Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion Consideration for Tenure-Track Faculty

Consideration for reappointment, tenure and promotion is based on the process of peer review and evaluation.  This review is a requirement of the University.  The review is initiated by the Dean, with formation of the ad hoc Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion (RTP) Committee.  As directed by University Policies, the ad hoc RTP Committee is the same for reappointment, tenure and promotion and is composed of 1) all tenured members of the College Advisory Committee; 2) all tenured Faculty at the rank of Professor who are not members of the CAC; and 3) if a program or academic discipline within the College is not represented on the ad hoc RTP Committee, then a Professor from the same discipline at a similar institution shall be appointed by the Dean to serve on the Committee as a voting member.

The policies and procedures for reappointment are included in the University policy and procedures regarding faculty reappointment (See, University Policy Register 3342-6-16).  Each academic year, reappointment guidelines for Kent and Regional Campus Faculty are distributed by the Office of the Provost.  Probationary Faculty members are reviewed annually by the College’s ad hoc RTP Committee.

The Dean, in consultation with the CAC, assigns two (2) Faculty members to visit the classes of each probationary Faculty member, interview students in the classes, and generally evaluates the Faculty member’s teaching performance.   A written report of the evaluation is submitted to the Dean for placement in the Faculty member’s reappointment file.  Probationary Faculty members will also create an updated file that is presented to the Dean who will make these materials available to the ad hoc RTP Committee.  Each probationary Faculty member is discussed by the committee which then votes on the Faculty member’s reappointment.

The Dean informs probationary Faculty members of the ad hoc RTP Committee's recommendation and provides a copy of her/his recommendation.  Probationary Faculty members who are not to be reappointed must be notified according to the schedule established in the CBA.  For Faculty members whose appointment is in the Regional Campuses, recommendations on reappointment are made by the Dean, and the appropriate Regional Campus Dean.

For probationary Faculty, reappointment is contingent upon demonstration of adequate progress toward the requirements for tenure.  While each year of the Probationary period is important, by the third year review, the probationary faculty member must demonstrate progress towards tenure which suggests likely success.  If not, that individual should not be reappointed.  Moreover, the Faculty member must have established and articulated short- and long-term plans for achieving these goals.

A successful candidate presents documented evidence of progress appropriate to the time spent in a tenure–track appointment.  This progress shall be demonstrated through peer review of the candidate’s scholarship.

Specific concerns expressed by the ad hoc RTP Committee and/or the Dean during the probationary period should be addressed by the candidate in subsequent reappointment reviews.  Finally, the overall evaluation of a candidate for reappointment must include consideration of the Faculty member's personal integrity and professional behavior as recognized by the University community.  A sound ethical approach to all aspects of teaching, scholarly research and creative activity, and service is expected of all who seek reappointment in the College.

Concerns about a candidate’s performance as articulated during the reappointment process shall be addressed, the ad hoc RTP Committee and the Dean.  If concerns arise during a reappointment review, the Dean, in consultation with the CAC, will advise and direct the candidate on a plan for realignment with the College’s tenure and promotion expectations; however, the candidate is solely responsible for her/his success in implementing this plan.

Personal circumstances may require an untenured Faculty member to request that her/his probationary period be extended.  Upon request, a Faculty member may be granted an extension of the probationary period which has been traditionally called “tolling” or “stopping the tenure clock.”  The University policy and procedures governing modification of the faculty probationary period is included in the University Policy Register (See, University Policy Register 3342-6-13).

The procedures relating to tenure and promotion are described in the University Policy Register, sections 3342-6-14 and 3342-6-15.  Faculty members must be familiar with these documents.  Each year, usually in August, the Office of the Provost issues specific guidelines for the preparation and review of tenure and promotion files.

For the award of tenure and promotion to Associate Professor and Professor, the College requires external evaluation of the candidate’s scholarship and/or creative activity by nationally recognized scholars (e.g., tenured professors of equal or higher rank at other accredited universities) who may speak to the candidate’s record and the quality of their scholarship.  All such reviews will require at least three (3) and preferably five (5) letters from external evaluators.  When the candidate is being reviewed for tenure and promotion simultaneously, the same letters may serve for both reviews.  External reviewers cannot be current or former colleagues or collaborators of the candidate, but should be in a position to give an unbiased and independent review of the candidate’s work.  The candidate, in consultation with the Dean, will prepare complete submittal packages for each reviewer.

