I-06-10
[Approved April 20, 2007; approved by faculty September 26, 2007; Approved by the Board of Trustees December 4, 2007]
PROPOSAL TO THE ACADEMIC SENATE
TITLE: UNIVERSITY
PROMOTION AND TENURE POLICY
SUBMITTED BY: Provost Committee (Read original version) (Read February 1 version) (read March 2 resolutions)
DATE: September 25, 2006; revised February 1, 2007; revised February 20, 2007 and March 2, 2007; April 20, 2007.
ACTION: Legislative authority
REFERENCE: II. B. 1.c. Will require faculty vote as specified in this section of the Constitution of the Academic Senate.
Introduction
The
quality of faculty accomplishments in scholarship, teaching, and service
largely determines the quality of the institution as a whole. Promotion and
tenure decisions are extremely important to the life of the institution. They
are the means by which the University retains its most valuable scholars,
sustains excellence in its instructional program, and promotes its mission for
service.
Promotion
and tenure decisions are also among the most important events in a faculty
member's professional life. Accordingly, it is essential that all faculty
members be treated fairly and granted due process in the deliberations that
determine promotion and tenure.
This
policy establishes general guidelines that govern University-wide procedures
for promotion and tenure review. These guidelines and procedures are designed
to ensure communication, fairness, and due
process throughout the review process. This policy includes opportunities to
respond in the event of disagreements over promotion and tenure recommendations
and provides an appeals procedure.
In
addition, this policy provides a process for initial and periodic review of
promotion and tenure documents for procedural consistency and clarity of
substantive criteria both at the unit and
department level.
I. Establishment, Review, and Approval
of Promotion and Tenure Criteria and Procedures
A. General University-wide Criteria
and Eligibility for Promotion and Tenure Evaluations
1. Criteria for promotion and tenure focus on the academic
credentials and the academic performance of the applicant. The faculty member's
performance will be evaluated as appropriate to the profession in the areas of:
a. Teaching effectiveness and/or librarianship,
b. Scholarship and/or artistic accomplishment, and
c. Service, including professional, departmental, University, and
community.
2. Tenure
will not be granted to a faculty member whose rank is below the level of
associate professor. Normally, tenure will be considered at the same time as
promotion in rank. However, faculty may
be promoted to associate professor prior to being granted tenure. Faculty
members who have already been granted tenure at the assistant professor level
prior to implementation of this policy will retain their tenure and rank.
3.
Tenure-track faculty with no prior service credit will be considered for tenure
no later than their sixth year of active, full-time service. Time devoted to
leaves of absence, sabbaticals, or other interruptions in the annual
performance of teaching, research, and service may affect the total period of
evaluation and the timing of departmental reviews. The effects of such interruptions on the
period of evaluation and timing of reviews must be agreed to in writing by the
faculty member, chairperson, dean, and Provost at the time that the
interruption takes place or within six months of the initiation of the
interruption.
4. A
candidate who successfully completes the promotion and/or tenure process will
be granted promotion and/or tenure with his or her next contract.
B. Unit and
Departmental Authority and Responsibilities
1.
Each academic department will adopt clear criteria and procedures for promotion
and tenure.
2.
The College of Arts and Sciences,
3.
The unit’s Promotion and Tenure Committee will
a.
make a
recommendation for promotion and tenure on each individual candidate to the dean,
and
b.
review and approve its department-level criteria and
procedures for promotion and tenure.
4. Any disagreements between a department and a unit promotion
and tenure committee related to approval of departmental promotion and tenure
criteria and procedures will be resolved by the appropriate dean.
C. University
Academic Senate Authority and Responsibilities
1. The Academic Senate will
establish the University Committee and provide oversight of the elections of
faculty members to the University Committee.
2. The Academic Senate will determine
all University-wide procedural policies on Promotion and Tenure and explicate
such policies in the Faculty Handbook.
If the University Committee notes inconsistencies between documents not
covered by University-wide procedural policies on promotion and tenure, those
procedural inconsistencies will be submitted to the Academic Senate for
resolution.
D. The
University Committee
1. The University Committee will
a.
review and approve the promotion and tenure policies
of all units for consistency with University policies and procedures
b.
annually review the promotion and tenure process for adherence
to appropriate procedures and present a report to the Chairperson of the
Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees and the President of the Academic
Senate. The President of the Academic
Senate will annually present this report to the Executive Committee of the
Academic Senate.
2. The University Committee will consist of fifteen
tenured faculty members: seven from the
College of Arts and Sciences (two from the Humanities, one from the Visual and
Performing Arts, two from the Natural Sciences, two from the Social Sciences);
two respectively from the School of Business Administration, the School of Education
and Allied Professions, and the School of Engineering; and one each from the School
of Law and the University Libraries.
a. The University Committee members will be elected by
tenure and tenure-track members of their respective constituencies.
b.
