Tenure on the Chopping Block

by E Wayne Ross on December 3, 2008

Inside Higher Ed: Tenure on the Chopping Block

Amid state budget concerns, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System may eliminate tenure for all new faculty members and instead offer short-term renewable contracts. System leaders say the plan will give them a flexibility they need, but many professors fear a potential loss of academic freedom and job security.

The system’s Board of Regents will discuss a proposed revision of its employment policy during its next meeting this Friday. The proposed policy revision would grandfather in those individuals who either have already been granted tenure or are on a tenure track prior to July 1, 2009. Currently, the system has 168 faculty members on the tenure track, and they would either have tenure granted or denied by 2014.