PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Florence Xiaotao Ran AU - Di Xu TI - Does Contractual Form Matter? AID - 10.3368/jhr.54.4.0117.8505R DP - 2019 Oct 02 TA - Journal of Human Resources PG - 1081--1120 VI - 54 IP - 4 4099 - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/54/4/1081.short 4100 - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/54/4/1081.full SO - J Hum Resour2019 Oct 02; 54 AB - We examine the impact of non-tenure-track faculty by type of employment on students’ academic outcomes in two-and four-year colleges using a two-way fixed-effects model and an instrumental variable approach. We also examine how the estimated effects on student outcomes can be explained by observable instructor characteristics and employment features. We find that non-tenure-track faculty have positive impacts on current course grades but negative impacts on subsequent course outcomes. These negative impacts are stronger for non-tenure-track faculty hired through temporary appointments than for those hired with long-term contracts, which can be explained partly by observable instructor characteristics.