In summer 1984, a study was conducted to assess the current status of tenure in public two-year colleges. Surveys were mailed to state administrators of two-year college education, requesting information on the provision of statutory or customary tenure; the number of years of consecutive employment needed for becoming eligible for tenure; reasons for the dismissal of tenured faculty; the power of local boards to establish tenure policy; and collective bargaining. Study findings, based on responses from 43 states, included the following: (1) seven states provided statutory tenure and another four states reported that state governing boards made provision for statewide tenure policies; (2) among the 11 states with a statewide tenure policy, there was a range of 2 to 7 years in the number of consecutive years of employment needed to become eligible for tenure; (3) all 11 states with a statewide policy indicated that tenured faculty could be dismissed "for cause," e.g., immorality, misconduct in office, and incompetency; (4) in 17 states, local boards were employed to establish a tenure policy for their college; (5) 19 of the 31 states that did not have a statutory tenure policy indicated that customary or traditional tenure was practiced; and (6) 11 states reported that contractual tenure was permitted in collective bargaining contracts. The survey instrument is appended. (LAL)