This paper deals with the role of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) among staff on teaching-only contracts in UK higher education, particularly in contrast with the activities of research-active staff. Drawing on the results of a quantitative study carried out during the summer of 2021 among modern foreign language teachers in 64 UK…

This article explores the relationship between unionization and academic freedom protections for sessional faculty in Ontario universities. Specifically, we compare university policies and contract provisions with a view to determining whether unionized sessionals hired on a per-course basis have stronger academic freedom protections than their…

Policymakers and leaders have been calling for changes in the Academy for nontenure-track faculty. This study focuses on the role of governance in creating that policy change, and the practices facilitating their role in changing the institution through governance. Findings include: governance facilitating day-to-day changes, establishing…

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between teacher dispositions, subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and reasons that school principals recommend non-renewal of teachers' contracts. Nearly 2,000 school principals in 13 states completed an emailed survey. In deciding whether to non-renew a teacher contract,…

The work of individual professors and members of the "faculty" requires a high degree of autonomy. This professional independence that educators enjoy individually through academic freedom and collectively through peer review and shared governance arises from a social contract, a tacit agreement with the public about the contribution of…

This monograph provides a portrait of non-tenure-track faculty, describes studies of their experiences, and proposes plans of action. Much of the research, particularly early on, tried to provide a picture and description of this faculty that have been largely invisible for years. Therefore, "Portrait of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty" focuses on the…

Flexible tenure contracts are proposed as an alternative to the current college faculty tenure system. Such a contract would make more explicit, and potentially more varied, the contributions expected of the candidate, but avoid the tenure-track/non-tenure-track distinction. It could also help resolve conflicts over the relative weights to be…

Many colleges and universities are hiring full-time faculty on contract instead of on tenure tracks, saying alternatives to lifetime job security are needed to control costs and assure flexibility. The number of full-time non-tenure-track professors almost doubled between 1975 and 1995, while full-time faculty on tenure tracks fell 12%. (MSE)

Results of a national survey concerning medical school policies for employing nontenured clinician-educator faculty, the titles given to faculty members in these tracks, and special features of employment are presented. (MSE)

Looks at how contracts impact on college faculty incentives to produce at high levels of quality and quantity. Focus is on the organizational and structural conditions that accompany tenure systems in academic organizations, on the associated motivational climate that is produced by either tenure or contract systems, and on the effect of…

Describes the three-year process of obtaining renewable four-year contracts and other benefits, including sabbatical leave eligibility, for University of Vermont non-tenure-track faculty and part-time lecturers. Highlights the arguments presented to faculty and administration and the support of various groups (faculty women's caucus, faculty…

In an effort to revitalize Bennington College (Vermont), its president recently fired 26 of 79 faculty members, reduced and reorganized academic departments and divisions, replaced tenure with multi-year contracts, and recruited new faculty. Some claim violation of academic freedom. Enrollment has increased, particularly among first-time students,…