Will you be taught mostly by tenured and tenure-track professors?

A high percentage of tenured or tenure-track college faculty is often viewed as a measure of academic excellence. Job stability allows professors to focus on their research and teaching. Tenured and tenure-track professors are likely to spend decades, even their entire professional career, at a single college. In the enrollment year of 2016-2017, the U.S. Department of Education published estimated figures for 1,241 American colleges and universities. In its own summary of the findings, the Chronicle brought to light consistencies across public and private schools. The City of New York University system showed the highest number of tenured/tenure-track faculty, reporting just under 100%. Perhaps the greatest surprise comes from the California public universities (see chart below). Many private liberal arts colleges reported upward of 85% tenure/tenure track faculty. Some colleges stand out: Cooper Union shows 96.5% whereas Duke reported 44%. Most highly selective colleges reported between 65-80%, including Yale (74%) and Wesleyan, Skidmore, Wellesley, Brandeis. Vanderbilt and the University of Southern California reported just over 60%.