academic careers in comparative perspective

7232019 Academic Careers in Comparative Perspective

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullacademic-careers-in-comparative-perspective 15

Academic Careers in Comparative Perspective

Hans Pechar Institute of Science Communication and Higher Education Research Alpen Adria Universitaumlt Vienna Austria

Lesley Andres University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada

2015 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Abstract

In this article we focus from a comparative perspective on the traditional academic career within a university setting We

commence by describing the various facets relevant to academic careers including academic training employment contracts

hierarchies and the case for and against tenure We conclude with a discussion of current reforms and policy debates

The term lsquoacademic career rsquo is slippery to de1047297ne Most

commonly it refers to employment at universities by those

educated at the doctoral level with the ldquotriumvirate of teaching

research and servicerdquo (Schuster and Finkelstein 2006) as

central employment responsibilities Academic-like careers can

also be found in other venues including research institutes

(eg CNRS in France Max Planck Institutes in GermanyRussian Academy of Sciences) various levels of government

and armrsquos-length or nongovernmental organizations (eg

OECD UNESCO) For the purposes of this article we focus

from a comparative perspective on the traditional academic

career within a university setting We commence by describing

the various facets relevant to academic careers including

academic training employment contracts hierarchies and the

case for and against tenure We conclude with a discussion of

current reforms and policy debates

Academic Training

An academic career is characterized by an extended training period Increasingly the PhD is the entrance requirement for

permanent teaching positions research positions or both and

is now standard at most research universities in OECD coun-

tries However there is signi1047297cant variation among academic

systems regarding how the training period is conceptualized

and interconnected with paid employment

The range of doctoral training models is de1047297ned primarily

in terms of the nature of the relationship ndash and the related

degree of dependence ndash between the student and her or his

research supervisory committee and the degree to which

programs are structured Doctoral programs fall on a

continuum ranging from almost complete independence (ie

lsquoreading rsquo for a degree) where the student works independently

with minimal contact and input from a research supervisor andcommittee and without a prescribed set of courses to those

that are highly structured in terms of programs of study and

close surveillance by the research supervisory committee

(Kehm 2006) Most doctoral students are required to produce

a dissertation that is lsquooriginalrsquo theoretically conceptually and

or empirically However the nature and extent to which the

dissertation is assessed ndash that is whether examiners external to

the supervisory committee department and university ndash varies

from program to program (Usher 2002)

Also the extent of rigor in terms of research training varies

across institutions and countries (Nerad and Heggelund

2008) Programs offering full-1047298edged research training strive

to ensure that upon graduations graduates are prepared to

embark on research careers and hence are intended for

students who want to pursue this trajectory Other programs

are designed to provide credentials (and the related title of lsquoDr rsquo)for individuals who seek to use such credentials as a signal in

the labor market As an illustration in some countries (eg

Austria Germany) as late as 40 years ago the doctorate was the

1047297rst academic degree earned by university students Clearly it

served a very different purpose than doctorates earned in highly

differentiated university systems (eg the United States UK)

For example Egon Franck and Christian Opitz (2007)

demonstrate that 585 of CEOs of major German compa-

nies have earned doctorates whereas only 55 of CEOs in

comparable companies in the United States possess the same

credential The emphasis on labor market signaling can be

regarded as problematic because of the potential to dilute the

rigor of research training This concern was the major impetus

for a major redesign of doctoral programs in many Europeancountries in particular Germany by refocusing the emphasis

on research training (European University Association 2007)

However that universities are accustomed to training

academics for the nonacademic labor market can also be

regarded as an advantage at a time where there is mismatch

between supply and demand within academic labor markets

(Nature 2011 Usher 2002)

The extent of rigor in doctoral examination policies

procedures and practices also differentiates types of doctoral

training Efforts exerted by institutions to examine doctoral

candidates range from minimal (eg dependent on one

person usually the research supervisor) to extensive (eg

multiple checks and balances including external review of the

dissertation policies preventing con1047298icts of interest betweenthe research committee and external examiners)