The awarding of tenure is the most important decision made by the Faculty.   This decision determines the future direction and vitality of the University, College, and its degree programs.  The ad hoc RTP Committee has the critical responsibility of evaluating the quality and consistency of the scholarship, teaching, and service of each probationary Faculty member.  In addition, the ad hoc RTP Committee must evaluate the positive contribution the candidate makes to the College and its scholarly mission.  The committee advises the Dean of each candidate’s merits for tenure.

The quality of teaching is very important in evaluating a Faculty member for tenure.  No candidate should expect to be recommended for tenure without evidence of continued excellence in teaching.  Consistently below average teaching (SSI averages) may be a basis for denying tenure.

The quality of course content, organization of information, evaluation of the candidate’s teaching by RTP, interest level of the students, student successes, and student evaluations help measure the quality of a Faculty member’s teaching.  A candidate shall not be recommended for tenure if he/she has not complied with the University’s Faculty Code of Professional Ethics as appears in the University Policy Register.

University and professional citizenship are also mandatory for achieving tenure.  Faculty members are expected to serve on Program, College and University committees as part of their normal and ordinary responsibilities.  The College also values the Faculty members’ distinguished service to their professional and/or scholarly organizations.

All Faculty of the College are expected to seek excellence in scholarly activity and submit such activity for peer review.  Indicators on which the assessment of the quality of scholarly activity is based are provided in Table 1.

Indicators of the quality of a Faculty member’s research and creative activity include the quality and quantity of presentations, exhibitions, installations and published work as well as the Faculty member’s success in obtaining extramural funds.  All Faculty members in the College are expected to produce and sustain a record of scholarly activity.

To achieve “excellent” in the category of scholarship at the time a Faculty member stands for tenure and promotion, the candidate should meet the expectations as outlined in Table 1.

Within this context, during each annual reappointment review, each Faculty member who seeks tenure or promotion is obligated to provide evidence supporting his/her scholarly record.  This obligation will be met by providing specific information about the significance and impact of presentations, exhibitions and installations, scholarly publications, and other scholarly activities.  In addition, the candidate shall provide evidence of the peer review of the scholarly activities including, but not limited to, exhibition reviews, design reviews, awards, or peer review board membership and policies by the scholarly press, journal, or conference.  Creative work that is published or included in books, design journals, magazines and newspapers, shall be considered significant in the tenure review process.

A Faculty member’s success as a teacher will be evaluated as outlined in Table 2.  Quality of classroom teaching is established through written comments from students, colleagues within and beyond the Program, College or University.  Peer reviews of teaching and summaries of Student Surveys of Instruction (including all student comments) must be submitted as part of a candidate’s file for reappointment, tenure and promotion.

Candidates shall submit syllabi of new and revised courses. Copies of representative syllabi, examinations, and other relevant teaching material should also be available for review.  Documentation related to undergraduate student and graduate student outcomes should be included in materials provided by a candidate for reappointment, tenure and promotion.

A Faculty member's contributions as a University citizen include service to the Program, College, and the University as outlined in Table 3.  The merits of University service should be evaluated as to (1) whether or not the candidate chaired the committee listed; and (2) the importance of the service to the mission of the unit served.  Less tangible components of citizenship include active participation in department events such as faculty and graduate student recruitment, seminars, department meetings and seminars, etc.

Being an active and useful citizen of the Program, College and University is expected and valued; however, service of any magnitude cannot be considered more important than a candidate's research and other scholarly activity and instructional responsibilities.  Expectations in service for promotion to Professor should meet high citizenship expectation for promotion to Associate Professor.

Other components of service are also considered including, but not limited to, public outreach and public and professional service in reappointment, tenure and promotion decisions and may differ in their importance among Faculty members depending on each Faculty member’s duties and responsibilities within the College.