Post-tenure review proposal outline

¶ … negative aspects and perceptions of the tenure system have led to the implementation of many so-called "post-tenure review" processes in the vast majority of states' public college and university systems and many private institutions of higher education, as well (Wood & Jarlais, 2006). This research will attempt to ascertain and define the effects of these post-tenure review processes and policies, specifically attempting to locate evidence regarding the effects on teaching, research, academic freedom, and institutional culture that such practices and policies have. Research will take place at several large public and private higher-education institutions, using samples sizes of no less than fifty tenured and non-tenured instructors, students, and administrators in separated research samples, on both a quantitative and qualitative basis in an attempt to arrive at a well-informed and balanced opinion on the improvements and/or drawbacks of post-tenure review (Cresswell & Plano-Clark, 2007).

Proposal

The proposed research will determine the manner and degree in which post tenure review impacts teaching, research, and overall service on the part of tenured faculty. Anecdotal evidence relating instances of abuse of tenure abound, and are used to explain away any perceived ills in the post tenure review process as somehow "less bad" than the ills of a tenure system without post-tenure review (Wood & Jarlais, 2006). This research will investigate the truth of such claims while at the same time ascertaining the overall effects of post-tenure review on teaching faculty and institutional culture, adding to the body of knowledge concerning how higher education can operate most effectively and efficiently.

Methodology

Mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) will be used in this study. Qualitative instruments, including interviews and open-form questionnaires, will be distributed to a smaller and more purposefully selected population of faculty and administrators than the qualitative survey instruments, which will be distributed to much wider and more randomized population of faculty, administrators, and students, in accordance with standard mixed methods research collection practices (Cresswell & Plano-Clark, 2007). The qualitative sample size will include at least twenty-five participants from different institutions; target sample sizes for the quantitative research will be at least fifty each of students and faculty as well as at least ten administrators at every institution. All instruments will be developed by the researchers in accordance with established practices and with input from subject area experts as warranted/needed (Cresswell & Plano-Clark, 2007).