PROV-017: Employment of Tenure-line Faculty
Academic Division (Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Academic Faculty).
Employment of Tenure-Eligible and Tenured Faculty
- Ranks, Titles, and Academic Areas
- Qualifications
- Initial Appointment
- Evaluation and Disciplinary Action
- The Probationary Period for Tenure-Eligible Faculty
Institutional Qualifications for Tenure
- Student Education and Development
- Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work
- Service
- Institutional Qualifications for Promotion within Tenure
- Extension of the Probationary Period
- Student Education and Development
- Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work
- Service
- External Evaluations
- First Review
- Second Review: School Level
- Third Review: Provost Level
- Procedures for Faculty Members with Joint Appointments
- Expedited Review
- Change in Faculty Appointment Type, Department, or School
Tenure-line faculty deliver on the University’s mission of developing responsible citizen leaders and professionals; advancing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge; and providing world-class patient care. The assignment of academic rank and award of tenure safeguard the University’s intellectual standards, academic integrity, and academic freedom. This policy provides the terms and conditions of the employment of tenure-line faculty and establishes clear institutional standards for review, tenure, and promotion.
- Arm's-Length Letters:Letters from outside references who are not likely, and not perceived to be likely, to have a preexisting positive or negative bias toward the candidate. Letters from former or current advisors, collaborators, or co-workers are not arm’s-length. Letters from individuals with only incidental relationships with the candidate, such as serving together on editorial boards or professional committees, may be considered arm’s length.
- Dossier:A set of documents submitted by the candidate for renewal, tenure, or promotion consideration.
- Evaluation Packet:A set of documents comprising all materials to be used for tenure or promotion evaluation.
- Expedited Review:A review for tenure or promotion done outside the normal annual review cycle.
- Promotion within Tenure:A promotion in rank for a tenured faculty member, typically to the rank of professor.
- Tenure or "Without Term":An appointment to the Faculty of indefinite duration.
- Tenure-Eligible:An appointment to the Faculty that allows for tenure consideration within a pre-defined period, referred to as the “probationary period,” specified in the employment agreement or in policy.
- With Term:An appointment of a specific amount of time, referred to as the “term,” identified in the employment agreement between the faculty member and the University, entered into at the time of initial hiring or upon contract renewal.
This policy establishes criteria for the election, renewal, award of tenure, and promotion (up to and including the rank of full professor) of tenure-eligible and tenured faculty members.
- Employment of Tenure-Eligible and Tenured Faculty:
- Ranks, Titles, and Academic Areas:
All tenure-eligible and tenured faculty members, jointly referred to as tenure-line faculty, are full-time (1.0 FTE for 9, 10, 11, or 12 months per year), are salaried, hold a professorial rank, and must be elected by the Board of Visitors. Formal faculty titles identify the faculty member’s rank and their academic area. Only schools and academic departments can host tenure-line faculty (not programs, centers, institutes, or other non-school reporting units). - Qualifications:
Tenure-line faculty members must hold a qualifying terminal degree in their discipline or a related field. A curriculum vitae (CV) as well as verification of degrees earned must be documented in the University personnel files. - Initial Appointment:
Faculty members are normally hired into tenured or tenure-eligible positions through a competitive national or international search. Search exemptions are rare and must follow the Procedure for Requesting an Exception. Regardless, all tenure-line faculty hires must include a faculty review committee. All tenure-eligible appointments must be termed (not to exceed four years). When recruiting senior faculty members with tenure from another institution, termed offers (not to exceed five years) are made while awaiting final tenure approval. All new faculty appointments must be handled in accordance with PROV-006: Extending Offers of Employment to Faculty in Academic Areas. Evaluation and Disciplinary Action:
All faculty members, whether appointed “with term“ or “without term,” are reviewed according to the Annual Performance Reviews policy.All academic faculty members are subject to disciplinary action according to the Policy on Disciplinary Suspension or Termination of Academic Faculty.
- Ranks, Titles, and Academic Areas:
Promotion and Tenure:
Faculty members are encouraged to read the Sunset Provision at the end of this document to determine if they qualify and may prefer to adhere to the terms of the previous promotion and tenure policy.A recommendation for tenure, with or without promotion, is made by the dean and approved or denied by the provost based on review and evaluation by faculty committees following the policies and criteria described in this section.
