Teaching quality is a crucial factor in student success, contributing to students' short- and long-term learning opportunities. High-quality teaching not only contributes to the improvement of student test scores and graduation rates but also gives students a "strong foundation from which to advance and achieve" in the future. Long term,…

An increasing number of states are mandating teacher performance be considered in educator employment decisions, including awarding tenure and layoffs, according to a 50-state policy review of teacher tenure laws. Tenure laws have historically granted job protections based on years of employment. The Education Commission of the States (ECS)…

Teacher pension systems concentrate retirements within a narrow range of the career cycle by penalizing individuals who separate too soon or remain employed too long. The penalties result in the retention of some teachers who would otherwise choose to leave, and the premature exit of some teachers who would otherwise choose to stay. We examine the…

In the era of No Child Left Behind, principals are increasingly held accountable for student performance. But are teacher labor agreements giving them enough flexibility to manage effectively? This study answers this question and others. It examines how much flexibility school leaders enjoy on key dimensions of management in America's fifty…

Probability-based targets, instead of tenure quotas, work with a longer view of the future and permit flexibility in decisionmaking by asserting that performance standards remain the key criterion for promotion. (Author/PG)

Comments are divided into four sections: (1) a summary of the problems posed by the tenure system; (2) a brief survey of several alternatives to conventional tenure; (3) a review of some problems facing colleges in financial exigency; and (4) a few positive suggestions for the future. (Author/PG)

Effective tenure policies, including periodic post-tenure review of performance, can not only protect academic freedom but assure high levels of faculty achievement. (Editor/PG)

Asserts that tenure may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or more general affirmative action concepts. (Author/PG)

The theme of these papers is the development of a college or university personnel policy suitable for a time of little or no expansion in student or faculty number and also a time when stability follows a period of rapid growth coupled with considerable change in faculty expectations and governance patterns. The papers deal almost exclusively with…

Discusses how the universities' capacity for change is limited by security of tenure. (Editor)

The collective bargaining agreement between the College of Insurance and the college's chapter of the American Association of University Professors covering the period September 10, 1987-August 31, 1990 is presented. Items covered in the agreement include: unit recognition, management rights, grievance and arbitration, strikes/lockouts, no…

The Committee on Retirement of the American Association of University Professors initiated its first retirement policies survey in 2000 to address a lack of reliable and systematically collected information on retirement policies and practices across U.S. institutions of higher education. At the end of the 1990s, there was a sense that…

The Commission on College Retirement was formed to review the role and functioning of college and university retirement programs and make recommendations for program improvements. This volume brings together five separate reports issued by the commission. "Retirement Ages for College and University Personnel" addresses the issues of…

Major statutes, court decisions, and labor board rulings applicable to part-time college faculty are reported; and the legal status, compensation, and collective bargaining rights of such faculty are discussed. Guidelines to help physical education administrators deal with these issues are included. (Authors/PP)

The American Association of University Professors' Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure reports on possible results on faculty salary structure, the tenure system, and retirement options of legislation uncapping the mandatory retirement age of college faculty. Considerations for institutions to make in adjusting personnel policies are…