Faculty and administrative bargaining teams at the University of the District of Columbia have reached a tentative contract agreement, school officials said, offering a potential end to a bitter standoff that has left professors working on an expired contract since 1993.

But the proposal is encountering opposition from some members of the faculty, who say they plan to vote against several elements today. One proposal seeks to impose a more rigorous tenure system that would strip some long-term instructors of their job protections. "We're not going to support it -- it takes away our rights," said Emanuel Chatman, an accounting professor.

A spokesman for the university administration confirmed the tentative settlement but declined to discuss details, citing a confidentiality agreement with the faculty. The president of the faculty association could not be reached yesterday.

The most contentious issue is the administration's effort to impose a tenure system comparable to those at most universities. Currently, UDC faculty receive tenure after a single probationary year at the school, and all instructors have it. The proposed contract would create a five-year tenure track for all new hires.

While professors at the level of associate and higher would retain their tenure status, assistant professors -- whom Chatman said make up about one-third of the faculty -- would have to start from the beginning, and in the meantime could be dismissed without the chance to appeal.

If ratified today, the agreement would go to the university's Board of Trustees for final approval next week.

Contract talks had languished over the past several years during a series of severe budget cuts and leadership turnover. The resulting tensions strained relations between the faculty and UDC's president of one year, William L. Pollard, who has vocal critics on and off campus.

In April, faculty negotiators walked away from renewed talks, saying they were insulted by what they considered a paltry pay proposal. Administrators later said they would have been open to a counteroffer.

In July, both sides began meeting with a city mediator, and last week they settled on a tentative contract.

Chatman, who is leading a committee of faculty considering the contract, complained that the proposed salary increase -- 6.4 percent retroactive to last October and an additional 3 percent beginning in October -- is less generous than that offered to non-union employees earlier this year.