JACKSON, Miss. – Full-time tenured professors at Mississippi universities earn higher salaries while teaching fewer students than non-tenure and tenure-track faculty according to a new report released by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.
“Mississippi spends hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars on higher education, and we need to ask hard questions about the return we get on that investment,” said Auditor White. “This report reveals tenure can often be an excuse to get out of the classroom, and that needs to change.”
Analysts at the Office of the State Auditor found that the average tenured professor taught fewer students than both the average non-tenure and tenure-track professor at every Mississippi university except for Mississippi State and the University of Mississippi.
Despite teaching far fewer students, tenured faculty earn far more than non-tenured faculty.
The pay gap varies widely by department. For example, the pay gap between tenured and non-tenured faculty is 70% in business departments and almost 200% in gender studies departments.
Analysts also determined that Mississippi’s Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) does not maintain data showing whether faculty perform a large part of their job duties, like research and community service, despite being responsible for providing oversight of the tenure process.
Additionally, IHL allows universities to write their own promotion and tenure policies like those requiring professors to demonstrate “creativity in a service area that enhances school’s diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, professionalism, and wellness efforts.”
“Other states like Florida have recently reformed their tenure process, now requiring a review of professors for job performance even after they are granted tenure, and Mississippi should do the same,” said White.
The full report can be found under the “Reports” tab on the Auditor’s website and searching “Tenure.”