Nationally, about 2 percent of tenured faculty are dismissed in a typical year. The probationary period averages three years for community colleges and seven years at four-year colleges. This is a period of employment insecurity almost unique among U.S. professions. During the probationary period, almost all colleges can choose not to renew faculty contracts and terminate faculty without any reason or cause . The most recent survey of American faculty shows that, in a typical year, about one in five probationary faculty members was denied tenure, and lost his or her job.
Faculty members remain accountable after achieving tenure.
Grant applications and articles for publication are routinely reviewed on their merit by peers in the field. If basic academic tenets and due process rights are observed, this kind of accountability is wholly appropriate. A finding of incompetence or unprofessional conduct can still result in firing. And when they do work, they spend too much time doing meaningless research and too little time teaching. Surveys show clearly that tenured faculty generally publish more, serve on more committees and teach more than their untenured colleagues.