FORT MILL, S.C. — Data analysts from the personal financial website GoodCall.com released the 2017 list of Best Universities for Adjunct Professors, ranking the top universities for adjunct and non-tenure track professors to teach and earn a living.

While the University of Maryland Eastern Shore did not make the top 10, of the 292 schools that were examined nationwide the Princess Anne campus ranked #40 in the U.S. Data used in the findings included average monthly pay, competitive salary to tenured and tenure-track faculty, student-teacher ratio, and student graduation rates.

It also takes into account affordability of the community where the college or university is based, and compares it to the national average.

The top 10 colleges and universities are:

1. University of Notre Dame 6. Rochester Institute of Technology
2. Lehigh University
3. Wake Forest University
4. Saint Louis University
5. Mercer University
6. Rochester Institute of Technology
7. Texas A&M University-Commerce
8. Michigan Technological University
9. Southern Methodist University
10. Clark University

The full rankings are posted here.

UMES has a student-faculty ratio of 15 and a graduation rate of 33 percent. It lists an average monthly salary of $6,120 and salary compensation for them vs. tenured professors at 0.6256. The cost of living in Princess Anne is 87.4 percent of the national average.

"Because of their temporary positions, adjunct professors often make less than a living wage. At many schools they have little administrative and developmental support from their university and no job security, making it difficult for them to teach,” says Claire Etheridge, data analyst for GoodCall.com.

Data sources included IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and Sperling’s Bestplaces.

"At the universities at the top of our list adjuncts are compensated well overall, taking the cost of living near the institution into account to ensure their salaries are enough to live on. These universities also pay adjunct professors well compared to tenured professors, indicating that they value adjunct professors' work,” Ms. Etheridge stated. “Students at these institutions are engaged, as shown by a high graduation rate, and able to interact more with their professors due to a low student-teacher ratio."

GoodCall.com helps people make easier personal finance decisions about college, careers and beyond. It provides tools, resources and data insights to make financial independence a reality for students, recent graduates, families and retirees.

— Michelle Billick is communications manager for GoodCall.com