Doctoral training also serves as the interface between

education and employment with variation in the precise

design of this interface In many European countries doctoral

students may be formally employed by the university (eg

Sweden) It is rare that the majority of doctoral students have

an employment contract usually the most promising students

are employed as assistants to their research supervisors Those

employed as assistants are regarded as lsquoearly stage researchersrsquo

26 International Encyclopedia of the Social amp Behavioral Sciences 2nd edition Volume 1 httpdxdoiorg101016B978-0-08-097086-803001-4



in most European countries as de1047297ned by the Bergen

Communiqueacute (European Ministers Responsible for Higher

Education 2005 Williams Committee of Inquiry into

Education and Training 1979) This type of employment is

1047297 xed term in nature and thus does not usually hold the promise

of a permanent appointment upon successful completion of

a doctoral degree Because of the lack of rigor in some doctoral

programs many European systems require a second thesis the

Habilitation In countries with a Habilitation system 1047297 xed-termemployment may also be the case while the junior academic

works on her or his Habilitation As with the doctoral degree

successful completion of a Habilitation does not lead to

a permanent position Rather it is the opposite by completing

the Habilitation many junior academics reach the maximum

years allowed in 1047297 xed-term contracts and are required to leave

the university (see chain contracts below)

Until recently doctoral training in North America has been

regarded predominantly as part of the education of prospective

academics Many doctoral students are employed as research or

teaching assistants Although they may be considered to be

lsquoearly stagersquo researchers (Bazeley 2003) they are graduate

students (and may belong to student unions) and not

employees Doctoral training in the United States and Canadais more rigorous than in most European higher education

systems in terms of length due to mandatory course work and

other requirements such as comprehensive examinations A

doctoral degree is the necessary and suf 1047297cient formal entry

requirement to an academic career In North America

a maximum length of time to completion is usually speci1047297ed

whereas in Europe a minimal time to completion tends to be

stipulated

Employment Contracts

Employment contracts can be either permanent or 1047297 xed term

Senior academics typically have permanent positionsHowever the dividing line between junior and senior

academics and the criteria that de1047297ne senior academics vary

among academic systems

In many countries senior academics have tenure which

guarantees higher job protection than does a regular perma-

nent position (Finkin 1996 Horn 1999b) Because the case

for and against tenure is complex and controversial we devote

a separate section to this topic Types of tenure vary

Academics in most European countries are civil servants who

can be terminated only under special circumstances hence

they are accorded high job protection However in most

instances only those holding a Professorship and Chair

bene1047297t from such protection Academic tenure in North

America is different in that even in the public universities of the United States and Canada academics are not civil servants

but rather employees of the university Academic tenure in

North America is the outcome of a long lsquoprobationrsquo period

followed by rigorous peer review This review involves peer

review both within onersquos university (usually at the depart-

mental faculty and university-wide levels) and externally by

seeking expert opinions from academics from other univer-

sities (In some countries tenure status is not awarded

to academics For example in the UK tenure was abolished

and replaced with permanent and 1047297 xed-term contracts see

Court (1998))

There are different reasons for 1047297 xed-term contracts First

1047297 xed-term employment is used as a probation mechanism

usually in the early stages of an academic career Under these

circumstances employees typically can look forward to the

prospect of permanent employment if they stand the lsquotenurersquo

test One example for this type of probation is the assistant

professor within the North American tenure track system Theassistant professorship is a 1047297 xed-term position that concludes

in an lsquoup or out rsquo decision A positive evaluation is required to

achieve a permanent and tenured position

In many European higher education systems the term

lsquoassistant rsquo has a different meaning (Busch 1963) Assistants in

the German-speaking higher education systems are usually not

on probation they have 1047297 xed-term training positions which

allow them to complete either their doctoral degrees or their

Habilitation The crucial difference to the tenure track is that

successful completion of the training phase does not guarantee

a permanent position

Although there are structural similarities between those

undergoing either a period to complete the Habilitation or as

a tenure track professor (eg a period of extension beyond thedoctorate undergoing another level of peer scrutiny through

examination in the case of the former or assessment of the

tenure 1047297le in the case of the latter the right to teach indepen-

dently (venia legendi)) there are several key differences In the

Habilitation system the training period called the lsquoquali1047297cation

agreementrsquo does not guarantee employment The lsquoassistant rsquo

literally assists her or his professor Tenure track assistant

professors do not require a training period Although their

research teaching and service skills improve with time and

experience they are expected to perform their duties indepen-

dently often with advice and support of senior colleagues but

not under their thumbs Fixed-term contracts are also granted

for special projects that have a beginning and an end

Researchers employed in such projects are usually hired on lsquosoft money rsquo that is funds outside of the regular general operating

