The Changing Academic Workforce
TIAA Institute research delves into what’s behind dramatic changes in the academic workforce over the past several decades.
Higher Education Workforce Trends
Primary tabs
Evolving Faculty Patterns
Today about 70% of faculty at U.S. institutions hold full- or part-time nontenure-track positions. The TIAA Institute focuses on such issues as the quality of student learning, making the most of the growing contingent faculty and reluctant retirees.
Want to learn more about our higher education insights? Download our 2018 TIAA Institute Higher Education Thought Leadership Annotated Bibliography.
Events
Managing Effectively Across Differences: The Impact of Implicit Bias on Leadership
The TIAA Institute partnered with Duke University Office of the Provost and the Council on Foundations to host a unique gathering of thought leaders.
Insights
Also produced by the TIAA Institute, Insights features reports addressing prominent issues in financial security, higher education, and philanthropy. While typically written for a primarily non-technical audience, Insights are prepared using the same level of academic rigor found in our other research publications, and can serve as valuable sources of information for a diverse group of readers.
January 2021
How will COVID-19 affect retirement patterns among senior faculty and how can institutions respond?
March 2019
The ranks of adjunct faculty have increased rapidly in recent decades. How are these individuals faring financially?
November 2018
Adjuncts are commonly perceived as recent Ph.D. graduates teaching multiple classes while pursuing a tenure-track position. This is hardly the norm.
Research Reports
Original research produced by the TIAA Institute—both independently and in collaboration with noted scholars—examines topics of interest to the academic, nonprofit and public sectors. The reports combine statistical findings with thoughtful, data-driven observations and conclusions to provide in-depth analyses that are informative and appropriate for both technical and more academic audiences.
March 2018
Changes to faculty status may discourage new doctoral recipients from pursuing academic careers.
December 2017
Has increased use of contingent faculty led to real improvements in institutional performance? This report explores the strategic payoffs of a well-documented trend in academia.
March 2016
U.S. colleges and universities have indeed increased faculty diversity over the past 20 years, but most gains have been off the tenure track.