Post-tenure Review Then and Now: Retrospective and Prospective Study of Its Impact on Faculty and Higher Education

Abstract

When Dr. Christine Licata published Post-Tenure Faculty Evaluation: Threat or Opportunity? in 1986, it became the starting point for increased pressure on colleges and universities to address society’s concern that once faculty members were granted tenure, they were absolved of any expectation for continued productivity or accountability. Responding to this perceived “crisis” in higher education, the approaches taken in establishing post-tenure review systems varied greatly between institutions, including whether policies were developed by administration or faculty bodies, whether the process was formative or summative, whether the process was periodic or triggered by some identified deficiency, whether the process resulted in a development plan with resources to assist faculty members who needed to refresh or refocus and whether the process required peer review. Faculty members faced with adverse employment action because of post-tenure review have challenged these policies on a number of legal grounds. Twenty-five years later, it is appropriate to determine the impact of post-tenure on faculty and higher education, whether there has been a change in society’s perceptions about tenure and whether colleges and universities will turn to post-tenure review or a variation of it as a way to reduce expenses and increase flexibility during a time of significant financial challenges. This presentation will cover the history of and rationale for post-tenure review, the features of various post-tenure review systems, retrospective analysis of what has happened with post-tenure review over the past 25 years and a discussion of the potential for new emphasis on the use of post-tenure review policies in the future. The presenter chaired the committee that developed the post-tenure review policy at her campus and then helped implement the policy, including training for department chairs and deans.