Advice is provided to teachers and scholars entering the academic profession at a college or university. The report reviews the usual standards and practices governing faculty employment in higher education and offers candid suggestions about how untenured faculty members might protect their rights. This information is designed to inform the reader of all rights, offer some advice, and encourage institutions to develop faculty status procedures that promote fairness and equity, thereby contributing to higher morale and quality of life on campus for faculty, administrators, and students. Four sections deal with the following topics: (1) tenure (background and status); (2) the perils of probationary status (prior to appointment, arriving at the new institution, the first year, criteria and procedures for reappointment, notice of non-reappointment (timing, reasons, and appeals), contending with non-reappointment, alleged violations of academic freedom and discrimination, and suspension and termination during dismissal or appeal procedures); (3) part-time, temporary, research, and other types of faculty; and (4) collective bargaining and the untenured. (SM)