Examining the influences on faculty departure intentions: A comparison of tenured versus nontenured faculty at research universities using NSOPF-99

This empirical research examines the predictors of intended departure for tenured vs. nontenured full-time faculty at research and doctoral institutions across an array of disciplines. What are the characteristics of those who intend to leave their institutions? Do tenured and nontenured faculty show different patterns of intended departure? And what are the implications for institutional policy and practice? This study proposes a theoretical model of faculty turnover intentions and tests the model on two groups of faculty surveyed in the 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF-99). Using Structural Equation Modeling, we find both similarities and differences in the dynamics of intended departure between the tenured and nontenured faculty populations.