Papers

An objective approach to faculty promotion and tenure by the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Author(s)
Thomas Saaty
Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh
United States

Publication date: Sep, 1983

Journal: Research in Higher Education
Vol.: 18- Issue: 3- Pages: 311-331

Abstract: This paper proposes a novel evaluation approach for the selection of candidates for promotion and/or tenure. The decision problem is conceptualized as a hierarchy of factors and a mathematical procedure known as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for successively “weighting” or prioritizing factors at each level of the hierarchy, in order to arrive at a final composite set of weights for each potential candidate, listed as alternatives at the final level of the hierarchy. The procedure and its mathematical basis are explained and illustrated using hypothetical data. It is argued that the AHP can aid university decision makers in arriving at objective and consistent decisions on faculty tenure, which at present appear to be largely subjective and informal.

Keywords: Decision making, Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP, Potential candidate, Decision problem, Education research 

URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00979603