This report describes recent hiring and retirement patterns as well as tenure-related changes and actions taken by public and private not-for-profit postsecondary institutions that offered an associate's or higher degree in fall 2003 and participated in federal Title IV student aid programs. The 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty…

The 1978 Amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act establishes the mandatory retirement age at 70. The implications for higher education are discussed, a steady-state model is examined, and an alternative is offered. (Author/MLW)

Two recent books, "The Case for Tenure" (Matthew W. Finkin, ed.) and "Promotion and Tenure" (William G. Tierney, Estela Mara Bensimon) are important contributions to the dialog about college faculty tenure. Each contributes to but does not fill the professoriate's need for a defense of tenure that incorporates the tradition of principled support…

The literature concerning the use of student evaluations to improve college teaching and to help make decisions concerning tenure and promotion is reviewed, along with ways that several colleges have used these evaluations to improve the quality of teaching. Many studies indicate that properly-administered, well-constructed rating forms can…

Young workers should know what employers' standards are for hiring and job performance and behave accordingly in order to obtain and keep a job. This finding is based on a study that examined the perceptions of high school graduates and their employers' reports of hiring and job performance standards and employment outcomes. High school students…

The use of arbitration to resolve faculty appointment, retention, promotion, and tenure disputes is addressed, based on a review of specific university arbitration decisions. The arbitration literature reveals that faculty employment status decisions are made almost exclusively with reference to academic judgment. Attributes that are frequently…

This study examined the faculty reward system in public universities to ascertain how the current system affects faculty use of time especially by faculty at Ohio's 13 public universities. The study reviewed how university norms and incentives regarding promotion and tenure influence a faculty member's decision to focus on research over teaching…

Review of American Association of University Professors cases (n=17) concerning college employment practices and policies during retrenchment draws a parallel between patterns of resource reallocation in higher education and redistribution of wealth and power in the larger society. Retrenchment is seen as a socially constructed not a…

The use of college staffing strategies to reduce staffing expenditures, to reallocate staffing resources, or to limit the time commitment of resources to a position is discussed, based on the literature and data from the Project on Reallocation in Higher Education. Control of the decision to create a position or hire replacements for departing…

The trend toward academic freedom in Texas that began in the sixties and its current status in the state are examined with specific reference to individual Texas colleges. The impact of the Texas Education Agency and changes in governing boards, faculty, and administration on academic freedom are discussed. (BH)

Methods that can be used by administrators to provide flexibility in dealing with the issue of high faculty-tenure ratios were investigated, based on a literature review and a telephone survey of 22 major public research universities. Analysis of methods cited in the literature and by surveyed administrators to enable flexibility in the…

This chapter examines cases reported during 1981 concerning school employees. In the format used, federal questions are addressed first, then issues associated with state laws. The author deals with cases in the areas of discrimination in employment, substantive constitutional rights of speech and association and privacy, and procedural due…

The author notes in his introduction to this chapter that judicial review of institutional decisions remains at an all-time high. He urges administrators to be aware of the developments in law pertaining to higher education but cautions them not to apply general concepts to specific questions. He notes that the weight of litigation in 1978 serves…

The bulk of this chapter is devoted to three areas of contention: discrimination in employment (including discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, and handicapping condition), the discipline and dismissal of employees (including separate discussions of such causes as insubordination, neglect of duty, unprofessional conduct, incompetence,…

Decision makers in education frequently identify tenure laws as a barrier to improving student achievement. Many principals believe statutes and case law adequately protect employees, and join others calling for modifications in tenure policies. The inadequate number of qualified applicants for principal positions is a national problem that…