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Session 1647

Post Tenure Review Implementation at Arizona State University

Albert L. McHenry, Lakshmi V. Munukutla Arizona State University East

ABSTRACT

Arizona State University is one of the first universities to implement a post-tenure-review process for all tenured faculty members in accordance with Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) guidelines. The purpose of the post-tenure-review process is to provide accountability through emphasis on sustained high quality performance and opportunities for faculty development, and to provide additional accountability to the university community, to the public, and to the ABOR. This article describes the policies and procedures that are approved and presently being implemented at Arizona State University.

Introduction

Arizona State University is one of the three universities under the ABOR that are required to implement a post-tenure-review process for all tenured faculty members in accordance with guidelines. The purpose of the post-tenure-review process is to provide accountability through emphasis on sustained high quality performance and opportunities for faculty development, and to provide additional accountability to the university community, to the public, and to the ABOR. This article describes the policies and procedures that are being implemented at Arizona State University.

The Situation

Legislators and university governing board members have begun to seek ways to provide greater access to higher education with improved efficiency and cost to the tax-paying public. Conventional wisdom has it that faculty members at research universities are significantly underutilized in teaching and focus much too heavily on research. Moreover, teaching is commonly defined as time spent in the classroom involved in the traditional lecture format. The solution generally prescribed to fix this perceived problem, by legislatures and governing boards is to redirect faculty effort.

Research universities have made a major commitment to the execution of fundamental research. Faculty release-time is used as a major incentive to gain the faculty's commitment to the research effort. Without the ability to release faculty from a part of their teaching load, the research agenda is significantly encumbered, if not eliminated. As the issues are debated around the country, it becomes more evident that public decision-makers are poorly informed about the actual nature of faculty responsibilities and workload.

Arizona is not the only venue for this struggle. Alternatives to tenure have been the focus of a protracted struggle at the University of Minnesota among others. The pro and con arguments

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McHenry, A. L., & Munukutla, L. (1998, June), Post Tenure Review Implementation At Arizona State University Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7349