The Philosophers' Cocoon

A safe and supportive forum for philosophers.

Owned & Moderated by Marcus Arvan (University of Tampa)

Contact: marvan@ut.edu

Blog mission & moderation policy

IMPORTANT NOTE on how to ensure anonymity in commenting
Job-Market Reporting Thread (2025-26)
Job-Market Discussion Thread (2025-26)

recent posts

about

Handling a problematic supervisor as non-TT faculty?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

I have a question concerning problematic supervisors at the non-TT faculty level:

I've been non-TT faculty with a 4/4 load at an R1 with a good PhD program for three years now. The person who makes the teaching schedule (who is not the dept. chair) gives me four preps every semester, and almost always different classes. For instance, I had seven *different* preps last academic year and one repeat prep for a total of eight classes over two semesters. Seven preps in an academic year is ridiculous (and maybe borderline abuse? I'm not sure.) I would have asked for different classes, but given the faculty's constantly emphasizing to me the contingency of my employment (e.g., "Your contract is only for one year, after that, who knows…"), I felt I needed to do as I was told to solidify my standing. Instead, I seem to have sent the message that I am here to be exploited.

I've also been designing an online class, which has proven to be a ton of very annoying work, only to be told that I won't be getting any sections of the online class in the future once finished, and will remain teaching all four classes per semester in the classroom. And last, the schedule maker also treats me like a child, talks down to me, and is generally an egotistical jerk. All in all, given the extreme mental load of all these preps and online course design, I feel that the schedule maker has basically attacked me and my career with this unfavorable scheduling.

The whole experience has been awful. I need to get out of here. I also need to talk to my chair. Does anyone have any additional thoughts? Or does anyone else want to share stories of mistreatment as a vulnerable junior faculty member?

Yikes, this is awful treatment, and I'm so sorry the OP is going through it. I guess the first question I'd have is this: do they trust their department chair? If so, then that seems to me like probably the first thing to do. On the other hand, if they don't trust the chair, I'm not sure what they should do besides, as the OP puts it, "get out of here"–though, as we all know, that can be easier said than done given the job market.

Do any other readers have any helpful tips or experiences to share?

Posted in ,

16 responses to “Handling a problematic supervisor as non-TT faculty?”

  1. newly tt

    If the university has a good ombuds office (not all ombudspeople are good), then perhaps reaching out to them would be helpful.
    It’s usual, in my experience (4 departments) that faculty get to express teaching preferences of their own. I mean non-tt faculty, too. If the class coordinator regularly overrides faculty preferences on this, to the tune of 7 different preps in a year, then the system is pretty dysfunctional and I bet some tt faculty are feeling it, too. So maybe there are allies there? Three people bringing something up have a better chance of being heard.

    Reply
  2. The Real SLAC Prof

    Rudeness and talking down is always unacceptable, but OP has not provided details of what, exactly, they are experiencing on this front. On the other hand, while having 7 preps in one year sounds quite challenging and unpleasant, I don’t think OP has provided enough information for readers to conclude that they are being abused by being given 7 preps. Much turns on why they are being given 7 preps and if this is standard in the department; there could be scheduling constraints of which OP is unaware.
    OP seems to suggest that they have never actually, verbally, stated their preferences to the Associate Chair in charge of scheduling. In my view, a clear statement of the OP’s preferences must be the first step. Surely the OP can make a good argument for why having fewer preps would conduce to them being a more effective instructor, and it is on OP to make such a case. If OP’s preferences continue to be ignored, then setting up a meeting with the Department Chair would be an appropriate next step. But if I were the Chair or the Associate Chair and OP escalated in the way previous commentators are suggesting (i.e., going to the Chair or ombuds office) without OP first clearly stating their scheduling preferences and trying to resolve this with the Associate Chair, I would consider that a problem.

