Explores the crucial role that tenure and post-tenure review may play in the future of American higher education, looking at recent debates about tenure and experiences of post-tenure review. Contends that tenure can be preserved, with post-tenure review the means of invigorating and renewing the profession. (EV)

People on the tenure track complain that evaluation criteria are inexplicit. The second problem is the allocation of energies between teaching and publication. Administrators must be informed about anything that explains exactly what the faculty member's work means. (MLW)

Analysis of the content of and student responses to college course evaluations suggests that, in general, students are seeking entertainment, comfort, high grades, and less work and are hostile to the necessary routines and rigors of higher education. The commonly used numerical evaluation form is not only unreliable and invalid, it is an…

Teaching in a world that wants caution, careful documentation, and a prudent regard for student satisfaction, lest their actions come back to haunt them in court, is discussed. Getting students to think is tough; getting them to agree with the teacher is seen as dangerous. (MLW)

A survey of 300 college faculty across disciplines suggested that many faculty encounter conditions that hinder collegiality concerning undergraduate teaching issues. These difficulties include faculty isolation and fragmented communication, constrained resources, and inappropriate evaluation and reward systems. Results also suggest ways in which…

The head of a research university studio art program outlines the potential benefits and challenges associated with maintaining a first-rate program. Problems include high costs, a faculty merit review system, lack of faculty socialization to university norms or participation in campus affairs, lack of leadership incentives, a patronage mentality,…