Additionally, each school must have a written promotion and tenure policy that reflects the standards of its disciplines and its own aspirations. Differences among disciplines are appropriate, and indeed inevitable, but each set of standards must be justified against an articulated mission, must establish procedures that assure their fair and reasoned application, and must be consistent with the policies and procedures outlined below. School-specific policies are to be developed in consultation with the school’s faculty and must be approved by the provost.
The Probationary Period for Tenure-Eligible Faculty:
The probationary period for tenure-eligible faculty members, often referred to as the “tenure clock,” is the cumulative amount of time spent under term appointments. The duration of the probationary period varies by school based on disciplinary norms and expectations. The length of the probationary period may be shorter than allowed in school policy if identified in the offer letter. Extensions to the probationary period are granted for reasons that include a parental event or disruption of a faculty member’s progress as described in the Procedures. Extensions to the probationary period do not change the expected qualifications for promotion or tenure. Schools must review tenure-eligible faculty members for tenure no later than the last year of their probationary period.Tenure-eligible faculty members are entitled to consideration for renewal, promotion, and/or tenure. However, there is no presumption of or entitlement to renewal, promotion, or tenure by virtue of being tenure-eligible. Rather, renewal, promotion, and tenure decisions are individually determined based on appropriate standards. Further, school or University needs and resources may be considered during the renewal, promotion, or tenure evaluation when there are significant and unforeseen changes in those needs or resources since the time of hire that are directly relevant to a faculty member’s responsibilities.
Tenure-eligible faculty members may hold successive term contracts until the end of their probationary period. They are entitled to consideration for contract renewal based on a dossier review by a faculty committee, often referred to as a “pre-tenure review.” Faculty members in the probationary period whose appointments are renewed after a pre-tenure review must receive written feedback on their progress toward tenure. The provost does not review renewal decisions prior to the tenure and/or promotion review.
Faculty members in the probationary period whose appointments are not renewed should receive notice of non-renewal 12 months in advance of the expiration of the appointment. If notice of non-renewal is received less than 12 months before the expiration of an appointment, the faculty member is entitled to 12 months of employment following the date of that notice.
School policy must define the date by which the official renewal, tenure, or promotion dossier must be submitted for consideration in each year’s review cycle. A faculty member who does not submit their dossier by this deadline for review in the final year of their probationary period will be denied tenure. If a faculty member withdraws their official dossier, tenure will be denied. Once a dossier has been submitted and is not subsequently withdrawn, it must be reviewed according to the Procedures below, including provostial review.
If tenure is granted, a faculty member is given an appointment without term. If a faculty member is denied tenure after exhausting the appeal and grievance processes referenced below, they may not reapply for tenure in the position they currently hold or for which they are currently being considered. If tenure is not granted, a faculty member is given a terminal year of employment in accordance with the 12-month notice provision.
Institutional Qualifications for Tenure:
Tenure-eligible faculty members can only be tenured once they have met the standards for tenure, regardless of their time in rank. The standards as described in this section apply whether or not tenure is accompanied by promotion.Institutional review will be conducted in the context of the following required criteria for tenure, as further detailed below:
- Investment and effectiveness in student education and development.
- Achievement in scholarship, research, and/or creative work.
- Service contributions to the University, profession, and/or the public.
Because of the significant disciplinary differences between schools, specific criteria for tenure vary by school. Schools may have additional criteria for candidates who have other documented responsibilities.
Schools must clarify key terms in their internal tenure and promotion policy and documents. (Examples include “education,” “development,” “scholarship,” “research,” “creative work,” “service,” and “student.”) Schools must also indicate as objectively and concretely as is practical how the various elements of the candidate’s record are considered in the promotion and tenure process.
Extraordinary achievement relative to one criterion will not compensate for underachievement in another. A criterion may consist of several parts; the evaluation for meeting the standard within a criterion is intended to be holistic. In addition, the evaluation will be holistic across criteria to determine if the overall standards for tenure have been met. School policy should describe the types of achievements expected in each criterion to receive tenure.
Work performed by a faculty member may overlap several criteria. The contribution of such work must be evaluated with respect to multiple criteria.
Candidates must create a dossier that includes, at a minimum, a curriculum vitae (CV), candidate statement(s), and samples of research, scholarship, and/or creative work. School policy may define additional dossier requirements. The dossier must set forth all accomplishments the candidate wishes to be considered as part of the tenure review.
The evaluation packet must include at least three arm’s-length evaluations from qualified external referees on the candidate’s qualifications as part of a recommendation for or against tenure or promotion. It must also include the evaluation reports from faculty committees as described in the Procedures.
