Waldorf University has a few tenure-track positions. It's the first time I'm seeing a tenure-track faculty position at a for-profit college. https://www.waldorf.edu/about/careers
It has been a for-profit school since 2010 when it was purchased by Columbia Southern University. The Higher Learning Commission lists it as a "Private FP."
They reportedly had an interesting clause in their sale. If I recall, their brick and mortar operations were to be ran as they were and with a large cash infusion for capital improvements, Columbia Southern would than run their online programs only.
"One change he acknowledged the faculty will have to accept is the elimination of tenure. Waldorf has a traditional tenure system and [Robert] Mayes said that will be replaced with contracts. He stressed that it will be possible for faculty members, especially those with tenure now, to earn multiple year contracts." https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/05/06/sale-waldorf
Tenure isn't used to calcify the faculty or give deadbeats job guarantees. It's designed to give faculty academic freedom to pursue the truth, even if that truth is inconvenient to the university. That concept must simply be anathema to a for-profit school. This can create dilemmas similar to those sometimes faced by scientists working in the private sector or, as we've seen with the coronavirus, in government. (Similarly, this is why we have civil service protections for federal employees.)
Sure, but I think a major factor is whether the institution is being run by administrators who are focused on short term returns, or on the benefits of maintaining a good reputation long term. I don't think it's a coincidence that the bad actors in the for-profit sector have been publicly traded rather than privately held.
