What does online teaching pay?

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Q. How much does an adjunct usually earn teaching an online course? Just by way of example, a good friend of mine teaches philosphy and humanities at the local community college, and earns roughly $1500 per course (or about $500 a credit hour). That doesn't strike me a whole lot of money. Does DL pay adjunct more than this?

A. Starting pay for adjunct instructors (or "facilitators," as some schools call them) can be anywhere from $800 for a 5-week class to $1500 for a 4-week class. BUT, the number of weeks doesn't matter. What matters is how many class HOURS you have to work. Of course, to that you have to add the hours spent grading papers and jotting down feedback to the students. For example, one university might pay $800 for a 5-week, 20-hour course ($40 per hour). Another might pay $1,500 for a 4-week, 45-hour course ($33.33 per hour). Yet another might pay $1,600 for an 8-week, 32-hour course ($50 per hour). A community college might pay $50 per hour, and it goes up from there. If the courses are held in a location that is not too close to you, you might also negotiate getting paid an additional flat rate for driving or mileage, which could add up to another $200 or so. This is an option with the private institutions, not community colleges, of course. Most of these schools also like to use you to perform clerical/administrative duties which THEY should do, and for which you don't get paid. Some of these functions include ordering your own book (instructor's copy), selecting books for the course (you have to call various publishers and request review copies), completing and mailing the grade card to students, and other miscellaneous functions. You will have no medical or other benefits, since adjuncts don't qualify for that. Full-time jobs are extremely difficult to get; you need to know someone to get into the cushy jobs that provide all the goodies, such as benefits and retirement. All in all, though, it's not a bad way to make a decent hourly rate, be somewhat of your own boss, and have flexibility with your working hours.

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