Evidentiary requirements for tenure across each criterion are included below, with further information on supporting documentation in the Procedures.
Student Education and Development:
An award of tenure requires evidence of both the candidate’s sustained investment and effectiveness in the education and intellectual development of students. For this purpose, the term “students” may include other trainees as defined in school policy. Methods for evaluating effectiveness in the education of students for purposes of promotion and tenure should be specified in school policy.Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work:
Achievement in research, scholarship, and creative work is measured by the three dimensions of productivity, excellence, and potential to shape the field. An award of tenure requires a record of achievement sufficient to have led to at least the beginning of a national or international reputation in the candidate’s field. There must also be evidence of distinct and original intellectual contributions and strong indications of a commitment to research, scholarship, and/or creative work that will lead to continued contributions over time, as well as indications that growth in stature will continue. The evaluation of a candidate’s record must be informed by discipline-specific standards and should recognize the value of work that bridges multiple disciplines or creates or contributes to a new field of inquiry. Schools and departments should develop criteria for evaluating contributions to interdisciplinary and emerging fields.External evaluations of the candidate’s contributions to original research, scholarship, and/or creative work are a required component of the tenure evaluation packet. The dean and the faculty evaluation committees must exercise their own judgment in weighing the external evaluations and in determining whether the candidate’s productivity, excellence, and potential to shape their academic field is sufficient to justify a tenure recommendation.
- Service:
Service to the University, school, or department is an obligation of every academic tenure-line faculty member. Service to one’s professional discipline and, in some disciplines, to the community outside the academy is important and sometimes essential. The kind and amount of service expected of tenure-eligible faculty members during the probationary period will vary widely from school to school and even from department to department. Service expectations must be specified in each school’s promotion and tenure policy.
Institutional Qualifications for Promotion within Tenure:
Each school must have written standards concerning the criteria for promotion within tenure, including who initiates the promotion process. In general, the criteria for promotion within tenure are similar to those for the granting of tenure, except that the measures of achievement in scholarship, research, and/or creative work include: a) a substantial increase in the candidate’s national prominence (with international recognition desired if possible); b) evidence of the candidate’s continued productivity and excellence; and c) established contribution to shaping the field. Additional requirements for promotion within tenure may be described in school policy.All provisions outlined above for the award of tenure apply to promotion within tenure. However, if promotion is not granted within tenure, a candidate may reapply.
Joint Appointments:
Tenure-line faculty members may hold joint appointments that are either tenured or with term, which must be approved by the Board of Visitors.As of the date of this policy, new tenure-eligible faculty members hired into joint appointments across multiple schools must have a designated primary unit that will serve as their sole tenure home and a specified term appointment in the secondary unit. For the purposes of this policy, a unit is either an academic department or, for schools that do not have departments, the school itself. The tenure home is the only unit in which the faculty member will be initially eligible for tenure. Tenure-eligible or tenured faculty members may hold termed secondary appointments in another department, school, or program. Secondary appointments will have renewable terms of up to five years and must always be at the same rank as the primary tenure-line appointment. The rights, privileges, and responsibilities attached to these termed appointments are specified in the policies of the school of the secondary unit.
At any time after earning tenure in their primary unit, a faculty member may be considered for tenure in a secondary department or school (for schools without departments) at the invitation of the relevant dean(s) in consultation with the provost. This policy also applies to faculty members who are hired with tenure; in this case, the invitation to be considered for tenure in the secondary unit may be included in the faculty member’s offer letter. If the faculty member is granted tenure in the secondary unit, they are afforded all rights and responsibilities of a tenured faculty member in that unit. If the faculty member is not granted tenure in a secondary unit, they may continue to hold a termed appointment in the secondary unit.
Schools wishing to jointly appoint tenure-pending-review or tenure-eligible faculty members to multiple departments within their school must define in school policy details of how the joint appointments are managed.
Any exception to the terms of this Policy or Procedures must be requested from the provost in writing.
Extension of the Probationary Period
All extensions to the probationary period are relative to a faculty member’s appointment at the University as defined in school policy or in their signed offer letter, whichever timeline is shorter.A faculty member will be automatically granted one-year extensions to the probationary period upon notification of up to two “qualifying parental leave events,” as defined in HRM-038: Faculty Leaves, regardless of whether the faculty member takes parental leave. The faculty member may decline the extension and be considered for tenure according to the original probationary period timeline; to do so, the faculty member should inform the dean no later than one year before the formal dossier would originally be due.
