Teachers, Scholars, Union Members, Radicals: Non-Tenure Track Faculty and Non-Traditional Grading in A University Writing Program

Book: Implementing Transformative Student-Centered Pedagogies in the Neoliberal Academy: Constraints and Opportunities by CSMFL Publications

Christina Michaud
Writing, Master Lecturer, Boston University College of Arts and Sciences Writing Program, USA.

10.46679/9789349926912ch15
This chapter is a part of: Implementing Transformative Student-Centered Pedagogies in the Neoliberal Academy: Constraints and Opportunities
ISBN (Ebook): 978-93-49926-91-2
ISBN (Hardcover Print): 978-93-49926-11-0
ISBN (Softcover Print): 978-93-49926-31-8

© CSMFL Publications & its authors.
Published: May 05, 2026

Michaud, C. (2026). Teachers, Scholars, Union Members, Radicals: Non-Tenure Track Faculty and Non-Traditional Grading in A University Writing Program. In F. Fovet, Implementing Transformative Student-Centered Pedagogies in the Neoliberal Academy: Constraints and Opportunities (pp 343-357). CSMFL Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.46679/9789349926912ch15

Abstract

University writing programs, primarily staffed by contingent faculty with relatively little status in the university, may find themselves advocates of non-traditional grading (including contract grading, labor-based grading, and ungrading), which is an example of a student-focused inclusive and antiracist pedagogy. As non-tenure track faculty have unionized, in some universities, writing program faculty have led labor organizing efforts on behalf of all contingent faculty across the university. Conflicts therefore arise between the pressures of the neoliberal university, including a pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, and the interests of writing program faculty who are on the forefront of disseminating new pedagogies even while they are disenfranchised by typical university governing bodies.

Keywords: Contingent Faculty, Alternative Grading, Antiracist Pedagogy, Faculty Unionization, Neoliberal University, Writing Programs

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