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Amended tenure policy bill advances to North Dakota Senate • North Dakota Monitor [1]
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Date: 2025-02
The North Dakota House on Tuesday passed a bill that requires the development of tenure policy by the North Dakota University System – something the system has already been working on.
House Bill 1437, sponsored by Rep. Mike Motschenbacher, R-Bismarck, passed easily with an 85-4 vote after it was amended to remove a provision eliminating tenure at the state’s two-year public colleges.
The amended bill requires the establishment of a tenure policy by July 1, 2026, to develop a policy including annual evaluations for all faculty and for post-tenure review. Reviews of newly tenured faculty members must happen within the first three years of being awarded tenure. After that, post-tenure review must happen at least every five years.
University System Vice Chancellor Lisa Johnson told the North Dakota Monitor that the bill now mostly reiterates work already done by the State Board of Higher Education.
The board in October adopted recommendations from an ad hoc committee on post-tenure review. The state’s colleges are required to submit a plan for changes to their review process by next month.
The board also has recently revised several details of the tenure process.
The bill advances to the Senate for further consideration.
Johnson said one area of the bill where there could be more discussion relates to the committee that will conduct tenure review.
The bill specifies that the committee must include the faculty member’s supervisor or at least one ranking administrator and no more than one other faculty member.
Johnson said there is not a uniform way of conducting reviews among the colleges and some may put more emphasis on peer review than others.
“Some peer review can be pretty intense,” Johnson said. “It’s not a free pass.”
Tenure within North Dakota’s 11 public colleges is generally awarded after six years of service for full-time faculty. Tenure is intended to help ensure academic freedom and retain high-quality instructors. Tenured faculty can still be removed for cause.
Critics of tenure say it provides too much protection for faculty and can lead to complacency and poor performance.
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