Requests to extend the probationary period for other reasons (other than the occurrence of up to two “qualifying parental leave events”) must be approved by the provost. A faculty member must submit a request for such extension in writing to the dean. The dean will make a recommendation to the provost as to whether a faculty member’s request for an extension to the probationary period should be approved. The faculty member may appeal the dean’s recommendation to the provost in writing. A leave of absence from the University does not extend the probationary period without written request and approvals.
All requests for extensions, for parental events or other reasons, must be submitted at least six months before the date the formal dossier is due.
Aside from parental leave events, extensions are granted only in cases where circumstances outside the faculty member’s control, or special service assignments that benefit the institution, result in the faculty member losing six months or more of cumulative productivity. Examples include but are not limited to: (1) engagement in exceptional public service; (2) a serious personal or family health event; (3) extremely unusual barriers to progress in research outside the candidate’s control, such as losing access to laboratory space; and (4) a significant temporary reassignment of duties. A change in the focus of a faculty member’s research or scholarship is ordinarily not a sufficient reason for a clock extension.
More than two one-year extensions to the probationary period are rare and granted only in exceptional circumstances.
- Evaluation Materials
Dossiers will include a candidate statement(s) on their research, teaching, and service (and achievements relevant to other school-level criteria) as described in school policy. Evaluation packets should include additional materials as described below.- Student Education and Development
Candidates must demonstrate their effectiveness and investment in student education and development through a reflective statement and supporting evidence. Examples of evidence include, but are not limited to: course syllabi, assignments or activity descriptions, lesson plans or notes, peer observations, letters from former students, evidence of student success, evidence of student mentoring, and teaching awards; all institutionally-administered Student Experience of Teaching (SET) reports or other school-sanctioned student experience survey from the evaluation period (typically since the last promotion) must be submitted, when available. - Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work
Candidates must demonstrate their achievement in scholarship, research, and/or creative work through a reflective statement and supporting evidence. Examples of evidence of a national or international reputation may include invited talks, citations, awards, relevant remarks by external evaluators, and invitations to participate in distinguished professional service. Examples of evidence of excellence may include distinguished awards, the securing of external funding from competitive sources, and publications or creative works in highly selective venues. For those engaged in community-based work, examples of excellence may also include collaborative research and creative practices with community partners that address social, environmental, or public challenges. The candidate’s body of work as described in their dossier must demonstrate their potential to shape their academic field. Additionally, the potential of a candidate’s body of work to shape the field may be demonstrated with respect to the public at large, specific communities they engage, industry, or in another manner that is consistent with the values of the discipline. Evidence of the candidate’s distinct intellectual contributions is required; in particular, the candidate must clearly delineate their distinct contributions to collaborative efforts. - Service
Candidates must demonstrate their service contributions to the University, school and/or department, their profession, and/or the public through a reflective statement. The importance of their service contribution and any leadership role should be described. In alignment with the University’s mission statement, candidates are invited to demonstrate the ways they direct their service efforts toward the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and/or the world. - External Evaluations
Arm’s-length external letters are sought to evaluate objectively the candidate’s work in terms of productivity, excellence, and shaping the field. Other letters may also be included when they provide context about a candidate’s contributions to collaborative efforts or other information particularly known to the writer. A short biographical sketch of each referee, together with a statement of their professional relationship to the candidate (if any) must be provided. Whether the candidate, the review committee, or the administration recommended, the referee must be identified. A copy of the request for an evaluation must be included, as well as a list of all referees contacted. If a request for evaluation is denied, the reason for the denial must be provided, if available. All evaluations received must be included in the evaluation packet.
- Student Education and Development
Review Process
The promotion and tenure process requires three levels of committee review. The first review is typically conducted in the candidate’s department or by an appointed committee including disciplinary experts. The second review is conducted by a school-level committee. Supplemental details for this process are provided by the school’s policy or procedures on promotion and tenure and vary depending on how the school is governed and structured. The last review is conducted by the provost’s promotion and tenure committee.At all levels of the review process, evaluation committees must consist of at least three faculty members. For the school-level review, a majority of the committee members must be from within the candidate’s school. Faculty members with school-level administrative appointments (e.g., associate dean, department chair) cannot serve as committee members without prior approval from the provost. School policies may include additional composition requirements for evaluation committees beyond those included in this policy.
