This Digest discusses issues related to full-time, nontenure track, contract college faculty, sometimes called contingent faculty. Recent data from several sources show that the opportunities for tenure are declining, while the numbers of nontenure positions are increasing. Part of the increase in full-time nontenure faculty is due to the decrease…

This digest in Spanish presents steps that school boards and district officials can take to find qualified applicants for vacant school-leadership positions. It discusses various long-term strategies, such as increasing the candidate pool through career ladders and recruiting teachers through internships and training programs, that districts can…

This digest presents steps that school boards and district officials can take to find qualified applicants for vacant school-leadership positions. It discusses various long-term strategies, such as increasing the candidate pool through career ladders and recruiting teachers through internships and training programs, that districts can enact…

This digest in Spanish defines sexual misconduct and offers guidelines that school boards and administrators can initiate to protect students from unwanted sexual behavior. The law recognizes two types of sexual misconduct: quid pro quo, when a school employee grants a student a favor in exchange for sexual gratification, and hostile environment,…

This digest defines sexual misconduct and offers guidelines that school boards and administrators can initiate to protect students from unwanted sexual behavior. The law recognizes two types of sexual misconduct: quid pro quo, when a school employee grants a student a favor in exchange for sexual gratification, and hostile environment, where…

The current use of part-time faculty and issues regarding this practice are addressed. Ways that part-time faculty affect the quality of academic programs are discussed, including the frequent characterization of them as "second-class citizens." Policies and practices are shaped by the diverse characteristics of part-timers,…

Although consulting has long been recognized as a legitimate faculty role in most colleges, concern has arisen about the appropriateness of "double dipping," and particularly whether consulting and other supplemental income activities result in shirking other university responsibilities. The debate centers on six basic issues: who…

Flexible work schedules are one response to changes in the composition of the work force, new life-styles, and changes in work attitudes. Types of alternative work schedules are part-time and temporary employment, job sharing, and flextime. Part-time workers are a diverse group--women, the very young, and older near-retirees. Although part-time…

An incentive early retirement program is an arrangement between employer and employee that provides tangible inducement or reward for voluntary early retirement. It may be a formal program or an ad hoc agreement negotiated with the institution. The most common incentives include severance pay, liberalized actuarial reduction, annuity enhancements,…

While the Federal Government has been involved in the care of the elderly since the depression, a comprehensive and unified national retirement policy has never been established. Federal programs for the aged have avoided cutbacks, but adaptations in present retirement policy are required to meet the needs of young and old alike. Although public…

This digest examines the role of adult career counselors in working with three new types of clients: (1) older adults looking for post-retirement careers; (2) displaced workers; and (3) dual career couples. It also considers the role of career counselors in providing career development programs at the worksite. Additional skills needed by…

Faced with scarce resources and environmental uncertainty in the past decade, colleges and universities have experimented with different modes of academic staffing, most of which are attempts to preserve or create more flexible policies and practices. In spite of tenure systems in operation at 94% of all four year colleges, institutions have at…

This digest examines the rural teacher shortage from a policy perspective and suggests strategies to address the problem. The rural teacher recruitment and retention problem varies across states. An adequate number of teachers are trained each year nationwide, but the problem is with distribution. Recent research on rural teacher recruitment and…

Employers believe high school graduates have inadequate reading, writing, math, thinking, and communication skills. A declining number of good jobs for first-time workers can be attributed to employers' focus on retraining their remaining employees or in recruiting skilled and otherwise qualified workers who were laid off because of other…

Factors that have led to post-tenure evaluation of faculty are considered, along with concerns that should be examined before designing a post-tenure review process. Post-tenure evaluation is not in opposition to the principle of tenure and to policy statements about tenure issued by the American Association of University Professors, provided that…