    Reply
  3. anon

    As someone who has also been doing non-TT full time work for a while, I feel your pain. I’ve had years with 7 preps as well. (I do think that I’ve been exploited, but I also think that I’ve freely chosen to take on the various jobs I’ve taken on, though I could see someone in a similar situation correctly feeling differently for all sorts of reasons.)
    A lot of what it is possible for you to do when it comes to the teaching load, in a formal way, will depend on whatever policies are in place at your particular institution. Ideally you have a collective agreement that has some language in it about continuing faculty getting a bit of a voice in their year by year load. And if you have a union or anything approximating that, ask those people for advice. You might also look around various department websites and find some people in positions similar to yours, make a connection and ask how things work for them.
    Also, I do note from your post that “I would have asked for different classes…”, so it sounds like you haven’t actually asked the schedule maker for something different yet? Even if this person is a jerk, asking them and getting a response seems like the right first step. Then the chair is a second step – the chair might have no idea what’s going on, and be happy to help.
    About “And last, the schedule maker also treats me like a child, talks down to me, and is generally an egotistical jerk”. Maybe this will not be good advice – depends on what contexts are bringing you into contact with this person, and your level of control. But I’ve worked in 4 departments, and in all these departments it was pretty easy to distance myself from anyone who I wanted to distance myself from. After all, if you’re teaching 8 courses per year and you’re also on the market for a better job, you’re more than busy! A perfect reason not to get stuck in small-talk situations with jerks.

    Reply
  4. OP

    Thanks @The Real SLAC Prof, but you seem to be suggesting that this situation is my fault, which it is not.
    I do not think it is the job of vulnerable faculty to state that they do not want to be exploited through too many preps. Of course I am aware of the department’s scheduling constraints. I see what my peers teach. Seven preps per academic year is excessive and unnecessary; others teaching in the department are not teaching anywhere near that many.
    “Clearly stating” that I do not want to be overburdened needlessly with excessive labor is not a condition of employment. This is like the bully on the playground who punches you in the shoulder and then feigns surprise to learn that you don’t like being punched in the shoulder.
    You say that it is “on OP [me] to make such a case.” I do not think this is correct. It is on the people with power not to exploit the powerless, i.e., people who move across the country for an underpaid job they are told is extremely precarious and feel required to accept whatever schedule they are given. Ascribing people in that position with agency is misapprehending the power structure.
    The problem is that I was hired and told that my job was extremely contingent, and so I accepted the schedule I was given a few months after it was given to me. This sent the message to the department that I was exploitable. I do not think this is my fault.

    Reply
  5. OP again

    And let me add one thing: I was hired at the same time as another person with my same job. That person was given the same teaching load as me, four different preps per semester, and quit mid semester in their second semester and dropped out of academia due to the stress.
    Hence, this is not a problem of “expressing preferences.” It is a problem of mistreating vulnerable junior faculty.

    Reply
  6. DS

    As the real SLAC Prof says, the scheduler might have good reasons; or they might not consider that these are totally new courses to you–maybe they think you have taught ‘business ethics’ or ‘intro to philosophy’ before (if that is what OP is being assigned). Also, maybe you will have the same exact courses next year–in that case they will already be prepped. I guess we need to know how long OP has worked at the institution to make a good judgment of abuse.
    I am in charge of scheduling part time faculty and I definitely aim to take their preferences into account, but people don’t always prefer to have multiple sections of the same course. Sometimes class time is more important to them (e.g., having their classes on the same day, or back to back, etc.); sometimes they would rather teach online, regardless of prep.

    Reply
  7. DS

    One more thought, and I guess this goes for anyone fresh out of grad school teaching brand new courses: Email your grad advisor, friends, other profs in the department, etc. for their course materials of said course (I do not know if OP did this, let me add). My grad advisor gave me all his lecture notes, assignments, exams, etc. for Introduction to Philosophy when I got my first job when I was ABD. This was extremely helpful! He did it without my asking, and I wouldn’t have though of asking. Now when I hire someone to teach a new (to them) class, I make that exact same offer: Do you want my lesson plans, assignments, readings, exams, syllabus……
    Usually the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Don’t be afraid to ask folks for help–usually they will help.
    Yes, you still have to learn the material and customize things a bit, but this will probably save you about 50% of the work of prepping a new course for the first time. It also sort of teaches/shows you (if the person you get the materials from is a good teacher) how to prep and construct a course.

