Students at any higher educational institution deserve a proper education and attention from professors – after all the students are the ones paying for the education.

At Northeastern, students are paying well over $30,000, but are they getting what they paid for from tenured professors?

When faculty enter the university, they chose to embark on a path of tenure or non-tenure track. If tenure track is the path chosen, the professor then has seven years to, in a way, prove to the university that they are worthy of the prestigious title.

Once tenured, the professors must focus on teaching, service and scholarship. These focuses usually include research or publication of one form or another. Along with tenure also comes a large amount of academic freedom and job security.

From a student perspective, it is only normal to wonder what the point of tenure is. Some students say if professors have chosen the profession to teach students, then they should simply want the job security of tenure. Do professors embark on the tenure journey for professional betterment or for the making of better professionals?

Is tenure about the individual, the institution or the student?

It is apparent and understandable that any professional wishes to succeed in their career of choice. As consumers, Northeastern students should demand and expect the best from their professors. This being said, students expect pure intentions, no-strings-attached approaches to education.

Tenured faculty should be rewarded for their performance both in and out of the classroom. Tenured or not, students should reap the benefits of pure intentions and solid education.