Post-tenure review : a case study of practices at Dalton State College

This case study focused on the experiences and understanding of faculty with regard to post-tenure review policies and practices at Dalton State College, a public two-year institution located in Dalton, Georgia. The purposes of this study were to determine the evolution of the institution's post-tenure review policy and describe faculty experiences, attitudes and interpretations of it. The study also described how the process and policy affected faculty, and the policy design faculty would prefer and how it would work. Data were collected from a total of twenty-eight individual interviews with faculty and seventy-four survey respondents, and documentary evidence was also analyzed. This study revealed that all Dalton State College faculty, once tenured, must adhere to a well-structured post-tenure review process, which occurs on a five-year cycle. Regardless of years of service, no tenured faculty are exempt from this requirement. Also, the Dalton State post-tenure policy is automatic in design in that it occurs every five years, and developmental in nature because it encourages both faculty and administrators to work together to develop quality performance. Furthermore, if given an opportunity to revise a post-tenure review policy, Dalton State faculty would continue to follow the present policy's procedures although they would reduce the amount of administrative control.