Voting committee members must be at or above the rank the candidate is seeking. Faculty members may not vote for or against a candidate’s promotion or tenure at both the school and University level and must avoid or mitigate other real or apparent conflicts as described in PROV-007: Faculty Conflicts of Interest or school-level policy. At each stage in the process, the number of faculty members voting yes, no, abstaining, absent, or recused due to conflict of interest must be counted and documented.
- First Review
The first review must result in a written analysis of the candidate’s achievements according to the criteria required for promotion and/or tenure. Schools may have other requirements for the first review (formal nomination letter, tenure and/or promotion recommendation, faculty vote, etc.) as described in the school’s promotion and tenure policy. Second Review: School Level
The second review, by a school-level committee, results in a report and recommendation to the dean as to whether to support the tenure and/or promotion. It must be supported by adequate investigation, review, and written documentation.Schools may allow the committee to consult with the department chair, first review committee chair, or candidate (including sharing drafts of the report) to ensure correctness and completeness of the analysis prior to the official vote. Each school’s policies should specify whether such consultations are permitted and, if so, describe any relevant procedures or constraints.
By the first week in February, the dean will report to the provost in writing on promotion and tenure recommendations arising out of their school for which action is to be taken for that year’s review cycle. Decanal reviews are to reflect the dean’s own judgments on the substance and the recommended outcome for each candidate and therefore must include the dean’s affirmative or negative recommendation. All recommendations by the deans for promotion or tenure must be supported by adequate investigation, review, and written documentation.
Deans must notify candidates of their recommendation no later than February 1.
All candidates not recommended for tenure or promotion by the dean should receive a written evaluation that summarizes the salient conclusions and judgments from the dean’s analysis, redacted to remove information that would reveal the source of evaluations and individual opinions. Deans should provide the provost’s office with a copy of the communication to the candidate, including the date of such communication.
Candidates may submit a written appeal to the provost within 30 days of being notified of the dean’s negative recommendation, with a copy to the dean. Appeals should be accompanied by adequate documentation and a statement of reasons as to why the recommendation is believed to be inappropriate. The dean may provide the provost with a written response to the appeal if they wish to do so; such responses should be provided within 15 days of the appeal.
Third Review: Provost Level
The provost maintains a provost’s promotion and tenure committee which is chaired by a vice provost, who must be a tenured professor. This committee reviews the evaluation packet of all promotion or tenure candidates, including appeals, and provides information and advice about the cases to the provost.The provost’s promotion and tenure committee will request from the dean any additional information required for a particular case. Each dean will be asked to discuss any cases from their school where the provost, in consultation with the provost’s promotion and tenure committee, has concerns or questions regarding the substantive recommendation, the process used to reach it, or the quality and thoroughness of the written data provided in support of the recommendation.
As soon as practical after committee review, the provost will report to the dean and the candidates the results of the promotion and tenure reviews at the provost’s level and will forward positive recommendations to the president and, with their approval, to the Board of Visitors for action at their June meeting.
A recommendation for tenure or promotion of a faculty member who is the subject of a disciplinary investigation will not be forwarded to the Board of Visitors until after the investigation has concluded.
A negative decision on tenure or promotion by the provost may be grieved to the Faculty Senate Grievance Committee according to their procedures.
Procedures for Faculty Members with Joint Appointments
For all joint appointments, salary-sharing expectations, effort allocations, tenure and promotion procedures, and other key details of the joint appointment must be documented in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the deans and department chairs (if relevant) of both academic units. When evaluating a candidate’s productivity and contributions, careful consideration must be given to the amount and nature of the effort that the candidate has devoted to each unit, taking into account the effort allocations specified in the MOU or appointment letter.For a joint appointment with term, the MOU must define how the faculty member’s work in the secondary unit will be considered by the primary unit in promotion and tenure decisions, and this information must be shared in writing with the faculty member. When a faculty member is considered for promotion in the primary unit (with or without a concurrent tenure review), the secondary unit must conduct a promotion review (without tenure) in the same academic year or earlier; the promotion is effective in all units once the faculty member’s promotion in their primary unit is approved. If a faculty member earns a promotion in rank in the primary unit and the secondary unit does not approve that promotion in rank, the secondary appointment must be terminated by the time the promotion in the primary unit takes effect.
