Am I the only one here who thinks that tenure has its down side?

Question

Sure, tenure allows college professors to have academic freedom, but unfortunately, it also allows them to get away with murder. Professors often get away with verbally abusing (even harassing) students and doing a poor job teaching simply because they have tenure.

Puppy Zwolle: I'm not saying that the students aren't responsible for seeing to it that they get a good education. However, it is the professors' job to teach the students, and if they aren't doing it, or if they're only doing a half-assed job of it, they should be dismissed. Also, the professors should be dismissed if they behave unprofessionally towards the students.

Answer 1

Yes, I agree with you. Some professors will continue to do a great job teaching, but a few with slack off and be terrible teachers just because they know they have tenure and the freedom to do as they wish. This is so frustrating because students are forced to pay thousands of dollars and what? to get stuck with a crappy professor!! My tuition has doubled since I started school in 2003, and I am a little fed up with the costs and I do believe that professors have a huge impact in the outcome of their students. I know that students ultimately determine their own fate in school, but with the same grade, a student could learn so much more from a good professor rather than one who simply does not care about teaching.

And firing is not so simple to do with a tenured professor because if they meet a few minimum requirements then they will probably be around for years and years, where it is much easier to fire one who is not tenured.

Answer 2

Verbally abusive behavior is bad and there is no excuse for that kind of behavior.

However, colleges do not hire good teachers, colleges only hire good researchers. Good researchers boost the reputation of the college and is good for the graduates when they go out to find jobs. College is different from high school, you are supposed to learn from the books and talk to the TA's. If you expect to learn everything from a professor, then you are still thinking like a high school student.

Think about what would happen if there is no tenure, would all the smart professors want to stay in academia when private companies offer ridiculously high salaries. Tenure is the only way for universities to compete with private companies for these bright individuals. Personally, I prefer to have nobel prize winners as professors than to have professors who are good teachers but need to get all their knowledge from reading books written by nobel prize winners.

High schools have a lot of great teachers, but they don't impart anything that I can't learn from reading the textbooks myself.

Answer 3

I respectfully disagree. Professors do not OFTEN get away with abusing or harassing students, or with teaching poorly, even when they have tenure.

In every university professor's tenure contract, there is a clause explaining the conditions under which tenure can be revoked. Here's a sample from one of these:

"Tenure may be revoked or contracts may be abrogated by the Board of Trustees for cause, academic cause, or bona fide financial exigency of the University.

Cause for revocation of tenure shall be restricted to physical or mental incompetence or moral conduct unbefitting the position.

Academic cause shall be defined as the failure by a member of the faculty to discharge responsibly his or her fundamental obligations as a teacher, colleague, and member of the wider community of scholars."

I have seen tenured colleagues discharged for cause, and for academic cause. I have also seen colleagues take early retirement because they did not want to face the shame of the proceedings that lead to termination of tenure.

Granted, it is not an easy thing to get someone's tenure revoked. But it shouldn't be easy. I firmly believe that accusations of incompetence (or other grounds for dismissal) must be PROVEN through due process, and with every precaution taken to protect the impartiality of the proceedings.

Answer 4

So?

It is up to the students to get good education. Not to the professors to provide it. Sounds strange? See it as part of the education. "How to get it."

Answer 5

They still can be fired.