how much should I be paid to teach this course?

[thebamker]

college (300) level course.

they have compressed the course so it is only a month long. 36 students, M-Tu-W 2:30-5:30pm

I've never done this before. is there some magic multiplier for how much prep and grading time there will be per hour of teaching?

This is more about doing a favor, making a connection for the future and less about getting rich - haha. But - I still have to work (at least) 30 hrs/week at my 'real' job on top of this, so I don't want to kill myself for free.

What are your thoughts?

[thebamker]

Also - I am really kind of freaking out about teaching for 3 hours in a row. That's a tall order for someone who isn't a 'teacher'. I hope I don't start telling stories. haha

[emjacobs]

I can't give you the answer for how much should you charge, but I know every single one of my 3 hour courses had a 15-20 minute break in the middle so people didn't start murdering each other. Also all of them except Equine Law usually got out early most days so we would only have 2 1/2 hours of teaching.

[hubes]

That sounds like its going to take forever to plan.

[thebamker]

Jul 10, 2012 11:23:06 GMT -5 hubes said:

That sounds like its going to take forever to plan.

The other teacher quit w/o notice. they need someone to pick up this class. I will have all the stuff from when it was previously taught... but I have to make sure I know the material and can properly instruct.

Even if it's hell on earth - its only a month of my life. I can handle it.

[hubes]

Have they offered you something yet?

Idk. Maybe ProfessorArtNerd would know?

[smock]

Damn that's a lot of hours of teaching. Definitely take a break, and depending on the type of course you could structure in free-writing, group project, and/or movies?

Prep time totally depends on how much time you want to put into it, and the same with grading/evaluations. For me, the first time teaching a course I probably spend 2-3 hours minimum prepping/grading for every hour of class, and a lot more in weeks where I'm grading papers or exams.

In terms of pay, doesn't the school have a set amount? Since it's a compressed class I'd assume you'd make the same as people teaching a quarter/semester-long class. Unfortunately the pay is really not great for the amount of time; at my school it's something stupid like $2600 per semester.

[thebuddhagouda]

Does the school not have a set amount? I teach as an adjunct, and I don't really get a say in what I make. Like PP said, it's in the $2000 - 2500 per semester range

[alzi]

I think you SHOULD tell stories. But I like your stories...

[ProfessorArtNerd]

Theyd better pay you at least 4500$ for that.

[ProfessorArtNerd]

Also- tell stories, they love it! You can email me if you would like advice- professorartnerd at gmail

[twopugs]

Lurker with college teaching experience stepping in for a minute!

Jul 10, 2012 11:32:27 GMT -5 smock said:

In terms of pay, doesn't the school have a set amount? Since it's a compressed class I'd assume you'd make the same as people teaching a quarter/semester-long class. Unfortunately the pay is really not great for the amount of time; at my school it's something stupid like $2600 per semester.

When I taught, yes, there was a set amount per semester hour we were teaching. I believe it was $2500/class that we taught. I remember my monthly paychecks were $1000 before taxes. I've looked into adjuncting a little and it seems that the set up is the same - a set price per semester hour.

Even though your class is smashed into a month instead of several months, you're still teaching the same number of hours that you would if it were a regular/traditional semester.

And let me ditto a PP - give the students a break. The summer class I taught was - I believe - 2.5 hours? I can't remember now, it's been 4 years since I taught. But I did give them a 10 minute break halfway through to stretch their legs and give their brains a break. I am a math person so the material can be a little dense, especially when you're teaching an intro course.

Don't think about it as killing yourself for free. You mentioned making connections for the future - you will have your lecture notes / tests / quizzes for when you teach the class again (if you have the opportunity/desire). I spent a fair amount of time on prep when I taught college algebra the first semester, but then I went on to teach it another two semesters - I didn't have to do any prep at all. FWIW, I spent a lot of my office hours (which, you need to check - you are probably required to keep office hours) prepping / grading / doing homework.

