Public school teachers deserve a compensation system that puts them on a secure path toward retirement. The severely backloaded structure of today's public school teacher pension systems benefit only a small proportion of entering teachers while putting the rest on an insecure retirement path. But there is a cost-neutral solution to this problem…

Like many states, Minnesota has incurred large budget deficits during the past two years. Those deficits have, in turn, led to changes in a number of areas of state government, particularly higher education. Faculty have incurred pay freezes and layoffs, programs have closed, and tuition increased. Campuses within the MnSCU system have been…

Teaching is not the safe career bet that it once was. The thinking used to be: New students will always be entering the public schools, and older teachers will always be retiring, so new teachers will always be needed. But teaching jobs aren't secure enough to stand up to the "Great Recession," as this drawn-out downturn has been called. Across…

As districts face another year of budget gaps, hundreds of thousands of teachers have been warned that, come the end of the school year, their jobs may be gone. In a policy now termed "LIFO" or "last in, first out," most districts make layoff decisions based on seniority and not on job performance or effectiveness. Using…

Alternatives proposed include early and phased retirement, career change incentives, retraining programs and/or leave, outplacement, and an earnings supplement at severance. (MSE)

A British report recommending widespread compulsory retirement of mathematics faculty based on current enrollment trends and predictions is analyzed and criticized for both its statistics and its assumptions. It is argued that social influences in enrollment and social considerations in public policy toward education are largely being ignored.…

The collective bargaining agreement between Wayne State University and the Wayne State University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors covering the period August 1, 1986-July 31, 1988 is presented. Items covered in the agreement include: personnel classification, union rights and privileges, administration rights, deduction…

The collective bargaining agreement between Wayne State University and the Wayne State University Chapter of AAUP covering the period August 1, 1983-July 31, 1986 is presented. Items covered in the agreement include: personnel classification, administration rights, union rights, union privileges, deduction of union dues and fees,…

Six alternative theoretical models are employed to determine the relationship between age and several performance and activity variables for a national sample of doctorate faculty members in 7 selected scientific disciplines. The findings indicate that "steady-state staffing" policies should continue to recognize individual differences and not be…

The collective bargaining agreement between Niagara University (New York) and the Niagara University Lay Teachers Association, a chapter of the American Association of University Professors, covering the period 1987 to 1989 is presented. The agreement covers the following items: recognition, union security, dues checkoff, discrimination policy,…

The collective bargaining agreement between the West Valley-Mission Community College District (including West Valley College and Mission College) and the West Valley-Mission Community College District Association of Certified Educators is presented. This contract, covering the period from July 1, 1988 through June 30, 1991, deals with the…

A conspectus of reported institutional responses together with some critical comments, as a guide for other colleges. (Editor)

This chapter of "The Best of the Best of ERIC," Volume 2, contains 14 summaries of documents and journal articles on reduction in force, all of which are indexed in either "Resources in Education" or "Current Index to Journals in Education." The materials included deal with various aspects of this topic, such as the…

This report presents 16 examples of policies and provisions designed to help school administrators and board members in developing firm but fair policies to be applied when a reduction in force is deemed unavoidable. The booklet provides policies, administrative regulations, and negotiation agreement provisions. Since, according to the report,…

The collective bargaining agreement between Eastern Michigan University and the Eastern Michigan University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) covering the period September 1, 1985-August 31, 1987 is presented. Items covered in the agreement include: definitions, unit recognition, management rights, union rights,…