PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kelly Chen
AU  - Zeynep Hansen
AU  - Scott Lowe
TI  - Why Do We Inflate Grades? The Effect of Adjunct Faculty Employment on Instructor Grading Standards
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.56.3.0518-9493R2
DP  - 2019 Oct 14
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 0518-9493R2
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2019/10/07/jhr.56.3.0518-9493R2.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2019/10/07/jhr.56.3.0518-9493R2.full
AB  - A burgeoning literature has documented the influence of adjunct instructors on student subsequent interest and success, but very little is known about its underlying mechanisms. This study investigates instructor choice of grading standards as one mediating channel by exploiting a unique university policy that converts full-time permanent lecturers from existing pool of part-time temporary instructors. We find that instructors hired on a temporary, part-time basis assign higher grades than their permanent full-time counterparts, with no discernible differences in student learning outcomes or perceived teaching effectiveness. The differential grading standards, however, appear to have a non-negligible impact on student enrollment patterns.