Members of the University Committee will serve three-year terms (maximum of two
consecutive terms, with staggered terms within and across units); all members
will be tenured with rank of associate professor or professor and cannot hold
an administrative appointment (including departmental chairpersons, assistant
and associate deans, deans, and other full or part-time administrators with
line authority). The University Committee will elect a chairperson from those
duly elected. The chairperson shall serve
for one year, and may serve consecutive terms.
Terms will begin effective June 1 of the year elected.
c.
Any individual who cannot complete his or her term of office will be replaced
from the list of candidates in the year in which the member was elected. Candidates not elected to the University
Committee will be listed by area in the order of votes received, beginning with
the highest, and will, in that order, be asked to fill vacated positions.
3. The University Committee will approve those unit
documents that define clear substantive criteria and procedures consistent with
University policies, including mechanisms for communicating throughout the
entire promotion and tenure process.
4. After the initial approval has been received by a
unit, the University Committee will review that unit’s policies every three
years. Whenever substantive changes are
proposed, the unit promotion and tenure documents must be approved by the
University Committee for consistency with University policies and procedures.
5. In the event the University Committee does not
approve unit documents or proposed changes to them, and if the dean of that
unit disagrees with the decision of the University Committee, the matter will
be resolved by the President in consultation with the Provost.
6. The Provost’s office will be responsible for
providing administrative support for the work of this committee and assuring
that all documents are distributed in a timely and appropriate manner.
II. Common Processes for Promotion and
Tenure Evaluations
A.
Common process for pre-tenure review
1.
The approved
University, unit, and departmental criteria and procedures will be shared with
the candidate at the time of hire by the Office of the Provost.
These will be the basis of the pre-tenure, final tenure, and promotion
reviews.
2. Each unit dean will establish a timetable regarding
the submission and review of pre-tenure materials.
3. During the pre-tenure period, every candidate will
receive a minimum of two reviews of his or her teaching and/or librarianship,
scholarship and/or artistic accomplishment, and service by his or her
department and the appropriate dean, with the final review conducted the year
prior to the final departmental tenure recommendation. The
4. Credit toward tenure granted for prior service
a. A candidate who is given two or fewer years credit
toward tenure will receive two comprehensive reviews (as described in II.A.5
below).
b. A candidate receiving three or more years credit
toward tenure will receive a minimum of one review of his or her teaching
and/or librarianship, scholarship and/or artistic accomplishment, and service
by his or her department and the appropriate dean, with the final review
conducted the year prior to the final departmental tenure recommendation. The number of and timing of
the review(s) will be explicated in the candidate’s first letter of hire. The
c. Any changes in the tenure clock after this first
letter of hire may require a change in the review cycle. Such changes must be agreed
to in writing by the faculty member, chairperson, dean, and Provost.
5. Pre-tenure
review process
a. A candidate will submit his or her review materials
and supporting documentation for review to the responsible persons (i.e., departmental chairperson, departmental promotion
and tenure committee) at the departmental level. (The
b. After giving adequate consideration to the
materials, each department/unit will provide written feedback to the candidate in
a timely fashion as designated by the departmental (unit in the case of the School
of Law or University Libraries) promotion and tenure document. In addition to a statement regarding progress
toward tenure, feedback will include comments of a developmental nature, in
line with the criteria for tenure, indicating areas of concern and suggestions
for improvement.
c. The candidate’s review materials, supporting
documentation, and the written feedback will be forwarded to the appropriate
unit dean. The dean will then review the
materials and provide written feedback to the candidate in a timely fashion.
B.
Common application and final review process for tenure and/or promotion
1. Each unit dean will establish a timetable regarding
the submission and review of promotion and tenure materials.
2. The review materials for promotion and tenure will
be cumulative. Materials generated as a result of review at the departmental
level (unit in the case of the
3. Materials of a substantive nature which update the
submitted application (e.g., acceptance or publication of a manuscript) can be
added to the application by the candidate at any point in the tenure review
process until the Provost’s recommendation is made. It is expected that
appropriate consultation will take place if materials are added that will
affect the recommendation.
4. Each academic department (unit in the case of the
5. Departmental Application and Review Process (does
not apply to
a. A candidate will submit his or her application and
supporting documentation for promotion and/or tenure to the departmental
chairperson by the date specified by the departmental promotion and tenure
documents.
b. After giving adequate consideration to each
application, each department, in accordance with its unit promotion and tenure
procedures, will make a promotion and tenure recommendation in writing to the
appropriate unit promotion and tenure committee regarding each candidate. A letter from both the departmental
chairperson and departmental promotion and tenure committee will go forward to
the unit promotion and tenure committee.
These letters will specify the reasons for the departmental
recommendations and will be copied to the respective candidate.
c. If the candidate chooses, he or she can respond in
writing. This response will be forwarded
with all related materials to the unit promotion and tenure committee.
