When professors in positions that offer no chance of earning tenure begin to stack the faculty, campus dynamics start to change. Growing numbers of adjuncts make themselves more visible. They push for roles in governance, better pay and working conditions, and recognition for work well done. And they do so at institutions where tenured faculty,…

This article examines how a faculty member's status--either tenured or tenure-track--might affect the grades assigned to students in a writing class. We begin with a brief review of the research surrounding faculty to student assessment practices and follow with specific controversies regarding faculty motivation pertaining to grading practices.…

In this article, the author argues that compartmentalization in the way that writing education tends to be discussed and therefore understood in the professional discourse of rhetoric and composition should be critically examined and transcended if the field is going to lead the development of undergraduate writing majors. Any new major should be…

Discusses Recommendation No. 20 of the report of the Commission on Academic Tenure headed by W. Rea Keast and John Macy. It recommends establishing ratios for tenured and nontenured faculty. (TO)

Suggests it is commonplace among rhetoric and composition faculty to expect those who assume discipline-related administrative positions to become vulnerable at tenure time. Looks closely at the problem of gaining tenure in English departments when one is not a literary specialist. Suggests several possible approaches to establishing a successful…

Suggest junior English department faculty may be setting themselves up for failure by identifying more with the values of the computers and writing community than those of their home institutions. Argues that junior faculty should not consider seeking value for work unless it impacts pedagogy, service, or publication. Cites various guidelines for…

In 2004 the Executive Council of the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) created a task force to examine current standards and emerging trends in publication requirements for tenure and promotion in English and foreign language departments in the United States. To fulfill its charge, the task force reviewed numerous studies, reports, and…

In recent years, scholars and teachers in both the broad field of Composition Studies and the more specialized arena of Computers and Composition Studies have begun to recognize that the bandwidth of literacy practices and values on which their profession has focused during the last century may be overly narrow. In response, a number of educators…

Examines the problems confronting the English department of a middle-sized, nonurban baccalaureate institution caught in the economic recession. (RB)

This scripted dialogue is a fully documented story about the history and conditions of one group of post-secondary teachers of English. The narrative focuses on the proposal of this group of "permanent" temporary writing instructors from Western Illinois University to convince administrators to change their status to tenure track by…

Various strategies are listed which an untenured English department faculty member must often employ in seeking a permanent place in his department. (Author/RM)

Looks at various issues set before English departments by recent federal legislation uncapping the mandatory retirement age. Examines the "worst case" scenario of unlimited tenure. Argues that while it is too early to predict the effects of this legislation, preliminary indications show that incentives for early retirement are working.…

Lists guidelines to help department administrators reduce their liability and strengthen their position when faced with grievances or lawsuits. (AEA)

Identifies 10 questions that dominated the 1990 WPA Conference at Portland, Oregon, part of a continuing dialogue over professional standards in writing instruction. Captures the voices of conference participants as they pose answers to the issues raised in the Wyoming Resolution and the Statement of Principles and Standards. (RS)

Examines one English department in the midst of establishing an independent writing major and program. Analyzes situational constraints in the context of professional concerns regarding tenure and in current disciplinary concerns regarding recognition of computers and composition labor. Argues for establishing tenure and promotion guidelines that…