American University Tenure Study

Teachers are the most important kind of resource in the university. The level offaculties, to a large extent, represents the level of universities. The level of higheducation development depends on the overall quality of faculty in a large degree.In order to establish a new system managing faculty, ever since the enactment andimplementation of Teachers' Law in 1994, China bagan to implement the facultyemployment-appointment system. Tsinghua University and Beijing Universityadopted certain regulations pertaining to the faculty employment-appointment systemsuccessively , explore positively ,and win echo from the society. However, the longterm planning economic system have given rise to many problems such as backwardconcept, unscientific setting of positions in the spreading of the facultyemployment-appointment system. Hence, it is not the faculty employment-appointmentsystem in the true meaning. The scale of higher education of America is the largest all over the world , hence, it'sreally a deserved power of higher education in the world. Many universities in the USbecome models for universities all over the world due to their abundant and famousteaching staff. The most conspicuous feature of the teacher governance policies is thecompetition of teachers' promotion and flow .While, tenure system is closely attachedto this kind of competitive system, which means the school cannot remove the tenuredfaculty position ,except the faculty member breaches the regulations of school or laws. The tenure system was proposed by American Association of University Professors(AAUP) in 1915. In 1940, AAUP and Association of American Colleges (AAC) jointlydeclared 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, whichmakes sure of the necessity of academic tenure and play a critical role in the set-up oftenure system in America. The 1940 statement is referred as the priciple of the set-up oftenure system. In spite of the critics from many sides of life in the process of itsdevelopment, the tenure system was finally accepted by the US society universally.Thanks to the endeavor of the AAUP, the US highest court appraised their view----theteacher can be awarded the tenure after certain years service. Up to 2005, there'vealready 189 higher education associations endorsed 1940 statement. A survey in 2003shows that 94% of the 584 universities with postgraduates education have implementthe tenure system, with the proportion of public and private universities 99% to 87%.Ever since the establishment of tenure system, it has played an important part insafeguarding the academic freedom and faculty professional safety, impelled the sounddevelopment of American university as well as the development and prosperity of thenation , protected the interest of teaching staff and benefited the students. However,there also existed some problems in the implementation of the tenure system .Therefore,American universities commented on reform and adopted the post-tenure review. InJune 1998, AAUP signed the report entitled Post-Tenure Review: An AAUP Response inthe 84 session of annual conference, bringing forward the aim, measures and principlesof post-tenure review. The establishment of post-review review makes the tenure systemperfect.Compared with the tenure in America, many problems crop up in the implementationof the teacher employment-appointment system in our country : backward concept,unscientific employment system, irregular employment contract, imperfect facultyevaluation governance, unclear faculty dismissal proceedings and so on. Learning fromthe tenure system of America, we should , in the reform, make set up some tenureposition, promote the steady of teaching and research;set up position scientifically anddefine the corresponding responsibility implicitly;improve cultiveting system, makeappointment process strictly;establish the scientific evaluation system and strengthenthe tenured faculty governance;highlight legal system building to protect teachers'rights and interests;set up the system of flow of human resources ,optimize the structureof faculty team.