6. Unit Application and Final Review Process (applies
to all units)
a. The specific administrative process for submitting
material, including to whom, must be specified in each unit’s promotion and
tenure policies.
b. After giving adequate consideration to each
application, each unit promotion and tenure committee will make promotion and
tenure recommendations regarding each candidate in writing to the appropriate dean
by the date specified in the unit promotion and tenure documents.
c. After giving adequate consideration to the
application, the unit dean will inform each candidate, in writing, of the
recommendation and the reasons for it no later than the first business day
following December 14. In units that
conduct departmental reviews, this letter will be copied to the departmental
chairperson. After ensuring the
candidate has received notification, the departmental chairperson will share
the recommendation with the departmental promotion and tenure committee. The dean will also inform the unit promotion
and tenure committee of the recommendation.
d. Candidates or concerned individuals (e.g.
departmental chairpersons, or promotion and tenure committee members) who wish
to submit a written response to the dean have until the first business day
following December 21 to do so.
e. The dean will then consider any additional evidence
and responses and send a recommendation in writing to the Provost, along with
the completed “Procedural Form,” cumulative file, and the response(s) of any candidate or concerned individuals no later than
the first business day after January 1. In
units that conduct departmental reviews, this letter will be copied to the
departmental chairperson, no later than the first business day following January
1. After ensuring the candidate has received notification, the departmental
chairperson will share the recommendation with the departmental promotion and
tenure committee. The dean will also
inform the unit promotion and tenure committee of the recommendation.
7. Provost Recommendation Process
a. Candidates or any other concerned individuals (e.g.
departmental chairpersons, or promotion and tenure committee members) have until
the first business day following January 15 to file a written response to the dean’s
recommendation with the Provost.
b. The Provost will review all materials and make
recommendations to the President no later than the first business day following
January 30. Each candidate will be
informed in writing of the Provost’s recommendation. Candidates or any other
concerned individuals (e.g. departmental chairpersons, or promotion and tenure
committee members) who wish to submit a written response to the Provost will have
until the first business day following February 15 to do so.
8. Final Administrative Authority
Final
administrative authority rests with the President. Each candidate will be informed in writing of
the President’s decision. This decision
will also be copied to the Provost, the appropriate dean, and the appropriate
departmental chairperson.
9. Mediation and Appeals
If
the candidate chooses to appeal the President’s decision, he or she may begin
the mediation process in accord with the Faculty Handbook, Section IV.E. If mediation does not resolve the complaint,
the candidate may make use of the appeal processes set out in the Faculty
Handbook (Sections IV.C.1, IV.E, and XIII.E.). The Board of Trustees will serve as the court of
last resort in the appeals
process.
10. Report to
the Board of Trustees
a. The President will provide the Board of Trustees with
a report of promotion and tenure actions at the spring meeting. The summary report will minimally include
statistics regarding the gender and minority
status of candidates.
b. The University Committee will receive a copy of the
President’s summary report on promotion and tenure no later than two weeks
prior to the spring Board meeting.
c. The University Committee will review the promotion
and tenure process for adherence to appropriate procedures and will examine the
President’s summary report before compiling a report of its own to present to
the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees at the Board’s spring
meeting. This report will also be
provided to the President of the Academic Senate who will present it to the
Executive Committee of the Academic Senate.
III. Implementation of the University
application and review process for promotion and tenure.
A. Following passage of this
policy by the faculty members, the Provost will send a letter to each
tenure-track faculty member who has received three or more probationary
contracts prior to May 15, 20082.
The letter will inform these tenure-track faculty members that they have
the choice to be evaluated relative to the procedure and criteria for promotion
and tenure which were in place at the time of their most recently affected
probationary contract or relative to the resolutions presented here. Each affected tenure-track faculty member
will submit his or her choice to the Provosts’ office within six months of the
passage of these resolutions.
Tenure-track faculty members who have received two or fewer probationary
contracts prior to May 15, 2008 will be evaluated relative to the resolutions
presented here.
B. Faculty members who have
been granted the rank of associate professor as of May 15, 2008 will follow
procedures for promotion to full professor as explicated above.2
C. The elimination of the
provisional tenure year will be implemented with the first set of contracts
distributed following the approval of these resolutions.
D. Work of the University
Committee
1 Elections for University Committee members will be
conducted in Fall 2007.2
2 Each unit will submit its procedural policies for
promotion and tenure to the Provost’s office.
Those materials should be submitted as early as January 1 and no later
than April 1, 2008.2
3 The University Committee will review all promotion
and tenure procedural by May 15, 2008.2
E. Initial rotation of
members3
1.
Members to initially serve a three year term:
Law, Libraries, Arts, Humanities(1), Natural
Sciences(1)
2.
Members to initially serve a two year term:
Social Sciences(1), Business(1), Education(1),
Engineering(1), Humanities(2)
3.
Members to initially serve a 1 year term:
Natural Sciences(2), Social Sciences(2),
Business(2), Education(2), Engineering(2)
1School of Law includes the
2Dates assume passage of
the above resolutions by Fall 2007.
3Candidates with the
highest number of votes in areas where two representatives are elected are
designated by the number 1 in the rotations listed above. Candidates with the next highest number of
votes in those areas are designated by the number 2.