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Tenure Status of Full-Time and Part-Time Faculty Members, Fall 2015

Almanac 2017
August 13, 2017

Only a third of faculty members at all colleges were tenured or on the tenure track in the fall of 2015. They were most likely to hold one of those statuses at four-year public institutions, followed by four-year private nonprofit institutions. Even so, more than half of faculty members at four-year public institutions and nearly two-thirds of faculty members at four-year private nonprofit institutions were either not on the tenure track or were working at colleges with no tenure system.

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Only a third of faculty members at all colleges were tenured or on the tenure track in the fall of 2015. They were most likely to hold one of those statuses at four-year public institutions, followed by four-year private nonprofit institutions. Even so, more than half of faculty members at four-year public institutions and nearly two-thirds of faculty members at four-year private nonprofit institutions were either not on the tenure track or were working at colleges with no tenure system.


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Sector Status Tenured Percent tenured On tenure track Percent on tenure track Not on tenure track/no tenure system Percent not on tenure track All with faculty status Percent with faculty status
4-year public institutions full-time 188,247 31.8% 72,386 12.2% 154,082 26.0% 414,715 69.9%
4-year public institutions part-time 4,633 0.8% 1,152 0.2% 172,395 29.1% 178,180 30.1%
4-year public institutions total 192,880 32.5% 73,538 12.4% 326,477 55.1% 592,895 100.0%
4-year private nonprofit institutions full-time 91,407 23.2% 43,869 11.1% 108,578 27.6% 243,854 61.9%
4-year private nonprofit institutions part-time 1,417 0.4% 546 0.1% 148,150 37.6% 150,113 38.1%
4-year private nonprofit institutions total 92,824 23.6% 44,415 11.3% 256,728 65.2% 393,967 100.0%
4-year for-profit institutions full-time 101 0.1% 87 0.1% 13,745 18.0% 13,933 18.2%
4-year for-profit institutions part-time 5 0.0% 0 0.0% 62,597 81.8% 62,602 81.8%
4-year for-profit institutions total 106 0.1% 87 0.1% 76,342 99.7% 76,535 100.0%
2-year public institutions full-time 44,835 15.0% 15,089 5.0% 55,723 18.6% 115,647 38.6%
2-year public institutions part-time 204 0.1% 62 0.0% 183,969 61.3% 184,235 61.4%
2-year public institutions total 45,039 15.0% 15,151 5.1% 239,692 79.9% 299,882 100.0%
2-year private nonprofit institutions full-time 76 2.7% 28 1.0% 1,803 64.5% 1,907 68.3%
2-year private nonprofit institutions part-time 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 887 31.7% 887 31.7%
2-year private nonprofit institutions total 76 2.7% 28 1.0% 2,690 96.3% 2,794 100.0%
2-year for-profit institutions full-time 3 0.0% 0 0.0% 5,564 42.7% 5,567 42.8%
2-year for-profit institutions part-time 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 7,453 57.2% 7,453 57.2%
2-year for-profit institutions total 3 0.0% 0 0.0% 13,017 100.0% 13,020 100.0%
All institutions full-time 324,669 23.5% 131,459 9.5% 339,495 24.6% 795,623 57.7%
All institutions part-time 6,259 0.5% 1,760 0.1% 575,451 41.7% 583,470 42.3%
All institutions total 330,928 24.0% 133,219 9.7% 914,946 66.3% 1,379,093 100.0%

Note: The data cover full- and part-time medical and nonmedical staff who perform faculty duties like instruction, research, and/or public service at 4,584 degree-granting four-year and two-year institutions in the United States that are eligible to participate in the Title IV federal student-aid program. Medical schools are counted in the data. Non-tenure-track faculty members include adjuncts. More data are available at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Home/UseTheData.

Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data

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A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.
Read other items in this The Profession package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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