On March 24, St. Joe’s President Cheryl McConnell, Ph.D., announced to faculty and staff that St. Joe’s will once again be offering voluntary tenure buyouts and a voluntary separation program. This is the third time in five years the university has offered such options to its staff.

The university’s decision to offer these options to faculty and staff is likely to impact the student experience at St. Joe’s in a variety of ways. Tenured professors maintain their status by demonstrating excellence in teaching, research and service, and often possess valuable professional experience that benefits their students. If the voluntary tenure buyouts are accepted by many professors, students will lose the opportunity to study under experienced educators, who have institutional knowledge and vast experience. Additionally, the loss of experienced faculty would reduce the availability of courses offered and increase class sizes. This, of course, will impact the overall quality of education and limit students’ exposure to a diversity of experienced educators.

Importantly, the voluntary tenure buyouts and voluntary separation program will also impact the faculty and staff who remain at the university. Having fewer colleagues in their department would result in larger class sizes, leaving remaining professors to navigate increased workloads and administrative responsibilities.

With the recency of President McConnell’s announcement, many questions surrounding the effects it will have on each of the university’s campuses remain unanswered, but one thing is certain: The loss of tenured professors, no matter the number, is likely to affect the quality of education at St. Joe’s. We acknowledge the university’s emphasis on the student experience and implore university leadership to keep that objective at the heart of whatever the solutions are to our increasingly fragile higher education environment.