The AAUP’s annual faculty compensation data found average salaries for full-time faculty fell 0.4% in real terms between fall 2024 and fall 2025, the first real-dollar decline in three years. Continuing full-time faculty saw an average real increase of 0.7%, but overall averages did not keep pace with inflation. The survey also found real-dollar faculty pay remains below pre-pandemic levels, with a cumulative 7.5% drop since fall 2019 through fall 2022. Among part-time faculty, reported pay per course section varied widely, with a median starting pay of $3,121 per course. The data will likely intensify bargaining and retention pressures—particularly for institutions relying on adjunct labor and for universities facing wage compression as operating costs rise.