If a secondary unit chooses not to renew a termed joint appointment, the tenure home becomes responsible for that portion of the faculty member’s salary unless otherwise provided for in the MOU. In such cases, the leadership of the secondary unit should provide notice of non-renewal to the faculty member and to the chair and dean of their tenure home at least 12 months before the end of the secondary appointment term. The secondary unit is responsible for their portion of the salary for the entirety of the faculty member’s secondary appointment term and for at least 12 months from when notice of non-renewal is given.
A tenured faculty member must be considered for subsequent promotions simultaneously in all units where they hold tenure. If approved, the promotion applies to all units; faculty members may only hold one rank across all appointments at the institution.
Expedited Review
Whenever possible, all faculty promotion and tenure reviews – including reviews of new faculty hires – should proceed as described above. An expedited review may take place when a candidate is recruited for hire with the promise of an expeditious tenure review; when a retention counter-offer with promotion must be made quickly; when accelerating the promotion process may benefit the institution (e.g., when a faculty member may serve more effectively in their administrative position); or for other reasons as approved by the provost. Expedited reviews allow for a compressed time period; they are not intended to bypass normal review processes.Expedited promotion and/or tenure review requires:
- A first level review as defined in section 3.a by either a faculty review or hiring committee.
- A school-level faculty committee review recommending tenure and/or promotion to the dean.
- A recommendation from the dean to the provost.*
- Review by one or more members of the provost’s promotion and tenure committee.*
* The selection of rank for a new hire is left to the discretion of the school and does not require provost review.
In expedited review, the chair and dean may appoint a subcommittee consisting of no fewer than three faculty members who are members of the department or school promotion and tenure committee or who constitute an expedited promotion and tenure committee. Once the provost receives the dean’s recommendation, the provost reviews the nomination and decides as quickly as possible.
Materials submitted in an evaluation packet for expedited review should be similar to those included in evaluation packets submitted for review during the normal cycle, including a complete, detailed curriculum vitae and a minimum of three arm’s-length letters. Letters of recommendation provided in the application dossier can be used for this purpose so long as they are arm’s-length. A candidate’s cover letter or research plans may substitute for the usual reflective statement in the dossier. The dossier must provide evidence of teaching effectiveness; where available, this should include student evaluations. Other examples of such evidence are listed in section 2.a.
- First Review
Change in Faculty Appointment Type, Department, or School
Faculty members who wish to change to another unit or faculty appointment type (according to PROV-029: Faculty Appointment Types and Titles) may apply to an open search for such a position at any time. The application will not affect their current appointment or faculty status unless they are offered and accept a new appointment.Tenure is awarded at the department or school level (for schools without departments), not at the University level. If a tenured faculty member accepts a new faculty position at the University that is not to be a joint appointment, they must formally relinquish their tenured appointment in writing. If the new position is tenured, they must undergo a tenure review in the new area.
In rare circumstances, when the dean determines that a faculty member would likely be among the best available candidates if an open search were conducted in that faculty member’s area of expertise, the dean may request that the provost waive the search as described in the Procedure for Requesting an Exception. A request for a transfer to another unit or track not resulting from an open search must be requested by the faculty member in writing and supported by the department chair(s) and dean(s).
The appointment of the faculty member to a different unit or track must be handled in accordance with PROV-006: Extending Offers of Employment to Faculty in Academic Areas.
Sunset Provision
Tenure-eligible faculty members hired before the date of this policy may choose the promotion and tenure provisions of either the previous PROV-017: Promotion and Tenure (renamed “PROV-017: Promotion and Tenure-superseded”) or this policy for their first promotion review (with or without tenure); any subsequent promotions will follow this policy.
Tenured faculty members hired before the date of this policy may also choose between the two policies for their next promotion through the 2029-2030 promotion and tenure review cycle; any promotions after this date will follow this policy.
Other terms and conditions of employment in offer letters or MOUs for faculty hired before the date of this policy supersede the provisions in this policy.
Faculty members hired after the date of this policy may choose the promotion and tenure provisions of PROV-017: Promotion and Tenure-superseded until the school-level policies have been revised to conform with the expectations set forth in this policy; those revisions must be completed within 12 months of the date of this policy. After that, they must follow the promotion and tenure provisions of this policy.
For policy elements or procedures not addressed in PROV-017: Promotion and Tenure-superseded, the policies and procedures set forth herein will be followed.
All other provisions of this policy take immediate effect.
Revised 2/11/25; Updated 10/6/14.
PROV-017: Promotion and Tenure