This short paper discusses some aspects of the recent increase in
the number of full-time non—tenure track faculty appointments. It considers alternative explanations for the growth and concludes that the
predominant cause seems to be that institutions have elected to offer
non—tenure track appointments, not that they are forced to by inadequate finances or projections of declines in student enrollment. This
tentative conclusion rests on some statistics which imply that tenure
track appointments tend to be offered more frequently in fields where
there is also more upward pressure on salaries and where new faculty
appointments may have a wider choice of alternatives.