How tenure and contracts shape the faculty experience at MRU | 

Manveet Kaur Waraich, Staff Writer | 

Students spend thousands of dollars and years of their lives learning from professors who are experts in their fields. These educators carry the immense responsibility of equipping the next generation of leaders and innovators, serving as the forefront of societal education. Yet, not one of the 21 students I recently surveyed could explain what tenure is or why it matters. It’s time to take a peek behind the blackboard and uncover the roles, challenges and experiences of the faculty that students encounter every day.

The first week of each semester is always a blur of finding classrooms, reviewing course outlines and praying that there are no required textbooks that would shamelessly empty our pockets. In that hectic readjustment phase, many fail to notice the slight difference in each professor’s introduction. Although it may seem like each professor has similar standing and experiences, there can be major differences among the educators at a post-secondary institution.

To simplify it, a university structure is just like any workplace. There is an employer (MRU), employees (faculty and staff), an employee union (Mount Royal Faculty Association/Staff Association; MRFA/MRSA), customers (students) and customer service (Student’s Association of Mount Royal University; SAMRU).

MRU’s faculty positions consist of two broad categories: part-time (contract) and full-time (permanent and tenure). Although the collective job of all employees is to teach excellence, each position has distinct roles and challenges. Just like any workplace, job security, benefits, pay and responsibilities increase along that sequence, but the devil is in the details.

Part-time faculty

Formally, all part-time faculty follow the Teaching-Service (TS) work pattern; they focus on teaching and have minimal expectations for research or service. These positions have no pathway to tenure.

Contract faculty

Contract faculty are regarded as the backbone of universities and teach more than 60 per cent of courses at MRU on average, but they have dangerously low job security. Falling into this category are sessional instructors, year-long contract holders and two-year contract holders. Sessional instructors teach on a per-course basis, with no guarantee of courses in subsequent semesters. Their workload is highly variable. Year-long contracts offer slightly more stability by offering course assignments for the year. Continuing appointments offer two-year contracts that provide benefits and a guaranteed minimum of five courses. Instructors are able to take on more courses if available.

Many contract faculty are still engaged in scholarly activity regardless of it being an expectation from the university, especially because of its importance for career advancement. Those hours often go unsupported financially. Additionally, The Canadian Association of University Teachers report that “as a sessional you often have to work at multiple universities to earn enough money to support yourself and your family.” The report also found that 59 per cent of respondents had been teaching on contract at a post-secondary education level for over five years and are highly invested in their workplace.

Permanent faculty

Permanent faculty, such as senior lecturers, have more stability than contract positions but lack the pay scale and certain benefits of tenure faculty. Senior lecturers enter through internal competition and face a two-year probationary period—reduced to one year with prior experience. They have full benefits but are not eligible for sabbaticals and face a capped payscale. Permanent lab instructors are similar to senior lecturers but focus on lab-based teaching.

Tenured faculty

Tenured faculty represent the most stable and secure academic positions. Assistant professors begin their careers with a five-year probationary period. Associate professors achieve tenure after demonstrating excellence in teaching, research, and service. Full professors attain this rank through further promotion, resulting in a higher pay scale.

Many are led to believe that achieving tenure guarantees a job for life. Although it is arguably the most secure and stable academic position at universities—this picture is incomplete. Lee Easton is the current president of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA), a professor of multimedia/film studies, and has been at MRU since 1996. Somewhere along the eight rounds of negotiations between MRFA and the university that he’s experienced, Easton came to understand that tenure represents a major commitment between the institution and the employee, carrying with it a significant responsibility to continue to perform at a high level.

“[Tenure] is not a permanent job; it holds termination to a higher standard than we would find in a [regular] workplace, and associated to that is academic freedom…[which] allows you to research, to teach, to criticize, without fear,” Easton explains.

“My employer can’t get rid of me because they don’t like my research. They can get you if you don’t teach. Otherwise, the university has to say its existence is in peril [financially].”

To academics, that’s heaven. However, the staircase to heaven is long and winding. Firstly, a candidate must be hired into a ‘tenure-track’ position. These are an open call and thus have immense competition with upwards of 400 applicants for one job.

Once hired, the title of assistant professor is awarded, alongside a host of demanding expectations. Full-time faculty must keep a balance of Teaching, Scholarship and Service (TSS). Being in the classroom, advancing their research, and serving on university committees to contribute towards a stronger campus and environment are the three essential pillars of evaluation—of which they must face multiple rounds. Their peers, the dean and chair and a university-level committee all consistently review the assistant professor. This continues for a lengthy probationary period of five years in which they collect incredibly detailed evidence of their work non-stop before finally attaining tenure and ‘graduating’ to the title of associate professor. Although this is a gruelling process, Easton emphasizes that “we have a really good system that’s really supportive.” Still, the tenure track remains high risk. “If you don’t get tenure…it will be very hard to convince another university to take a chance on you [because] it was peer-reviewed at multiple different levels.”

The current state

For students, more full-time tenured faculty translates to greater mentorship opportunities and a higher quality of education. Well-compensated instructors would produce a higher degree of scholarly work—including teaching materials and advancements, which are highly valued at Mount Royal—and advanced curriculum. The peer evaluation bit is especially note-worthy.

“[It’s] great because everyone here values teaching and you can choose a colleague who does too so there’s a culture that values teaching and a shared commitment to students… Basically, our professoriate should look a lot like our students. If we’re not looking like our students then you know we’re just perpetuating things that need to be changed.”

Easton believes that, alongside improvements in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), there have been important changes to support faculty. These include implementing full-year scheduling, establishing continuing contracts, and creating permanent senior lecturer positions. Additionally, contract faculty who participate in service activities are eligible for honorariums to acknowledge their contributions. Employee benefits have also been enhanced, now covering 80 per cent.

Although these improvements are commendable and show adaptability, the over-reliance on contract faculty, and the absence of pathways to tenure are still blaring. Every year, more students fill the halls of MRU. “We need more full time faculty. We’re on a growth path here at Mount Royal and according to the annual report, it’s sustainable growth. If we don’t get full-time positions to support that growth, then we will expand the number of contract faculty,” comments Easton. However, tenured positions are an immense financial investment and although these solutions sound great on paper, are very complicated practically.

Manveet Kaur Waraich is a Staff Writer for The Reflector 2024-2025.