Dive Brief:
- Ashland University President Carlos Campo called the Ohio Christian instiution’s future bright following a round of layoffs that affected tenure and tenure-track faculty.
- While the layoffs go against AAUP policy because Ashland is not in financial exigency, the university’s own policy allows for laying off tenured faculty during academic restructuring.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that out of 23 faculty members laid off based on student demand for their programs and individual faculty productivity, 14 were tenured and three were tenure-track.
Dive Insight:
Ashland University seems to be overcoming some financial troubles with steady or increasing enrollment and a year-end surplus of $3 million in 2014, according to Inside Higher Ed. The savings from this round of layoffs will help fund other campus initiatives as well as provide a funding source for raises, which faculty haven’t seen in five years.
Tenure reduces the financial flexibility of institutions, especially now that institutions cannot ask tenured faculty members to retire. Although some have argued for a shift away from the tenure system to long-term contracts, plenty is happening in the industry to double down on the treatment of instructors in academia, including union organizing among graduate students and adjuncts.