South Dakota Adopts Post-Tenure Review

"It requires tenured faculty at the state's six public higher learning institutions to undergo a performance review every five years, beginning during the 2026-27 academic year. While all faculty members already receive an annual performance evaluation by their immediate supervisor, the new policy adds another layer of review and considers five years' worth of those evaluations to rank a professor's performance."

"Approval of the policy makes South Dakota the latest state to enact a post-tenure review policy. Since 2020, numerous other states-including Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio-have done the same, whereas many others have weakened tenure through various other means. Indiana, for example, passed a law in 2024 that requires colleges to conduct post-tenure reviews every five years and deny tenure to faculty unlikely to foster "intellectual diversity.""

"Under the policy, if a faculty member received an annual performance rating of "does not meet expectations" or was placed on a faculty improvement plan in the previous five years, "tenure will be non-renewed, and the faculty member will be issued a one-year term contract for the following academic year." The policy notes that the employee would still be eligible to apply for nontenurable positions within the system."

South Dakota Board of Regents approved a policy requiring tenured faculty at the state's six public institutions to undergo performance reviews every five years starting in the 2026-27 academic year. The policy aggregates five years of annual supervisor evaluations to rank performance, adding a layer beyond existing annual evaluations. Faculty rated "does not meet expectations" or placed on a faculty improvement plan within that five-year window will have tenure non-renewed and receive a one-year term contract, while remaining eligible for non-tenurable positions. The policy responds to accountability, market, and resource pressures and follows similar measures in multiple states since 2020.

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