Every one of us has had a teacher or professor we absolutely loved at some point in our lives. And at the same time, every one of us has had a teacher or professor we absolutely hated.

We all want our favorite instructors to teach classes forever while we want our not-so-favorite instructors to be shipped off to another galaxy as far away from us as possible.

But how do we get our favorite professors to stay?

Across college campuses and high schools throughout the United States the concept of tenure is a teacher or professor’s contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.

Most colleges and universities adopt or construct their respective tenure programs internally, Diablo Valley College, for example, follows a popular model by placing their newly hired full-time faculty on what is known as a “tenure track.”

Professors placed on this tenure track (essentially a probationary period) are to follow predetermined guidelines for the number of years specified in their contract (typically anywhere from three to 10 years) depending on their job and the institution they are working for.

After fulfilling these requirements, the professors are granted tenure, by which they become protected employees of the institution with what is ultimately considered “academic freedom” as instructors.

The biggest advantage of tenure for professors is that it allows them to keep teaching at the same institution for a long time without them having to constantly worry about whether or not they are going to keep their job.

However, the even greater advantage is enjoyed by students.

By providing guarantees of long-term employment to prospective professors, colleges and universities are able to not only attract, but retain the best and brightest of the bunch. If you are taking a class at DVC with a professor whom you really enjoy that is helping you succeed more than you ever believed you could, and you want to take an advanced course with him the next year, what’s to say he or she doesn’t leave to teach at another college the following semester because they offer him/her better long-term job prospects?

Becoming the best professor one can be doesn’t happen overnight, or in a month, or in a semester; it takes years for any individual to master their craft and the teaching side of education is no different. By granting the well-deserved faculty in colleges tenure, professors are able to comfortably work to hone their teaching abilities.

Most importantly however, the protective safety net provided by tenure to professors allows each professor to tailor their curriculum to become more in-depth in their desired areas of focus, giving students an overall better informed education not skewed by a school administration.

Although our current education system isn’t perfect and has its flaws, tenure may be the best option we have towards a quality education for students.