Then again, I am only pursuing a PhD so I can teach at the college level - this is what I want to do for a living. Teaching never felt like a job to me, even the first semester when I had to put in more time on lecture notes. If you do not want to teach, you may have a different experience. Overall, I loved it - hate that I'm not teaching now. Hopefully you enjoy teaching as well.

GL!

[thebamker]

Jul 10, 2012 12:25:16 GMT -5 ProfessorArtNerd said:

Theyd better pay you at least 4500$ for that.

can you give me a bit more insight to how you came to this number?

I just want to see your thought process.

(and no - they haven't given me an offer. They threw it at me first. The guy setting it up was one of my teachers and I believe he will mentor me instead of completely acting on behalf of the school to pay me as little as possible. but I need to have an idea of a starter number)

[thebuddhagouda]

He may not have any say though, mentor or not. I was approached by the chair of the department (same thing...one of my old professors) because they needed someone quickly and I was local. He has been very helpful and answered all of my questions and helped me set up my class structure and whatnot, but he didn't get any say in what I made because it's a standard rate set University wide.

[ProfessorArtNerd]

I'm guessing it's a four credit class, right? A studio in an architecture/engineering school? When I was teaching four credit classes that was the rate. It may be less, and they usually do have a pay scale set, but I say aim high. And they better not cheap out on you bc you're helping them a lot.

[thebamker]

Jul 10, 2012 12:43:47 GMT -5 thebuddhagouda said:

He may not have any say though, mentor or not. I was approached by the chair of the department (same thing...one of my old professors) because they needed someone quickly and I was local. He has been very helpful and answered all of my questions and helped me set up my class structure and whatnot, but he didn't get any say in what I made because it's a standard rate set University wide.

yeah - my situation is exactly like that.

his latest email said: "we'll just need to make sure you're ok with the content of the class and how much you would need to be paid."

If he said: "we'll just need to make sure you're ok with the content of the class and the pay." I would think it was a standard amount. He makes it sound like I need to specify and we have to agree.

idk. maybe I'm reading it wrong.

I would be more than happy to take the job for the 'standard' pay. no problem.

[twopugs]

Jul 10, 2012 12:42:12 GMT -5 thebamker said:

Jul 10, 2012 12:25:16 GMT -5 ProfessorArtNerd said:

Theyd better pay you at least 4500$ for that.

can you give me a bit more insight to how you came to this number?

I just want to see your thought process.

(and no - they haven't given me an offer. They threw it at me first. The guy setting it up was one of my teachers and I believe he will mentor me instead of completely acting on behalf of the school to pay me as little as possible. but I need to have an idea of a starter number)

Okay so will you be the instructor of record (ie, the class shows up under your name), or will you be teaching under someone else's name? I imagine if you're teaching under someone else's name, they can screw you on the pay... but if you're instructor of record, you deserve the same thing that everyone else is paid. (Either way - you deserve the same pay that everyone else has...)

Make some calls to other departments at the same place to ask how much adjuncts are paid. Then when they lowball you, you are prepared to say that you expect to be paid $X, since that is what an adjunct is paid.

[marshmallow]

My university pays $5000 for a four-credit class, but others I've looked at pay much, much less.

[BunnyMacDougal]

My university puts a $6K/semester cap on adjunct wages. They pay according to educational background and course difficulty. 3 hours vs. 4 hours, etc.

[Marle]

I'm just so glad you decided to do it!

[5thofjuly]

Adjunct pay has been set (and low) at every university I've ever taught at. Still, it's worth a try. I'd take the current adjuct pay/semester, prorate it by how ever much time is left in the course, and multiply it by 1.5 just to see what happens.

That said, make the class active---I never do anything for more than 30 minutes. Quick lecture, pairs discussion, group discussion, video clip, activity, in class writing, another lecture, apply material to a new setting, etc.

[thebamker]

Jul 11, 2012 9:26:42 GMT -5 Marle said:

I'm just so glad you decided to do it!

I haven't completely decided. we are still in discussions about it.

To be honest, the timing couldn't be worse.

we'll see.