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The conversation of tenure is always a popular topic across all divisions within colleges and universities. In this data visualization AACSB examines tenure trends, and compares the proportion of tenure status of faculty from the 2001–02 academic year, through the 2010–11 academic year. For this article, we utilized data counts provided by the AACSB membership through the annual Business School Questionnaire (BSQ). Looking across all schools that participated in the BSQ, 85.5 percent of all full-time faculty were reported as tenured in 2001–02, but by 2010–11 that total percentage had decreased to 76.1 percent.

To further investigate potential factors causing this trend, two subsets of the data were compared to better triangulate any changes across the past ten years. The first subset, or all AACSB-accredited participants, demonstrated a decrease from 86.2 percent of tenured faculty to 79.5 percent. The second subset looked only at a set of 258 AACSB-accredited schools that participated in the BSQ in all 10 years of the survey. While this controlled set showed the smallest decrease from 86.2 percent to 81.6 percent, the decrease in tenured faculty does seem to hold true across all annual survey participants.

To provide additional context to the tenured faculty percentages, Table 1. demonstrates that that the number of total faculty members reported each year has continued to increase across all of the investigated comparison groups. For the controlled set, as reported in the BSQ, there has been a 5.4 percent increased in full-time faculty reported between the 2001–02 academic year and the 2010–11 academic year. Despite this increase in the number of faculty hired, tenured status faculty percentages have continued to decline.

To investigate if the decrease in tenured faculty holds true to a different source, tenure data for faculty members from the AACSB Salary Survey was examined. In the Salary Survey, participants are asked whether faculty are tenured or on a tenure track rather, than relying solely on those that have already achieved tenure. As demonstrated in Figure 2, the numbers do vary a bit, but the overall trend towards a lower percentage of faculty with tenure or on tenure track seems to be consistent. (A decrease from 88.1 percent to 78.2 percent.) Similarly, for both accredited participants and the controlled set of accredited participants, a decrease from 88.3 percent to 78.2 percent was discovered, as well as a decrease from 82.8 percent to 75.1 percent, respectively.

To provide additional context to the tenured faculty percentages provided by the Salary Survey, Table 2. demonstrates that that the number of total faculty members reported each year has also continued to increase across all of the investigated comparison groups. As reported in the Salary Survey, there has been a 10.4 percent increased in full-time faculty for the controlled set between the 2001–02 academic year and the 2010–11 academic year. Similar to the figures found in the BSQ, despite this increase in the number of faculty hired, the tenured status for faculty percentages have continued to decline. In fact, Table 3. shows that while the counts of both tenured and non-tenured faculty are on the rise, the non-tenured positions are gaining ground more quickly than the tenured positions.

The obvious questions are why and what does this mean for schools. While we do not have a clear cut explanation, a combination of factors including: the current economic situation, changing focus at the schools, an aging faculty with more retirements, or even a greater amount of reliance on part-time or adjunct faculty positions are most likely all contributors to this decline. This is a definite topic for school administrators to be mindful of, and to consider in their own schools as they evaluate their hiring and/or tenure schedules for next year.

Despite the ongoing growth in the number of faculty at the AACSB member institutions who participated in both the Business School Questionnaire or the Salary Survey, the percentage who have received tenure or who are in tenure track positions has declined over the past ten years. While this may reverse with time, for now, it is important think about the benefits and drawbacks at your own school if this trend continues.

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