funds of the university (eg a research grant) In order to

increase competitiveness some European countries have

strongly ampli1047297ed this type of research by shifting 1047297nancial

resources from general university funds to the granting

agencies this practice is criticized by Muumlnch (2011) Hence the

peer review process ensures that only lsquoexcellent rsquo researchers are

successful in these competitions As a result the number of

1047297 xed-term postdoctoral positions has escalated

To what degree such types of employment carry the risk of

precarious positions depends on a variety of factors The

element of time is crucial For doctoral students 1047297 xed-term

employment in research projects provides welcome opportu-

nities to gain practical experience in research The same is therule for postdoctoral fellows granted that there is a realistic

opportunity for them to embark on regular ndash that is tenure

track ndash career trajectories or other forms of permanent

employment However in this type of employment arrange-

ment the later stage researcher is at much greater risk in terms

of job security Another critical factor is the legal possibility to

continue in renewable 1047297 xed-term projects over the long term

In some countries unions have been successful at legally

banning a succession of 1047297 xed-term contracts labeled lsquochain

Academic Careers in Comparative Perspective 27



contractsrsquo that exceed a given number of years The intention of

the unions was to reduce risk for employees by forcing

employers to convert 1047297 xed-term positions into permanent

ones However contrary to what was intended in many

European universities systems rather than strengthening the

job security of researchers this policy has made these positions

more vulnerable Universities either cannot afford or are not

willing to give researchers hired to work on speci1047297c projects

permanent positions Nor are they legally allowed to renew contracts after a speci1047297ed number of years The term Prekariat in

German and preacutecariat in French de1047297ned as a social group that

suffers multiple forms of insecurity has emerged and has

triggered debate about the increase of such positions and their

associated dangers

Hierarchies

Academic systems are highly strati1047297ed with respect to reputa-

tion salaries and the working conditions of academics In the

past small elite systems that had preceded massi1047297cation of

higher education were indeed strati1047297ed However subsequent

expansion has increased the functional differentiation of academic work signi1047297cantly and as a result has increased the

degree of strati1047297cation During the late nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries most higher education systems adopted in

oneway or another the Humboldtian ideal of unity of teaching

and research (although as Kezar (2013) rightly points out

historically the academic profession has been one of contin-

uous change) Massi1047297cation of higher education commencing

in the second half of the twentieth century has partly reversed

this trend by creating sectors and segments that are devoted

primarily to teaching (eg the community college sector in

North America the former polytechnics in UK and Fachhoch-

schulen in Germany) The research function is the most

important criterion for the strati1047297cation of reputation income

and working conditions Typically research universities havehigher reputations than teaching institutions However some

countries have elite teaching sectors such as the private liberal

arts colleges in the United States or the grand eacutecoles in France

The former are undergraduate institutions and the latter are

professional specialized schools that constitute the elite

segment of higher education and have a more esteemed repu-

tation than research universities in France

Mass higher education systems of today embody different

kinds of functional differentiation and reputational strati1047297ca-

tion As a rule national systems that are strongly steered by

governmental intervention are differentiated into different

sectors In such systems reputation salaries and working

conditions are usually quite different among sectors however

within each sector little strati1047297cation exists In most Europeancountries public research universities are treated equally by

governments irrespective of informal reputational hierarchies

(as expressed in rankings) As such working conditions for

academics in each of the sectors are fairly equitable In coun-

tries with more market-oriented systems such as the UK or the

United States the research university sector is highly strati1047297ed

in terms of for example reputation wealth faculty access to

resources working conditions and composition of the student

body Strati1047297cation among universities in the United States has

greatly intensi1047297ed over the last 30 years (Geiger 2010) This

shift is evident by the emergence of lsquoelite clubsrsquo such as the

Russell Group in the UK and the lsquoBig Fiversquo in Canada

University systems that are divided into sectors have little

institutional differentiation within each sector However

within each institution the hierarchy between the different

academic status groups between full professors and nonpro-

fessorial staff between senior and junior academics is strongly

pronounced In other words academia in such countries isdivided in a national guild of senior academics (with little

differentiation among institutions) and various types of

nonprofessorial groups Status differences appear within every

institution with working conditions for each status group fairly

equal within each sector Conversely status hierarchies in

market-oriented systems within each university are compara-

tively 1047298at however status differences between different insti-

tutions are strongly pronounced Depending on the

perspective these patterns in one system may be regarded as

more egalitarian than another Some observers regard Euro-

pean higher education systems as less hierarchical than US

higher education because institutional strati1047297cation is much

more 1047298at Others claim that the North American pattern is

more egalitarian because the hierarchy between senior andjunior academics is much less vertically strati1047297ed In fact

hierarchies are strongly pronounced in both academic worlds

albeit in qualitatively different forms

International data on academic salaries are rare and prob-

lematic in terms of comparability The United States compiles

extensive databases at the national level however the way

that data are aggregated does not re1047298ect substantive

wage differentials The Academic Career Observatory of the

European University Institute in Florence (httpwwweui

euProgrammesAndFellowshipsAcademicCareersObservatory

CareerComparisonsSalaryComparisonsaspx ) provides salary

comparisons for selected countries A study by the European

Commission (2007) has attempted to adjust academic

salaries to the cost of living of the respective countries Alsosalary progression by experience and gender is provided An

attempt to broaden comparisons beyond OECD countries

has been conducted by Philip Altbach et al (2012)

The Case for and against Tenure

The most common perspectives used to frame the discussion in

support of tenure are either that of academic freedom or

economics of tenure

Academic Freedom Perspective

Historically the hiring of professors was haphazard with littlespeci1047297city in contracts regarding terms of the employment

Faculty had lsquotenure during pleasurersquo which meant the pleasure

of the university board and faculty members could be 1047297red

without cause As early as 1915 the American Association of

University Professors (AAUP) addressed the issue of tenure

(Metzger 1987 167) Following a spate of dismissals and

related legal challenges in 1940 the AAUP produced a docu-

ment entitled Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and

Tenure which stated




academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both

teaching and research Freedom in research is fundamental to the

advancement of truth Academic freedom in its teaching aspect is

fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher in

teaching and of the student to freedom in learning It carries with it

duties correlative with rights Tenure is a means to certain ends

speci1047297cally (1) freedom of teaching and research and of extramural

activities and (2) a suf 1047297cient degree of economic security to make

the profession attractive to men and women of ability Freedom and

economic security hence tenure are indispensable to the success of an institution in ful1047297lling its obligations to its students and to

society

American Association of University Professors 1970

Scholars such as Christopher Jencks and David Riesman

(1968) celebrated ldquothe rise to power of the academic profes-

sionrdquo (p xiii) because tenure harnessed the unfettered power of

administrators Academic freedom is a central tenet of tenure

(Brown and Kurland 1990)

Economics of Tenure Perspective

The long-held view is that tenure is appropriate for the type of

work for which academics are trained and in which they engage Preparation for such a career is highly specialized and

requires years of training hence possibilities for transferring

these skill sets are limited Without tenure it would be dif 1047297cult

to entice highly talented young people to devote extensive time

and 1047297nancial resources on careers that are considered as high

risk (McPherson and Winston 1988) In addition without

a tenure system a newly hired faculty member could be

perceived to pose a considerable threat to the positions of

existing faculty members Since hiring in academia is unlike

other careers because it entails a strong peer review component

in the absence of tenure faculty may be more inclined to hire

less dangerous and hence more mediocre junior colleagues

(Carmichael 1988)

In the 1980s the concept of tenure was besieged (Chait andFord 1982 Finkin 1996 Horn 1999ab) Arguments fueling

the debate against tenure included the following Because it was

dif 1047297cult to terminate nonproductive professors it promoted the

promulgation of lsquodeadwoodrsquo within academic departments

Also because of particular departmental cultures tenure was

alleged to inhibit rather than promote creativity Also it was

argued that universities were paralyzed by a rigid ndash rather than

1047298exible ndash academic labor force The key counterargument sup-

porting tenure systems was that a better substitute did not exist

Renewable contracts were costly in terms of resources that

would not offset the lsquodeadwoodrsquo problem Also because tenure

goes hand in hand with academic freedom tenure protects

outspoken and intellectually innovative faculty Over the last

three decades these debates continue ( Acker 2009 Finn 2009Horn 2009 Kingwell 2009 Soto Anthony and Hayden 2009)

Such attacks have served as ideological support for shrinking of

the stock of tenured professors based on economic grounds

Current Reforms and Policy Debates

Over the last three decades signi1047297cant changes have taken place

in regard to the structure of academic careers With tremendous

expansion of higher education ndash in Martin Trow rsquos (1999)

terminology from elite (less than 15) to mass (ie up to

40) to universal participation (greater than 40) ndash

concurrently the nature of the academic labor force has been

restructured In most countries academic posts in higher

education and research systems continue to grow (as

expansion of higher education has reached unprecedented

levels) however the composition of the academic workforce

is undergoing transformation The balance betweenpermanent and 1047297 xed-term positions is shifting toward the

latter The academic core of tenured professors is declining in

most OECD countries not necessarily in absolute numbers

but as a percentage of the total academic workforce (Kezar

2013 Schuster and Finkelstein 2006)

In different countries this general trend is evolving in

various ways On one extreme the American system has the

highest percentage of permanent positions on the other

extreme in the German system only 10of theentire academic

workforce has permanent positions (Kreckel and Zimmermann

2014) All others have 1047297 xed-term positions in the form of

lsquoprofessors in waiting rsquo or those who work from contract to

contract (soft money) for their entire careers without any

guarantee of renewal The contraction of a highly developedsystem (eg the United States) in order to reorient itself to

higher education expansion in the twentieth century is in stark

contrast to an ineffective response of an outdated elite system

(eg Germany) ndash characterized by escalation of the lsquorisk rsquo

character of academic careers and related dead ends However

increasing awareness of the challenges facing such systems has

led some universities to introduce bold reforms For example

the Technical University of Munich has introduced a tenure

track system (Muumlnchen 2012)

Ongoing contraction of tenured positions in both systems

has severe implications for the career prospects of junior

academics and graduate students who are considering academic

careers Because theprospect of embarking on a secure academic

position is decreasing the next generation of prospectiveacademics faces the risk of precarious employment Two recent

reports address this issue (Boston University 2010 The Modern

Language Association of America 2014)

Currently two phenomena can be observed On the one

hand an increasing proportion of teaching duties in higher

education systems is carried out by 1047297 xed-term and mostly part-

time academics such as adjunct professors in the United States

or Lektoren in the German-speaking countries On the other

hand academic research is becoming increasingly project

based and is mostly performed by postdoctoral fellows

(sometimes doctoral students) who are employed on soft

money Increasingly these positions are funded by agencies

that fund basic research andor from private contractors

Both developments point toward fundamental shifts in thenormative underpinnings of the academic career structure Since

the Humboldtian reforms in Prussia approximately 200 years

ago the norm for the academic core position has been the

combination of teaching and research mostly supplemented by

other duties such as administration or service This strong

teachingresearch nexus was tailored originally for elite higher

education institutions of the nineteenth century however it has

been maintained and adapted during the period of trans-

formation from elite to mass higher education In that course of




massi1047297cation such a strong emphasis on both research and

teaching has been questioned regarding its appropriateness for

the changing nature of higher education However the

normative power of this model has been forceful enough to

keep the traditional academic job description intact As higher

education systems surpass massi1047297cation and move toward

universal participation the unconditional researchteaching

nexus shows signs of erosion The high cost of the traditional

academic model that is increasingly at odds with a more andmore diversi1047297ed system of research and higher learning is the

main driver of change Academic careers that are de1047297ned by

a strong emphasis on both research and teaching will continue

to existbut most likely theproportion of faculty whohold such

positions will be reduced to minority status in academia This

raises the question of how the decoupling of this traditional

structure will affect the academic profession in general

Currently it goes hand in hand with a decrease in permanent

positions and an intensi1047297ed risk of precarious positions for

future generations of academics

Other parallel structures of full-time employment are either

developing or under consideration in various jurisdictions

Teaching tenure track positions are emerging to meet the

demand for more instructional time which is currently met increasingly through contingent teaching staff (eg see the

University of British Columbia) Renewable full-time contracts

for sessional or adjunct faculty as speci1047297ed in university

collective agreements have the potential to provide a higher

level of job security and bene1047297ts for those who would

otherwise face precarious labor market conditions However

precarious academic appointments de1047297ned by lack of job

security low pay few or no bene1047297ts poor working

conditions and limited job security remain common in the

academic institutions of today (Kezar 2013)

Academia has always been a lsquorisk career rsquo ( Weber 1947)

however recent developments are dangerous in that the most

talented graduates are increasingly less attracted to this

profession High on the agenda are policy solutions that dojustice to the increased diversi1047297cation of the academic land-

scape while providing stable career options to future teachers

and researchers

Bibliography

Acker S 24ndash27 OctoberNovember 2009 Gender Equity and the Tensions of Tenure

Academic Affairs

Altbach PG Reisberg L Yudkevich GA Pacheco IF (Eds) 2012 Paying the

Professoriate A Global Comparison of Compensation and Contracts Routledge

New York

American Association of University Professors 1970 1940 Statement of Principles

on Academic Freedom and Tenure with 1970 Interpretive Comments Retrieved

from httpwwwaauporgreport1940-statement-principles-academic-freedom-and-tenure

Bazeley P 2003 De1047297ning ldquoearly career rdquo in research Higher Education 45 257ndash279

Boston University 2010 Report of the Task Force for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Boston

University

Brown RSJ Kurland JE 1990 Academic Tenure and Academic Freedom Faculty

Scholarship Series Paper 2718

Busch A 1963 The vicissitudes of the ldquoprivatdozentrdquo breakdown and adaptation in

the recruitment of the German university teacher Minerva 1 319ndash341

Carmichael LH 1988 Incentives in academics why is there tenure Journal of

Political Economy 96 (3) 453ndash473

Chait RP Ford AT 1982 Beyond Traditional Tenure Jossey-Bass San Francisco

Court S 1998 Academic tenure and employment in the UK Sociological Perspectives

41 (4) 767ndash774 Retrieved from httpwwwjstororgezproxylibraryubccastable

1389668

European Commission 2007 Remuneration of Researchers in the Public and Private

Sectors European Commission Brussels

European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education May 2005 The European higher

education area achieving the goals In Bergen Communiqueacute of the Conference of

European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education pp 19ndash20European University Association 2007 EUArsquos Contribution to the Bologna Ministerial

Meeting European University Association Brussels

Finkin MW 1996 The Case for Tenure Cornell University Press Ithaca NY

Finn P 22ndash23 OctoberNovember 2009 The Real Case against Tenure Academic

Affairs

Franck E Opitz C 2007 The singularity of the German doctorate as a signal for

managerial talent causes consequences and future developments Management

Revue 18 (2) 220ndash224

Geiger R 2010 Postmortem for the Current Era Change in American Higher

Education 1980ndash2010 Working Paper No 3 Pennsylvania State University

University Park Pennsylvania

Horn M 1999a Academic Freedom in Canada A History University of Toronto Press

Toronto

Horn M 1999b Tenure and the Canadian professoriate Journal of Canadian Studies

34 (3) 261ndash281

Horn M 5ndash8 OctoberNovember 2009 The Case for Tenure Academic Affairs

Jencks C Riesman D 1968 The Academic Revolution Doubleday New YorkKehm BM 2006 Doctoral Education in Europe and North America A Comparative

Analysis Wenner Gren International Series Portland P ress Ltd Portland

Kezar A 2013 Changing Faculty Workforce Models TIAA-CREF Institute New York

Kingwell M 13ndash16 OctoberNovember 2009 The Tenure Blues Academic Affairs

Kreckel R Zimmermann K 2014 Hasard oder Laufbahn In Akademische Karrier-

estrukturen im internationalen Vergleich Akademische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig

McPherson MS Winston GC 1988 The economics of academic tenure a relational

perspective In Breneman D Youn T (Eds) Academic Labor Markets and

Careers Falmer Press LondonNew York pp 174ndash199

Metzger WP 1987 Academic profession in United States In Clark BR (Ed) The

Academic Profession National Disciplinary and Institutional Settings University of

California Press Berkeley

Muumlnch R 2011 The rhetoric of functionality in reconstructing the academic world In

Halvorsen T Nyhagen A (Eds) Academic Identities ndash Academic Challenges

Cambridge Scholars Publishing Newcastle pp 39ndash63

Muumlnchen TU 2012 TUM Berufungs- und Karrieresystem Statut zum Qual-

itaumltsmanagement Technische Universitaumlt Muumlnchen Retrieved from httpwwwgoogleaturlsafrac14tamprctfrac14 jampqfrac14ampesrcfrac14sampsourcefrac14webampcdfrac141ampcadfrac14rjaampuactfrac148ampved

frac140CCAQFjAAampurlfrac14http3A2F2Fportalmytumde2Fkompass2Fpersonalwirts

chaft_public2FTUM-Berufungs-und-Karrieresystem-deutsch-englischpdf2Fdown-

loadampeifrac14g93pU7XEF4LMyAOv4YLQDQampusgfrac14 AFQjCNEALqoUpDS7ZOlNYFHgIRsXfx

ArjQampbvmfrac14bv72676100dbGQ

Nature 2011 The PhD factory The world is producing more PhDs than ever before Is it

time to stop Nature 472 276ndash279

Nerad M Heggelund M (Eds) 2008 Toward a Global PhD Forces and Forms in

Doctoral Education Worldwide University of Washington Press Seattle

Schuster JH Finkelstein MJ 2006 The American Faculty The Restructuring of

Academic Work and Careers The John Hopkins University Press Baltimore

Soto Anthony J Hayden R 17ndash21 OctoberNovember 2009 Are Tenured Faculty

Slackers Academic Affairs

The Modern Language Association of America 2014 Report of the MLA Task Force

on Doctoral Study in Modern Language and Literature The Modern Language

Association of America New York Retrieved from httpwwwmlaorgpdf

taskforcedocstudy2014pdfTrow M 1999 From mass higher education to universal access the American

advantage Minerva 37 303ndash328

Usher R 2002 A diversity of doctorates 1047297 tness for the knowledge economy Higher

Education Research and Development 21 (2) 143ndash153

Weber M 1947 Science as a profession In Gerth HH Mills CW (Eds) From Max

Weber Essays in Sociology Kegan London pp 129ndash156

Williams Committee of Inquiry into Education and Training 1979 Commonwealth of

Australia Canberra




in most European countries as de1047297ned by the Bergen

Communiqueacute (European Ministers Responsible for Higher

Education 2005 Williams Committee of Inquiry into

Education and Training 1979) This type of employment is

1047297 xed term in nature and thus does not usually hold the promise

of a permanent appointment upon successful completion of

a doctoral degree Because of the lack of rigor in some doctoral

programs many European systems require a second thesis the

Habilitation In countries with a Habilitation system 1047297 xed-termemployment may also be the case while the junior academic

works on her or his Habilitation As with the doctoral degree

successful completion of a Habilitation does not lead to

a permanent position Rather it is the opposite by completing

the Habilitation many junior academics reach the maximum

years allowed in 1047297 xed-term contracts and are required to leave

the university (see chain contracts below)

Until recently doctoral training in North America has been

regarded predominantly as part of the education of prospective

academics Many doctoral students are employed as research or

teaching assistants Although they may be considered to be

lsquoearly stagersquo researchers (Bazeley 2003) they are graduate

students (and may belong to student unions) and not

employees Doctoral training in the United States and Canadais more rigorous than in most European higher education

systems in terms of length due to mandatory course work and

other requirements such as comprehensive examinations A

doctoral degree is the necessary and suf 1047297cient formal entry

requirement to an academic career In North America

a maximum length of time to completion is usually speci1047297ed

whereas in Europe a minimal time to completion tends to be

stipulated

Employment Contracts

Employment contracts can be either permanent or 1047297 xed term

Senior academics typically have permanent positionsHowever the dividing line between junior and senior

academics and the criteria that de1047297ne senior academics vary

among academic systems

In many countries senior academics have tenure which

guarantees higher job protection than does a regular perma-

nent position (Finkin 1996 Horn 1999b) Because the case

for and against tenure is complex and controversial we devote

a separate section to this topic Types of tenure vary

Academics in most European countries are civil servants who

can be terminated only under special circumstances hence

they are accorded high job protection However in most

instances only those holding a Professorship and Chair

bene1047297t from such protection Academic tenure in North

America is different in that even in the public universities of the United States and Canada academics are not civil servants

but rather employees of the university Academic tenure in

North America is the outcome of a long lsquoprobationrsquo period

followed by rigorous peer review This review involves peer

review both within onersquos university (usually at the depart-

mental faculty and university-wide levels) and externally by

seeking expert opinions from academics from other univer-

sities (In some countries tenure status is not awarded

to academics For example in the UK tenure was abolished

and replaced with permanent and 1047297 xed-term contracts see

Court (1998))

There are different reasons for 1047297 xed-term contracts First

1047297 xed-term employment is used as a probation mechanism

usually in the early stages of an academic career Under these

circumstances employees typically can look forward to the

prospect of permanent employment if they stand the lsquotenurersquo

test One example for this type of probation is the assistant

professor within the North American tenure track system Theassistant professorship is a 1047297 xed-term position that concludes

in an lsquoup or out rsquo decision A positive evaluation is required to

achieve a permanent and tenured position

In many European higher education systems the term

lsquoassistant rsquo has a different meaning (Busch 1963) Assistants in

the German-speaking higher education systems are usually not

on probation they have 1047297 xed-term training positions which

allow them to complete either their doctoral degrees or their

Habilitation The crucial difference to the tenure track is that

successful completion of the training phase does not guarantee

a permanent position

Although there are structural similarities between those

undergoing either a period to complete the Habilitation or as

a tenure track professor (eg a period of extension beyond thedoctorate undergoing another level of peer scrutiny through

examination in the case of the former or assessment of the

tenure 1047297le in the case of the latter the right to teach indepen-

dently (venia legendi)) there are several key differences In the

Habilitation system the training period called the lsquoquali1047297cation

agreementrsquo does not guarantee employment The lsquoassistant rsquo

literally assists her or his professor Tenure track assistant

professors do not require a training period Although their

research teaching and service skills improve with time and

experience they are expected to perform their duties indepen-

dently often with advice and support of senior colleagues but

not under their thumbs Fixed-term contracts are also granted

for special projects that have a beginning and an end

Researchers employed in such projects are usually hired on lsquosoft money rsquo that is funds outside of the regular general operating

funds of the university (eg a research grant) In order to

increase competitiveness some European countries have

strongly ampli1047297ed this type of research by shifting 1047297nancial

resources from general university funds to the granting

agencies this practice is criticized by Muumlnch (2011) Hence the

peer review process ensures that only lsquoexcellent rsquo researchers are

successful in these competitions As a result the number of

1047297 xed-term postdoctoral positions has escalated

To what degree such types of employment carry the risk of

precarious positions depends on a variety of factors The

element of time is crucial For doctoral students 1047297 xed-term

employment in research projects provides welcome opportu-

nities to gain practical experience in research The same is therule for postdoctoral fellows granted that there is a realistic

opportunity for them to embark on regular ndash that is tenure

track ndash career trajectories or other forms of permanent

employment However in this type of employment arrange-

ment the later stage researcher is at much greater risk in terms

of job security Another critical factor is the legal possibility to

continue in renewable 1047297 xed-term projects over the long term

In some countries unions have been successful at legally

banning a succession of 1047297 xed-term contracts labeled lsquochain
















associated dangers

Hierarchies
















































































economics of tenure










Tenure which stated














society





















(Carmichael 1988)



















































































































and researchers

Bibliography


Academic Affairs



New York






University










1389668









Affairs








Toronto


34 (3) 261ndash281









































Australia Canberra
















associated dangers

Hierarchies
















































































economics of tenure










Tenure which stated














society





















(Carmichael 1988)



















































































































and researchers

Bibliography


Academic Affairs



New York






University










1389668









Affairs








Toronto


34 (3) 261ndash281









































Australia Canberra














society





















(Carmichael 1988)



















































































































and researchers

Bibliography


Academic Affairs



New York






University










1389668









Affairs








Toronto


34 (3) 261ndash281









































Australia Canberra








































and researchers

Bibliography


Academic Affairs



New York






University










1389668









Affairs








Toronto


34 (3) 261ndash281









































Australia Canberra


academic careers in comparative perspective

Documents