Below you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions, explanations of common terminology and key aspects of the tenure process at UW-Madison.
Process
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Annual evaluation (oversight)
The departmental executive committee is required to establish procedures for annual evaluation (oversight) of assistant professors. Procedures for annual evaluation are contained in the department’s tenure guidelines and must be given to each assistant professor at the time of hire.
The departmental evaluation or oversight committee tracks and evaluates an assistant professor’s progress towards tenure. It consists of members of the department’s executive committee and may overlap with the mentoring committee. The committee prepares written annual evaluations that are approved by the executive committee and used during contract renewal and tenure review processes. The assistant professor will be provided with a copy of each written annual evaluation and may provide a written response (Faculty Policies & Procedures 7.05.D.).
Annual reviews of an assistant professor who has received a tenure clock extension are based on the individual’s progress toward a tenurable record given the time remaining on the adjusted tenure clock (Faculty Policies & Procedures 7.05.D.). Most, but not all, tenure clock extensions also extend the contract renewal date by the same amount of time.
Arms length letters
Arm’s length letters are evaluation letters assessing a candidate’s progress toward tenure and are part of the tenure dossier. These evaluations must come from individuals who have no personal or professional stake in the candidate’s success and tenure outcome. The responsibility for selecting these letter writers lies with the department—typically through its executive committee, the candidate’s internal review committee, or the department chair—not the candidate. For detailed guidance on selecting appropriate arm’s length reviewers, please consult the relevant divisional and department tenure guidelines.
Contract renewal
Newly hired assistant professors receive an initial 3-year contract. Typically, during the second year, the departmental executive committee will evaluate progress towards tenure at the annual review and vote on contract renewal. This process will be repeated for subsequent contract renewals before departmental tenure review. Several months before the contract renewal meeting, the department chair will let the assistant professor know what materials to provide. Additional details about the process are provided in Faculty Policies & Procedures 7.07.
Should the department executive committee vote to renew and the dean concur, the contract will be renewed for one to three additional years (this differs by school/college).
If there is a negative vote to renew the contact and the dean concurs, an assistant professor will be notified in writing. An assistant professor may request written reasons for non-renewal and reconsideration. Following a negative reconsideration, an assistant professor can appeal to the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities (CFRR) on procedural grounds (see the panel below on appeals). The assistant professor receives a non-renewal letter with a 12-month notice period.
Dossier
This is a record of an assistant professor’s work completed during the probationary period, generally organized in sections for research, teaching and service. Assistant professors should collect published work, drafts of papers and presentations, proposals for new projects, requests for peer reviews from funding agencies and journals; syllabi, assignments, teaching resources, and teaching evaluations, both formal and informal; letters and emails assigning the professor to committees both at UW–Madison and with professional organizations, white papers or memos that show the result of the work done in shared governance, evidence of honors or awards, etc. Gathering this material regularly will reduce the burden to assemble the dossier when it’s time for the tenure review.
What are the criteria for tenure and promotion at UW–Madison?
Campus tenure criteria are established by each of the four divisional committees. In addition, each department has its own more detailed criteria, which should be given to each assistant professor at the time of hire or within the new faculty member’s first few weeks.
How do I know if I will be put up for tenure by my department?
Faculty Policies & Procedures requires that every assistant professor be reviewed annually by an oversight committee and the department’s executive committee and provided with a written review. As a result, assistant professors should understand the extent to which they are making good progress toward tenure.
Statistically, what are my chances of getting tenure?
UW–Madison awards tenure to about three-fourths of all probationary faculty hired, based on a study conducted by Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research in the spring of 2018. (The study examined tenure and attrition of assistant professors hired between 2001 and 2011). Of all faculty whose cases were sent by their departmental executive committees to their respective divisional committees, 98 percent received tenure.
Are there differences in tenure rates by divisional committee, race, ethnicity, or gender?
A study conducted by Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research in the spring of 2018 found that of all cases sent by the departmental executive committees to the divisional committees, there were virtually no differences in tenure rates by gender, race/ethnicity, or divisional committee. About 98 percent of all cases sent to the divisional committee were approved, regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, or divisional committee, were approved for tenure.
Among all tenure-track faculty, women and men currently receive tenure at similar rates: about 73 percent of women and 76 percent of men hired between 2001 and 2011 earned tenure. Faculty of color and white faculty also earn tenure at similar rates (72 percent and 75 percent, respectively). These percentages include faculty who left UW-Madison prior to going up for tenure.
There are some differences in overall tenure rates among the divisions. About 80 percent of faculty who begin tenure-track appointments at UW-Madison earn tenure in Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Arts and Humanities divisions, compared to 64 percent of faculty in the Social Sciences division. A larger percentage of faculty in Social Sciences (33 percent) leave UW-Madison prior to divisional committee review than is the case in other divisions (18-19 percent).
