Faculty performance and vitality are perennial issues that should be clearly linked to revitalized or reaffirmed institutional missions and to shared commitments to institutional excellence. It is suggested that there must also be institutional concern for faculty and the quantity and quality of students. (MLW)

Faculty development programs have generally failed to become a permanent fixture in colleges' organizational structure, largely due to outdated personnel policies. A flow concept of planning, focusing not on individuals but on personnel slots determined by program design, allows for flexibility and reflects the realities of contemporary academic…

Explores faculty satisfaction with collective bargaining and unionization, using experience at six California community colleges as an example. Considers faculty satisfaction/dissatisfaction factors and unionization, the changing role of the faculty union, and the views of six California college faculty union presidents. (DB)

Discusses the role of the sabbatical leave in the development, satisfaction, and productivity of faculty in postsecondary institutions. Concludes that faculty members benefit from and are satisfied with their sabbatical leave experiences. Also notes benefits to the home institution, including increased productivity, improved programs, strengthened…

The issue of the impact of collective bargaining on faculty is addressed. While it is difficult to conclude that faculty collective bargaining has damaged academic performance and vitality, the fact remains that a strong potential exists for this to occur. (MLW)

Because the public views higher education differently from other institutions, public policy for and reaction to faculty reductions will be unique. Public interest in program viability, declining enrollment, access, and economics demand that faculty participate fully in institutional planning. (Author/LB)

Even in a period of retrenchment or adjustment, the importance of ongoing faculty development for the faculty who remain at the institution must not be forgotten. The content and structure of faculty development programs can make a significant difference in five areas of education: quality, community, cooperation, institutional loyalty, and…

Incursions into the autonomy of institutions and the sources and types of incursions that occur are described including: legislatures defining the intent and the specifications of the legislation; expenditure controls extended to desirability and propriety; and legal opinions on legislative intent. Procedural and substantive autonomy are…

Evidence suggests that the enhancement of faculty performance and vitality is possible if the unique individual characteristics of students and faculty are acknowledged in institutional planning and allocation efforts, and if the consequences of the interactive processes between the student, the faculty, and their institutions are heeded. (MLW)

An NSF study suggests that important qualitative changes in the faculty may be obtained through increased attention to mid-career change and early retirement programs. Interest in career options, early retirement alternatives, evaluation criteria, mid-career change alternatives, internship, fellowship programs, and retraining programs are…

Any inquiry into faculty vitality needs to address the processes by which faculty members are selected, promoted, and rewarded. Issues discussed include: university mission and form, faculty personnel policies and procedures, problem areas, strategies of innovation and intervention, and whether the traditional faculty personnel system can survive.…