To offset declining enrollments, financial constraints, younger faculties, and high tenure ratios, some institutions are considering early retirement programs to facilitate faculty turnover. A University of Virginia faculty committee reviewed several early retirement options and selected a cost-effective bridging program with ample incentives and…

An incentive early retirement program is an arrangement between employer and employee that provides tangible inducement or reward for voluntary early retirement. It may be a formal program or an ad hoc agreement negotiated with the institution. The most common incentives include severance pay, liberalized actuarial reduction, annuity enhancements,…

The University of Virginia's retirement incentive program for older, full-time, tenured faculty provided two options: phased retirement and a retirement decision contract establishing a firm retirement date. Evaluation indicates this plan was effective in meeting the interests and needs of participants and the institution and saved institutional…

A survey of 56 colleges investigated how the institutions approach planning for staffing and the significance given such factors as abolition of mandatory retirement, tenure ratios, faculty retirements, faculty hiring and supply and demand, and related issues. Specific concerns emerged, and findings did not consistently bear out previous research.…