Faculty facts & stats

Question 1

As of 2025, about what share of faculty teaching at U.S. colleges are in non-tenure-track positions?

Accepted Answer

about 70%. Most instructors teaching U.S. college classes today are adjuncts or other non-tenure-track faculty, not tenured professors.

Question 2

About what share of U.S. adjunct professors hold a doctoral degree?

Accepted Answer

over one-third. Many adjuncts are highly credentialed but work part-time or on a course-by-course basis.

Question 3

In what year did New Jersey pass one of the first laws granting tenure protections to K-12 teachers?

Accepted Answer

1909. Tenure protections for schoolteachers actually predate widespread tenure systems at universities.

Question 4

In what year did the United Kingdom abolish traditional academic tenure through the Education Reform Act?

Accepted Answer

1988. The change meant British universities could restructure or make redundant even long-serving academic staff.

The basics