ABSTRACT
The characteristic concern of trade unions with security of tenure and with seniority as the criterion of right to promotion is alien to the proper criteria of academic appointment. In West Germany, and indeed in nearly all Western countries, the introduction of political criteria in academic appointments has become common. About a decade ago, students began to demand a voice in the appointment and promotion of teachers, and in some countries they were given what they demanded. The gravest menace to the process of appointment comes from within the teaching staffs of the universities. Ever since the beginning of the rapid expansion of the budgets and student bodies of the universities, a correspondingly steep increase in the size of their teaching staffs also occurred. The university authorities have insisted on their correctness in adhering to the legally required procedures.
