown
Here's what typically happens:
- DRC generates accommodation letter for "PSYCH 101, Section 3"
- System sends letter to the instructor of record's institutional email
- Adjunct professor was just hired and hasn't set up their email yet
- Letter sits unread for weeks
- Student assumes professor received it and does nothing
- Midterm arrives. Student gets no accommodations. Files complaint.
Every step in this chain is someone doing their job correctly. The DRC sent the letter. The student registered on time. The professor wasn't ignoring anything, they literally didn't know.
What the Data Shows
After tracking for two full years, here's what we found:
| Faculty Type | Ack Rate (3 days) | Ack Rate (7 days) | Never Acknowledged | |-------------|-------------------|-------------------|--------------------| | Tenure/tenure-track | 82% | 94% | 2% | | Full-time non-tenure | 71% | 88% | 5% | | Adjunct (returning) | 54% | 72% | 15% | | Adjunct (new) | 31% | 48% | 38% | | Graduate TAs | 45% | 67% | 22% |
38% of new adjunct faculty never acknowledged accommodation letters at all. These students had approved accommodations on paper but not in practice.
Practical Solutions That Work
1. Partner with Department Chairs
Don't try to reach every adjunct yourself. Work with department chairs to include accommodation training in adjunct onboarding. Give chairs a one-page summary they can hand to new adjuncts on day one.
2. Use Multiple Communication Channels
Email isn't enough for adjunct faculty. Consider:
- Portal-based delivery that works on mobile
- Text message alerts for time-sensitive accommodations (testing)
- Department chair CC on letters to adjunct-taught sections
- Physical mailbox copies in department offices
3. Create Adjunct-Specific Training
Full-time faculty get a 90-minute ADA workshop during orientation. Adjuncts get nothing. Build a 15-minute video covering:
- What accommodations are and why they're legally required
- How to read an accommodation letter
- What to do if you have questions (contact DRC, not the student)
- Common mistakes to avoid
4. Track Acknowledgment by Faculty Type
If you're not measuring adjunct acknowledgment rates separately, you're masking the problem. Your overall 85% acknowledgment rate might be hiding a 48% rate among adjuncts.
5. Build Relationships Before the Rush
Reach out to returning adjuncts before the semester starts. A short email: "Welcome back. You'll be receiving accommodation letters for your students next week. Here's what to do with them." Simple, proactive, effective.
The Compliance Dimension
From a legal standpoint, it doesn't matter why a faculty member didn't implement accommodations. If the student had approved accommodations and didn't receive them, the institution is liable. "The adjunct didn't check their email" is not a defense OCR recognizes.
Institutions need to be able to demonstrate that they took reasonable steps to ensure all faculty, regardless of appointment type, were informed of their accommodation obligations.
The Bottom Line
The adjunct faculty problem isn't about bad professors. It's about a communication system designed for full-time, campus-based faculty being applied to people who may be on campus only twice a week. Fix the system, and most of the problem disappears.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do adjunct faculty have to provide disability accommodations?
Yes. All faculty, tenure-track, adjunct, visiting, and graduate teaching assistants, are legally obligated to implement approved disability accommodations. Employment status does not affect the institution's ADA and Section 504 obligations.
Why don't adjunct faculty respond to accommodation letters?
Common reasons include: they don't check institutional email regularly, they weren't trained on accommodation procedures during onboarding, they don't have office hours or regular campus presence, they may not know who the DRC is, and they may be teaching at multiple institutions simultaneously.
How can DRCs improve accommodation delivery to adjunct faculty?
Effective strategies include: partnering with department chairs for adjunct onboarding, using portal-based delivery instead of email-only, sending text/phone reminders for urgent accommodations, creating short video training for new adjuncts, and tracking acknowledgment rates by faculty type to identify gaps.
Sources & References
Assistive Technology Specialist & Testing Center Operations
Naveen managed a testing center that processed 6,000+ accommodated exams per year at a mid-size state university. He's the person who figured out our scheduling algorithm and wrote most of the testing center best practices we publish. He's presented at AHEAD national conferences three times.
M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling, Virginia Commonwealth University. Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certified by RESNA. 11 years in higher ed disability services.