Part-Time on the Tenure Track, AEHE 40:5 AEHE Volume 40, Number 5 J–B ASHE Higher Education Report Series (AEHE) Series

The case for a flexible work schedule for faculty has been repeatedly made, with one policy recommendation being part-time positions for tenure-track/tenured faculty (PTTT). Despite some of the benefits of this approach for both faculty and institutions, the PTTT concept is the least implemented policy for faculty flexibility and is poorly understood. This report offers the first comprehensive treatment of PTTT, suggesting that this mode of flexibility enhances recruitment, retention, and engagement of faculty, while offering value-added productivity, planning potential, and faculty loyalty for the institution.

Herbers provides data that explore how a PTTT policy can lead to faculty success and satisfaction across the lifespan of a career, and likewise offers analogies and examples of well-established practices that administrators across institution types can adapt to create their own policies. Administrators and faculty will find the author’s policy recommendations, best practices, and solutions to common challenges to be a roadmap for stimulating change in their institutions.

This is the 5th issue of the 40th volume of the Jossey-Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

Executive Summary ix

Foreword xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Prologue 1

Part-Time Tenure Track in Higher Education 3

Precis 4

Faculty Flexibility and the Part-Time Option 7

The Need for Faculty Flexibility 8

The Imperative of Faculty Retention 9

The Faculty Life Course 11

PTTT and the Flexibility Agenda 13

Policy and Practice 14

Profile I: PTTT at Three Institutions 17

Who Are They? 19

Sources of Data on PTTT 19

IPEDS Data 21

NSOPF Data 26

Profile II 37

Patterns of Use by PTTT Faculty 39

Early Career and Family Constraints 40

Mid-Career Motivations 45

Late Career: Phasing Into Retirement 47

Conclusion 49

Profile III: Transitional Retirement at Colorado State University (CSU) 51

Lessons From Academic Medical Centers 55

Academic Medicine Must Adapt to a Changing Workforce 55

Faculty Retention 57

PTTT in Academic Medicine 59

Department Culture 61

Differences Among Specialty Areas 63

The Life Course Model in Academic Medicine 64

Profile IV 67

Analogs to Part-Time Tenure Track 69

Analogs Within Academia 69

Analogs in Other Work Sectors: The Path to Partner 71

Conclusion 76

Profile V 77

The Structure of PTTT Positions 79

Policies on PTTT 79

Parameters of PTTT Appointments 82

Conclusion 87

Profile VI 89

Benefits and Challenges 91

The View From Administration 91

The View From the Faculty 94

Conclusion 97

Profile VII 99

External Forces 101

Laws About Fair Hiring and Conflicts of Interest 101

Faculty Contracts for Collective Bargaining 102

State Retirement Systems 104

Funding Agencies 105

Accreditation Bodies 105

Insurance Companies 106

Special Faculty Units 106

Conclusion 107

Profile VIII 109

A Pathway Forward 111

The Faculty Life Course 111

Challenging the Ideal Worker 112

Best Practices for PTTT 113

The New Ideal 117

Notes 119

Appendix 1: Individuals Who Have Held PTTT Positions in

Early Career, and Their Current Status 121

Appendix 2: Snapshots of Institutional Policies and Usage of

PTTT Positions, Excluding Phased Retirement Policies 125

References 129

Name Index 149

Subject Index 157

About the Author 161

Volume Editor:
Joan M. Herbers is a professor of evolution, ecology, and organismal biology, and of women's, gender, and sexuality studies at the Ohio State University.

Series Editor:
Kelly Ward and Lisa E. Wolf-Wendel.