The tension at the heart of pension politics is the incentive to satisfy today's claimants in the here-and-now at the expense of long-term concerns. Rules and auditing standards are intended to tame this kind of short-sighted behavior in the private sector. In the public sector, the primary safeguard is the hope that public officials will not be…

Argues that pension systems have indentured educators by trapping them in jobs they do not want because of vesting requirements and that teachers' unions support these systems for selfish interests. The author offers a pension reform system ("defined-contribution") as a solution. (GR)

Argues that boredom is a major factor in teacher burnout. Suggests that administrators and teachers encourage diversity in assignments and materials to revitalize staff. (FL)

The effects of faculty cutbacks might be alleviated through the use of creative methods to hire new faculty, the development of alternative career opportunities for faculty, and unique retirement schemes; but such "escape routes" probably will not be effective overall. Implications for institutional research are addressed. (Author/LB)

A recent survey of the 50 states showed a wide variation in buy-back provisions for emigrating teachers who wish to apply prior service from another state toward their pension plan in the state to which they have moved. A chart shows the number of years of buy-back allowed and the specific requirements for claiming them in each of the states,…

Alternatives to faculty retrenchment requiring neither large amounts of added revenue nor plans to increase enrollment are examined. Suggestions include sabbatical leaves, use of part-time faculty, early retirement, and tenure modifications. An excerpt from a faculty contract is provided. (LC)

To make more tenured faculty positions available to young professors, a proposal that requires tenured professors to vacate their positions when they reach the age of 60 is presented. The financial implications of this proposal and possible roles for senior faculty are discussed. (SF)

Collective bargaining is discussed as a means of resolving the retrenchment issue in future faculty employment problems using the University of Montana as a case study. Areas examined include: retirement, tenure, turnover, rank distribution, resource and position reallocation and financial exigency. (LC)

The question of the viability of tenure for college faculty is considered in three papers. In "The History of Tenure," Walter P. Metzger considers the history of academic tenure and the history of opposition to this practice. It is concluded that tenure continues to be a vital institution and has provided a better quality faculty. Its…

Problems of "steady state" institutions and techniques of management that have implications for Monash University, Australia are considered. The term "steady state" is used to indicate a lack of additional funds being injected into the system to promote growth and/or development. A trend toward public accountability in higher…