The Adjunct's Handbook: A Survival Guide for Part-Time and Contingent Faculty

by Jan Yager

A practical guide for thriving as an adjunct.

Today, more than two-thirds of college courses are taught by part-time or contingent faculty who are navigating a system that too often offers little guidance, support, or stability. Dr. Jan Yager's The Adjunct's Handbook is a clear, practical guide designed to equip adjunct instructors with the knowledge they need to thrive in a challenging and frequently overlooked corner of higher education.

Drawing on insights from more than one hundred surveys, interviews with more than sixty adjunct and full-time professors, and her own extensive teaching experience, Yager covers the essential information you need to become and excel as an adjunct. This comprehensive book explains how
• Hone your teaching strategies—including how to structure courses, manage students, and adapt to in-person or online formats
• Navigate the system by learning how to apply for teaching positions, negotiate pay, and choose the right institutions for your goals
• Know your rights regarding contracts, unions, intellectual property, other employment, and academic freedom
• Combat isolation by building professional networks, finding connections, and practicing advocacy

Whether you teach in person, online, or in a hybrid environment, as a new adjunct or a seasoned one, Dr. Yager addresses the inequities, questions, isolation, and stigma that too many adjuncts routinely face. She offers concrete strategies for improving working conditions, building community, and advocating for yourself in a field where opportunities and support can be unevenly distributed. Accessible and informative, filled with real-life anecdotes and quotes, The Adjunct's Handbook is essential reading for anyone who is trying to make part-time teaching work.

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 10, 2026

About the author

Jan Yager received her BA in fine arts from Hofstra University, her MA in criminal justice from Goddard College, and her PhD in sociology from City University of New York Graduate Center. Beginning in her early twenties, with fulltime positions at Macmillan Publishing Company, followed by Grove Press, Jan has been an editor, director of subsidiary and foreign rights, acquisitions editor, book publicist, author event planner, media trainer, consultant, book coach, permissions editor, and award-winning author of 65+ books. Her titles in a range from genres -- from nonfiction and fiction to illustrated children's books and poetry -- have been published by Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Doubleday, Penguin Random House, Square One Publishers, and self-published through the small press she founded almost 30 years ago, Hannacroix Creek Books, Inc. (Her first five books were published under her maiden name of J.L. - Janet Lee- Barkas.) For more on Jan, go to: www.drjanyager.com, www.whenfriendshiphurts.com, or www.hannacroixcreekbooks.com