News & Events

Suzanne Hudson
BFA At-Large Representative
Motion to Create an Instructor Tenure System at UCB
BFA-M-040209

RESOLUTION

The Boulder Faculty Assembly Resolves
that the Board of Regents Should Create a System for Instructor Tenure
at the University of Colorado at Boulder

WHEREAS it is desirable to improve the intellectual climate of the university and the quality of instruction offered at CU Boulder by all faculty, and

WHEREAS academic freedom for teachers is essential for the pursuit of excellence in undergraduate education because without it, instructors are not free to grade rigorously, discuss controversial issues in the classroom, or exercise their professional judgment in determining the content of their courses without being subjected to retaliation from students or pressure from outside forces, and

WHEREAS academic freedom is required for full participation in faculty governance, and

WHEREAS Colorado state laws assert that faculty can have only one of two contractual statuses—at will or tenured—and

WHEREAS, according to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), "[T]enure can be granted at any professional rank. . . . A faculty member whose position focuses primarily on teaching, supported by sufficient opportunity for scholarship and service, is also engaged in tenurable academic work";[1] and

WHEREAS Colorado state laws do not prohibit tenure for instructors, and

WHEREAS at-will employment is inimical to academic freedom, in that at-will employment means that faculty can be terminated at any time, for any reason, including for political or personal reasons or for differences of opinion, or for no reason, and

WHEREAS tenure provides the only workable protection for faculty against violations of academic freedom, and

WHEREAS the majority of faculty at CU Boulder,[2] who teach the majority of classes,[3] serve at-will, without access to a tenure track, and

WHEREAS the at-will status of these faculty members negates their academic freedom and access to the due process necessary to achieve their potential level of excellence in the classroom and in institutional affairs, and

WHEREAS a tenure system for instructors does not require pay raises or promotions and can therefore be implemented without additional personnel costs to the University; and

WHEREAS the status of "lecturer," "adjunct," or "adjoint" (hereafter referred to generically as "lecturer") is intended to denote individuals who give occasional classes and presentations, not someone in a continuing status, and

WHEREAS there is no need to consider lecturers per se for instructor tenure because this resolution assumes that academic units have been complying with the intent and spirit of the Office of Academic Affairs’ recommendations[4] in response to the 2007-08 Task Force on Instructors as well as to the Instructor Bill of Rights.[5] Both of these documents say that lecturers who have served three years or more should be re-rostered as instructors. However, in cases where academic units have kept teaching faculty in lectureships for periods of time exceeding those recommended by the above-mentioned policies, lecturers will be eligible for instructor tenure; and

WHEREAS a tenure system for instructors can be implemented without restructuring many of the systems already in place at CU Boulder,

BE IT RESOLVED that the Boulder Faculty Assembly endorses the implementation of an "instructor tenure" track that is distinct from the "professor tenure" track, and incorporates the same differences in workload expectations, job titles, and pay scales that currently exist. The "instructor tenure" track should also follow the model established by the AAUP in its "Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure."[6]

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Boulder Faculty Assembly shall constitute a standing committee for at-will faculty whose initial task shall be to work with the CU-Boulder Administration to establish, in an expeditious fashion, but not later than June 1, 2010, the relevant details for implementing an instructor tenure program on the CU-Boulder campus.

From Suzanne Hudson: April 2, 2009
Notice of motion to the BFA: April 2, 2009
Approved by the BFA:

[1] American Association of University Professors. "Contingent Appointments and the Academic Profession." 2003. (sec. "Academic Freedom") Link >>

[2] American Association of University Professors, "Contingent Faculty Index 2006, Appendix B." Link >>

[3] Berny Morson. "Adjunct College Faculty Growing in State, Nation." Rocky Mountain News 22 Jan. 2007. Link >>

[4] "As recommended by the task force, where someone has been a lecturer at 50% or more for three years, the unit should consider whether the position should be redefined as a rostered instructor; again, if a long-term relationship between the individual and the campus is desirable, a rostered instructorship should be created; where the position is temporary and contingent, lecturers should be employed." (December 9, 2008). Link >>

[5]"Lecturers who have taught at 50% or more for at least three consecutive years may be considered by their unit for promotion to instructor." (Boulder Campus Guidelines for the Appointment, Evaluation, and Promotion of Lecturer and Instructor Rank Faculty.) (Instructor Bill of Rights, adopted by Dean’s Council, March 9, 1999). Link >>

[6] American Association of University Professors. "Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure." Link >>

Download the AAUP's entire Boulder Faculty Assembly Resolution here >>

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