At many colleges and universities in the United States, the mystique of tenure has provided tenured faculty, even incompetent and inactive faculty, a protected status. Dismissing a tenured faculty member requires a specified cause for termination, and is often one of the most difficult personnel actions that a college can take. Dealing with…

Two of the essential ingredients of institutional quality are the recruitment of quality staff and the systematic evaluation of all staff. To be effective, evaluation must be supported by the governing board, must be conducted by competent administrators with histories as superior teachers, and must be based on clearly defined personnel policies…

On January 1, 1980, the Illinois state legislature mandated tenure for community college faculty and established conditions under which tenure could be acquired and reasons and procedures for dismissal. One provision of the act precluded the dismissal of a tenured faculty member who was "competent to render" services carried out by an…

The current perception of faculty tenure as a guarantee of a job for life can impede the removal of teachers who do not perform up to standards. Such faculty, however, can have an extremely negative effect on overall college quality, and studies have shown that community college faculty do support post-tenure evaluation if it is responsibly…