Reforming Academic Tenure: Can Tenure Process Be Improved?

Mandy Lee

Engl 1302

May 1, 2017

Reforming Academic Tenure: Can Tenure Process be Improved?

Academic tenure refers to the state whereby a person mostly a professor has an appointment whereby it lasts till she or she reaches the retirement age; this can be dismissed but with an ultimate cause. Tenure is always earned after some years of working, meaning that the individual being given tenure has much experience, and a certain procedure is followed where the person has to pass the tenure review. In the modern world, there are many claims that the tenure systems are diminishing academic freedom; in today's world professors plays an essential role in the lives of students as they influence the students in their academic life. Academic tenure is a significant issue that has raised several issues over the past decades which has resulted in a game of politics.  

        Tenure is important as it acts as a security to academic employment, I believe that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) should advocate for reform in the academic tenure process. Because tenured faculty often lose enthusiasm for teaching, they get stuck with the old teaching methods used, and they focus mostly on research and publishing instead of putting their efforts into teaching the students. According to Helfand (2005), he states that tenure is not required and that it leads to incompetence, non-meaningful research, and poor teaching. Although Helfand is correct about tenure, he is barbaric as he does not think about the adverse effects the professors will face without academic tenure in their careers and lives. It sounds fun to be thinking of how to end tenure and not considering that the teachers need job security for the school work and research they must do to earn them their Ph.D.

         If tenure is eliminated, the firing of professors will happen each day and in large numbers, not only for being incompetence but to remove the critics. Before tenure is eliminated, considerations should be made to see how tenure prevents abuses of professors. Many unions have interfered and destroyed our economy and society and abolishing tenure would do the same harm to the universities. Reforms should be made to ensure the academic tenure methods are improved; for example, in the past professors had no positive impact on the education of the students as they read directly making the students to be their teachers; due to this, many students did not understand what they are taught. Many professors who claim to help only refers to giving students notes in PowerPoint form without explaining or simplifying what the original material means. Students wonder how an educator expects them to do well on an exam when they did not fully give explanations to the materials they give to students to make them simple for them to understand.

         Tenure methods such as traditional teaching practices should be reformed or eliminated and replaced with better teaching methods. According to Hurtado, and Jessica (37-39), states that scholarship is changing. Thus academic tenure process must be reformed. These authors are not against tenure, but they are for tenure and suggest that changes should be made in tenure systems to make tenure better and ensure that professors have student’s best interest in mind and not just make it a job. Old fashioned teaching practices should be avoided and replaced with better modern teaching practice. Old fashioned teaching methods should be prevented; practices such as the teacher being the controller of the education environment, the teacher hold command and accountability, and he/she is the decision maker, or the teacher viewing students as having holes which need to be filled with knowledge. The traditional professor thinks that the teacher is the cause of learning forgetting that without students there will be no teachers; such beliefs and interpretation should be avoided and are some of the reforms which need to be addressed.

        Sometimes professors take advantage of tenure system since they know they are secure and it’s hard for them to get fired, they feel flexible, and this makes them keep on being educators as they don't bother to achieve their goals as professors of nourishing students with knowledge. This makes people who oppose tenure to keep on demanding its removal as they see no need to have academic tenure when lecturers are idle and don't consider their job as essential as other jobs misusing the university tenure agreement. Tenure should not be for professor’s security. Reforms should be made which will make tenure both students and teachers security; this will minimize tenure violation as if students don't get what is entitled to them they will have a right to claim it, and if their needs are not met, they will have a say. Tenure acting as students and professors security will enhance education in public universities as each will ensure that the other performs the duties assigned.