A Modern Approach to Academic Rank and Tenure

In prior Trusteeship articles, I have written about the broken business model in higher education. One of the prime contributors to this ineffective business model is the antiquated and ponderous system of rank and tenure utilized by most universities. This traditional system assumes tenure or tenure-track professors are the best teachers and are the most knowledgeable, flexible, and valuable assets of the university. However, there is ample evidence that this is not true and, further, tenure is not working for either of the parties in the equation. Administration is unnecessarily burdened with tenured staff whose contributions are inflexible and often out of sync with market needs. As for faculty, the vast majority of faculty are not covered by tenure. According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), as of 2021, the share of all faculty with access to tenure was 24 percent, down from 39 percent in 1987, and that trend has continued. Some indications are it is accelerating. So, the vast majority, 76 percent or higher, of the teaching resources are excluded from a process considered elemental to the traditional university. Clearly, something is not working.