The board’s Tenure/Post-Tenure Ad Hoc Committee has athat could bring a massive decrease in tenured and tenure-track faculty at the state’s five community colleges, as well as pared-back awards of tenure at all 11 universities in the North Dakota University System.
Currently, faculty contracts are divided into probationary tenure track, tenure, and special appointment. But if the board changes the policy, all faculty would have a special appointment contract, which essentially makes their employment at will and subject to renewal by their university’s president.
Tenure for two-year faculty members is “less rigorous compared to the four-year regional and research institutions. Post-tenure review processes were the least developed, if they existed at all, among two year colleges. Both the tenure and post-tenure processes must be meaningful and rigorous.
Kevin Black, a board member and oil and gas executive, questioned the reason a community college faculty member would need tenure, asking, “How does tenure provide academic freedom in a technical education role?” Tenure protections, however, are seen by conservatives as a way to protect left-wing professors while boxing out conservative ones, Kissel said.