The English department is considering the recommendations of a recent report by the Modern Language Association (MLA), which called for the overhaul of the tenure system in liberal arts colleges.

The report suggested that departments rely too heavily on the publication of monographs--scholarly books on a single subject --to gauge a professor's progress.

"I don't think it's true for Penn State," Robert Caserio, head of the English department, said. "We place an appropriate emphasis on it, and we are still committed to the monograph as a standard."

MLA released the long-anticipated report last December after two years of research.

Penn State literature professor Michael Bérubé was one of the report's authors.

"I was curious too if we were actually losing a whole generation of good scholar-teachers because of the crisis in university publishing," he said. "I wanted to see how Penn State stacks up against other research university's policies."

The report addressed the concern that decreased funding has left university presses unable to adequately serve the academic community, making it more difficult for junior professors to find an outlet for publishing.

"Institutions that demand monographs for tenure should make it possible for faculty to write them," Bérubé said.

Caserio said his department has numerous programs in place to help junior professors.

"We give a lot of guidance from day one. We have a special faculty mentor that discusses professional matters with them," he said. He added that the department provides junior professors with $10,000 and a semester off from teaching to pursue publishing.

Bérubé acknowledged that monographs have grown in importance over the years.

"If you go back 20 years, there was no widespread understanding that you need to complete a monograph for tenure," he said. "If that's a good or bad thing, I'll leave for others to understand."