Chart: Growth of non-tenure-track/GSE positions has outpaced growth of tenure positions: Number of academic employees, by faculty status, Fall 2005 and Fall 2015

Table 1

Growth of non-tenure-track/GSE positions has outpaced growth of tenure positions: Number of academic employees, by faculty status, Fall 2005 and Fall 2015

Position	Fall 2005	Fall 2015	Percent change
Tenured/tenure-track faculty	448,509	470,126	4.8%
Tenured faculty	312,600	335,973	7.5%
Tenure-track faculty	135,909	134,153	-1.3%
Non-tenure-track faculty	753,531	915,476	21.5%
Graduate student employees (GSEs)	317,525	370,710	16.7%

Note: As a point of reference, total nonfarm employment growth between October 2005 and October 2015 was 5.9 percent (BLS 2017a).

Source: Authors’ analysis of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data, retrieved December 22, 2017, using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

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The state of graduate student employee unions: Momentum to organize among graduate student workers is growing despite opposition

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