Tenure track at the knowledge factory: A case study of faculty perceptions at a comprehensive university

Faculty understanding of the multiple challenges in balancing job expectations in comprehensive universities has been mired in complexities. Academic expectations validated through traditional promotion and tenure reward systems require faculty to demonstrate success in teaching, research, and service. True to the historical beginnings, comprehensive university faculty usually carry a 12-credit hour teaching load, unlike peers in the research universities where they were trained. Along with heavy teaching loads, faculty at the comprehensive university of the future must also engage in research and service. For comprehensive university faculty of the present, research has become an implicit expectation of all academic faculty, but it is not formally considered a part of the faculty workload. The underlying challenge for faculty has been to find time and support to meet these changing academic expectations, trying to understand the new meaning of success as they seek rewards in the form of promotion and tenure. This qualitative study explored faculty perceptions of success in navigating the promotion and tenure process in a comprehensive university.; The findings of this study demonstrate the effect of isomorphism in a comprehensive university environment, in particular the impact of a changing organizational environment on the process of promotion and tenure. The tension documented in this study demonstrates changing expectations and increased productivity standards for faculty in a comprehensive university. A lack of clarity exists in the process of how faculty can be successful. The use of a blended organizational framework provides an opportunity for faculty to more accurately interpret expectations and seek necessary resources in attaining promotion and tenure in a comprehensive university setting. Strategies are suggested for combining individual faculty workload assignments with unique institutional priorities. Integration of the teaching, research and service roles of faculty is paramount for success in time use. Faculty should be encouraged to blend community involvement desired by strategic directives of public comprehensive universities with teaching and research endeavors. Implications are identified to assist faculty and administrators guide new faculty for success in the promotion and tenure process.; Keywords. faculty work, higher education, institutional policy, organizational behavior, academic rewards...