Strengthening the connection between sessional staff and university: Why and how to create a more cohesive and integrated learning community of teachers

The aim of this presentation is to explore the necessity and strategies for strengthening the connection between sessional staff and university. Academic staff on sessional contracts undertake most of the undergraduate teaching in Higher Education (HE) yet they have little voice in the main discourses of Learning and Teaching in HE and often feel positioned on the periphery of University life and culture. Their contribution to academic integrity and student retention has been problematized and a high percentage of sessional staff (SS) or part-time tenure is seen as a risk to all academics. Yet recent research undermines the notion that ‘Sessional Staffers’ pose a risk to academia or academic standards. Instead SS have reservoirs of untapped talent that could, if harnessed, support the development of a cohesive and scholarly culture of learning and teaching. This presentation seeks to firstly offer a brief overview of the characteristics of sessional staff, identify their contribution to higher education institutions and explore why they are employed in everincreasing numbers. Secondly, it will expose the lack of connectivity SS feel towards the institutions for which they work and identify their exclusion from professional participation in many aspects of university life. Thirdly, the presentation will focus on potential strategies to enhance SS connectivity to the university they serve and support a cohesive Learning & Teaching university culture