    Reply
  8. SB

    @ OP, I don’t think the real SLAC prof is suggesting this is your fault. I think they’re suggesting (reasonably, to my ear) that there may be effective and lower-social cost solutions to be had by talking to the scheduler before escalating to the ombuds or chair.
    It might be that, as you say, it shouldn’t be “on you” to make the case, and it should instead be “on” the scheduler not to overburden you. But plainly they’re not living up to that. So given that, how do you want to change things? It seems the options are (a) leave or (b) communicate to someone that you would prefer things be otherwise. If (b), the next question is, do you want to (i) communicate this to the scheduler directly or (ii) go over their head. I am with SLAC that (b) (ii) may seem higher-conflict and more bridge-burning than (b) (i). If you had tried and failed to have this rectified by clear statements of preference, then a chair or ombudsman would be better positioned to intervene.
    I agree with you that this is a v. stressful workload, as evidenced by the fact that your colleague quit. However fact that things should already be other than they are isn’t always informative about the most effective way to proceed. Best of luck to you!

    Reply
  9. Mike Titelbaum

    Wanted to magnify an important point in SB’s comment: If you go to the chair, one of the first things they’ll probably do is go talk to the scheduler about the situation. If the scheduler says, “Well they never told me there was a problem!”, that’s going to stand in the way of your getting a favorable resolution. So even if you shouldn’t have to explain the problem to the scheduler, and even if you think explaining to them isn’t going to change their behavior, it’ll give you more options down the road to get things improved.

    Reply
  10. Just trying to be a person

    I agree with the Real SLAC prof that a good first step would be a (polite) conversation with the scheduler.
    However, having been in a position similar to the scheduler, I don’t think there is any way that I ever would have scheduled someone for 7 preps in a year without being aware that I am at least potentially putting a huge burden on them. Even if somehow doing so was required by other constraints, I would have at least acknowledged to them that 7 preps for 8 courses was a lot. Likewise, I have always at least inquired as to course preferences, making clear the limits of those requests. Talking to the people you are scheduling for, and especially the full-time people who aren’t hired for particular courses, seems like a not unreasonable ask.
    So, while I think the strategic advice is good, I have incredible sympathy with the OP here.

    Reply
  11. OP

    Thanks so much, @Just trying to be a person. I was really just looking for some validation and camaraderie here. Seven preps per academic year is killing me, and it really seems like it’s an unreasonable demand to make of anyone if it can be avoided, which it absolutely can.

    Reply
  12. been near there

    OP
    I had a non-permanent job once, where the guy in charge of assigning courses was making changes to mine in May, after we settled on a set of 5 courses. He even set it up such that all 5 of my classes would have 100 students each (granted, there were TAs to help with grading). But it made the job so bad that I left in July for another non-permanent job.

    Reply
  13. OP

    @been near there, that is Brutal with a capital B. I’m glad you got out.

    Reply
  14. AnonymousL

    Here’s a suggestion that I haven’t seen mentioned. Perhaps consider if there is some other faculty member in the department that you can confide in (not the chair, not the scheduler). Sometimes there will be someone who wants to help and who can just go to the scheduler and make a pitch on your behalf. (“Hey, I was talking to Joe and he’s pretty busy with all the preps he has, which does seem like a lot to me. Do you think there’s a way we could reduce his load somehow?”) This might be more low risk than other options some have suggested. I’m not thrilled with the idea of going to an ombudsperson to resolve this kind of thing as it puts you in a tricky spot. Better to get friends to help you navigate this.

    Reply
  15. Derek Bowman

    OP,
    You and your students deserve better. You shouldn’t have to say that 7 preps is too much, but since you have to say it, say it. You don’t deserve to be treated this way, and you shouldn’t have to tell anyone that. But you are being treated this way, so you do have to tell them that. If they’re so hard up that they need you to teach 7 different preps, imagine how hard up they’ll be if you leave like the other person did.
    I was only able to tolerate, and at times thrive, in my NTT position once I was prepared to leave if I had to, secure in the knowledge that no matter what I did the position would not last forever anyway.
    If you can’t just walk away, then cut back on the amount of work you’re doing. Assign fewer papers. Give more multiple choice quizzes. Put less work into the prep for each class. If the university is deciding to give you 7 preps, they are, thereby, deciding that you’ll put less work into each class. Respect their decision, and protect your own time and mental health.

    Reply
  16. OP

    @Derek Bowman, thanks for the reassurance and advice. I’m glad your situation improved.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to OPCancel reply

Discover more from The Philosophers' Cocoon

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading