The College Fix

Thirty-four professors didn’t meet expectations and five were dubbed unsatisfactory under a new post-tenure review process implemented at the University of Florida, according to a report the institution recently provided Inside Higher Ed.

The 39 scholars were among a total of 262 critiqued during the initial wave of reviews, enacted in the wake of a 2022 Florida law that allows campus leaders to force professors to undergo post-tenure review. The number of professors who did not pass muster under the review represents about 15 percent of the total that went through the process.

“UF’s numbers are much higher than at other Florida public institutions. Florida State University told Inside Higher Ed it placed zero in the ‘unsatisfactory’ or ‘does not meet expectations’ categories. And the Independent Florida Alligator student newspaper reported only around 11 percent in those categories at the University of Central Florida, 5 percent at Florida International University, 7 percent at the University of West Florida and 6 percent at the University of North Florida,” Inside Higher Ed reported.

Professors are evaluated on their research, teaching and service as well as “performance of academic responsibilities,” “non-compliance with state law,” and “substantiated student complaints,” among other factors.

Professors graded as “does not meet expectations” will be placed on a performance-improvement plan, and those rated “unsatisfactory” will be fired, according to regulations the Florida’s Board of Governors approved last year to go along with the law.

“There’s no mincing words: Tenure’s gone. It’s been replaced by a five-year contract,” Meera Sitharam, president of the United Faculty of Florida union’s UF chapter, told Inside Higher Ed.

At a June University of Florida faculty senate meeting, Provost J. Scott Angle said that of 258 professors reviewed, 21 percent either quit amid the review, received the lowest ratings of “unsatisfactory” or “does not meet expectations,” or gave up tenure to become full-time teachers, Inside Higher Ed reported.

Reached for further comment and clarification by IHE, the university declined an interview but provided the “final” July 1 report that stated “out of 262 professors up for review, 31 ‘either retired, entered retirement agreements or resigned during the review period.’ A further 34 didn’t meet expectations and five were dubbed unsatisfactory. Add those categories up, and it’s 27 percent.”

“That document doesn’t say how many of those who quit during the review period did so because they feared they’d be fired anyway. And it doesn’t number the professors Angle mentioned as voluntarily giving up tenure to transition to full-time teaching roles. But it does suggest that post-tenure review will have a significant impact on UF’s workforce,” the news outlet reported.

When the post-tenure review law passed two years ago, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the signing ceremony “we need to make sure the faculty are held accountable and that they don’t just have tenure forever without having any type of … ways to hold them accountable or evaluate what they’re doing.”

“… It’s all about trying to make these institutions more in line with what the state’s priorities are and, quite frankly, the priorities of the parents throughout the state of Florida.”

MORE: Tenured professors can be fired under new Florida board ruling

IMAGE: Gov. DeSantis Facebook page

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