Promotion and Tenure Perceptions of University Aviation Association (UAA) Collegiate Aviation Administrators and Faculty

Abstract

This article reports on an online survey study of collegiate aviation administration and faculty perceptions about promotion and tenure workload components. These components include the importance, or value of specific workload components taken into consideration during the promotion and tenure process for probationary faculty members. The authors report on their literature review which focused on teaching, scholarship, and service, the traditional “three pillars” of academe. They conducted an online survey that featured 20 multiple-choice questions with space for additional comments. Participants were 220 professional members of the University Aviation Association (UAA); 87 people responded (39.5%). The survey respondents represent a cross-section of 4-year collegiate aviation institutions and faculty. Seventy-eight of the survey respondents were faculty members of all ranks. From this quantitative/descriptive research study the authors found data to re-affirm the notion that perceptions of workload items used to determine fitness for promotion and tenure are not uniform throughout collegiate aviation. One constant perception was that the “three pillars” (scholarship, teaching and service) maintain some degree of importance in the promotion and tenure process. The authors conclude by suggesting future research that would compare the perceptions of administrators versus that of faculty on the topic of promotion and tenure. The survey instrument is included as an appendix to the article.