BOSTON (AP) - Suffolk University is making the unusual move of subjecting tenured professors to performance reviews, a measure being protested by some faculty and a national organization of academics.
While common at public universities, the process of post-tenure review is less common at private schools.
The aim is to ensure that professors maintain research and teaching standards.
“We have to be more explicit and rigorous about demonstrating that we are accountable,” Suffolk President James McCarthy told The Boston Globe (https://bit.ly/1rwMYFg ). “Parents, students, accrediting agencies, and the federal government are no longer willing to accept ’take our word for it; we’re doing a good job.’”
Suffolk’s trustees approved the changes this month as part of a broader effort to establish a university-wide faculty handbook for its three schools, which have used separate, somewhat contradictory, handbooks.
Some professors and the American Association of University Professors see the step as an erosion of the protections of tenure and the freedom to pursue academic studies without political pressure.
“This is destroying tenure; there’s no other word,” said Charles Baker, head of the Massachusetts conference of the professors association, which has issued a formal statement condemning Suffolk’s move.
Under the plan, which takes effect July 1, each of the university’s 246 tenured faculty members will be reviewed every five years by their dean and provost and will be given a rating that shows they exceed, meet, partially meet or do not meet expectations. Administrators said peer reviews would also be included.
Positive results would probably trigger a pay raise or other recognition. Professors who receive the lowest rating would be put on a plan to improve performance and could face sanctions, including dismissal.
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Information from: The Boston Globe, https://www.bostonglobe.com
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