Problem statement development and analysis

¶ … Post-Tenure Review

The idea of a post-tenure review process sits well with some and not with others. It is generally assumed that an instructor is reviewed and corrected while he or she is working to attain tenure, but once tenure is achieved it is virtually impossible to correct or discipline a professor. Once a person has tenure, he or she feels 'safe.' Some tenured professors assume that they cannot be fired, etc. However, a problem that institutions see is that tenured professors are not getting paid commensurate with their experience if they have been tenured for a long time -- they are simply getting paid more because they are tenured, where someone just as able to do the job could be offered considerably less because that person would not have the tenure status. There is a negative relationship between tenure and economic compensation, as well as between tenure and faculty development -- both of which are important (Dilts, Samavati, & Rahnama-Moghadam, 2007, p. 333).

It is true that a tenured professor cannot be removed from his or her position without sufficient cause, but what other benefit is there, besides the simple idea of having the prestige that comes along with tenure? The other benefit is money, but that does not benefit an institution that is trying to support paying these people. While considered a "cornerstone of academic freedom," tenure does not really provide a professor with continued academic and financial growth, which has become an important concern among tenured individuals within the last 10 years (Dilts, Samavati, & Rahnama-Moghadam, 2007, p. 334). Tenure has a pecuniary value, with a negative impact being seen on the finances of institutions that offer many tenured positions, primarily because tenured professors can sue on specific grounds if they are fired and, therefore, they can cost a governing body a lot of money.

For someone without tenure this is not an option, so the money does not need to be stored toward some future day when a legal defense may be necessary. Because there is a surplus of people who want to be in academic positions today, it is very easy for an academic institution to hire someone who will not be given tenure. These people can be paid a lower wage than someone with tenure, because they will not be standing on the same legal ground if they are let go at a later date (Dilts, Samavati, & Rahnama-Moghadam, 2007, p. 335). They make less, so the institution saves money, and that money can be used to hire more instructors, to purchase supplies, or for any other area in which the establishment is lacking.

People who are not tenured but who are doing the same work make about 1/2 of what tenured professors make (Dilts, Samavati, & Rahnama-Moghadam, 2007, p. 336). However, these same people have the potential to keep rising in their salary, although not to the level of a tenured professor. Some institutions do not even offer tenured positions anymore. For institutions that do and for the people who receive it, the attaining of tenure should be enough, but many times it is not. In addition, the creation of a post-tenure review may be perceived as a limitation on academic freedom, and that is not something that many tenured professors are comfortable with (Dilts, Samavati, & Rahnama-Moghadam, 2007, p. 337). They do not want their freedom restricted and their work examined.