Can I review sample dossiers?
Contact divisional@secfac.wisc.edu to obtain viewing access to confidential sample dossiers.
Timing
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Leaves of absence
Assistant professors may take leaves of absences, which is a temporary separation of a faculty member from the university. A leave of absence will be approved if the activity undertaken by the faculty member during the leave will substantially interrupt the ability of the candidate to make progress towards tenure. Assistant professors considering a leave of absence should talk with their mentoring committee. Leave of absence requests for assistant professors require approval of the departmental executive committee, dean, University Committee, and provost. A request for a tenure clock extension must accompany a request.
Probationary period
The maximum probationary period is defined in Faculty Policies and Procedures 7.04 as the maximum amount of time a faculty member can be appointed in probationary ranks in the university. This period shall be specified for each individual at the time of their initial appointment.
Temporary assignment
Assistant professors may take a temporary assignment to another activity, which includes a temporary separation of the faculty member from the university. Unlike a leave of absence, a temporary assignment does not interrupt the probationary period. Assistant professors considering a temporary assignment should talk with their mentoring committee. A temporary assignment requires approval of the departmental executive committee, dean, University Committee and provost.
Tenure clock
The tenure clock (probationary period) is set at the time of hire and runs for a maximum of seven years, with the tenure decision in the sixth year. Experienced faculty may be hired with credit for up to four “tenure clock” years. The probationary period may be extended for a number of reasons, including childbirth or adoption, significant elder or dependent care obligations, medical circumstances, or other extenuating circumstances beyond your control that adversely affect progress toward tenure.
Tenure clock extensions
Under Faculty Policies and Procedures, probationary faculty may request extensions of the tenure clock in certain circumstances that significantly impede progress toward tenure. These include the birth or adoption of a child, substantial elder or dependent care responsibilities, or other uncontrollable events—such as medical issues—that affect the faculty member’s ability to meet tenure expectations.
For more information, see appointment changes.
Shortened tenure clock
When a new faculty hire has prior service as a faculty member or equivalent at another institution, the department and dean can determine how much of that previous service, if any, is to be counted toward the maximum UW–Madison tenure clock (see Faculty Policies and Procedures 7.04.B for specific details). As with any probationary period, it is imperative that the exact determination of the maximum probationary period be finalized and discussed with a candidate before an offer is made. Letters of offer should state the candidate’s probationary period.
If I need a tenure clock extension, will this be viewed negatively by my department or the divisional committee?
No. Requests for tenure-clock extensions are routinely granted for both childbirth/adoption as well as other reasons. A recent study by the office of Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research found that about 40 percent of faculty, regardless of gender, received tenure clock extensions in recent years. Reasons for tenure clock extensions are confidential and not included in the dossier.
Committees
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Divisional committee
Divisional committees of the four faculty divisions – Arts & Humanities, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences – are responsible for reviewing departmental executive committee recommendations for promotion and tenure, and making their own recommendations to deans of schools/colleges. The divisional committee recommendation will be based on the tenure criteria of the division as well as the tenure department.
Divisional committee members are elected faculty members who represent the variety of disciplines within a division. Divisional committees meet monthly.
Divisional committee chairs can provide assistance to department chairs who want advice on how to prepare tenure cases, and the Office of the Secretary of the Faculty – which coordinates the work of the divisional committees – makes sample dossiers available to assistant professors, faculty mentors, department administrators, and department chairs (contact divisional@secfac.wisc.edu to obtain viewing access to confidential sample dossiers).
The divisional committee will discuss each assistant professor’s tenure case (dossier and supporting materials) and then transmit its vote to the dean, who conveys their recommendation to the provost. Generally, a positive recommendation by the dean is approved by the provost, and the UW System Board of Regents.
Departmental executive committee
Every department has an executive committee, which consists of all the tenured members of the faculty. They make decisions regarding budgetary and personnel matters, including annual reviews and tenure decisions. The departmental executive committee is required to establish procedures for guidance, annual evaluations, and tenure evaluations. A copy of the procedures must be given to each assistant professor at the time of hire.
Mentor or mentoring committee
Assistant professors should be assigned a mentor or mentoring committee, ideally during their first semester on campus, which usually consists of members of the department’s executive committee, though it may also have a faculty member outside the department. Committees are assigned by the department chair in consultation with the assistant professor. They will provide advice on the faculty member’s teaching, research, and outreach/service activities including achieving a tenurable record and navigating the university. Assistant professors may request a change in committee members.
Review committee (Oversight)
Every assistant professor is assigned an annual review committee at the beginning of their first year. These individuals are assigned by the department chair to bring the year’s work — across teaching, research or creative activity, and service – before the executive committee for review. The executive committee must approve the written annual evaluation and provide that written evaluation to the assistant professor. In some departments, the review committee also serves as the mentoring committee.