Typical Tenure Process Timeline

First Year:

  • Attend New Faculty Welcome and Tenure Workshop
  • Appointment of mentor or mentoring committee
  • Appointment of oversight/review committee
  • Select faculty division
  • Peer review of teaching (including direct observation of classroom, clinical, or other teaching)
  • Start documenting and collecting material for tenure review (research, teaching, extension, outreach, service)
  • Make appointment with Michaela Aust, divisional committees coordinator to view sample dossiers

Second Year:

  • Peer review of teaching (including direct observation of classroom, clinical, or other teaching)
  • First annual review
  • Contract renewal (length varies by school/college)
  • Update information for dossier annually

Third and Fourth Year:

  • Peer review of teaching (including direct observation of classroom, clinical, or other teaching)
  • Annual review
  • Contract renewal (as appropriate)

Fifth Year:

  • Peer review of teaching (including direct observation of classroom, clinical, or other teaching)
  • Departmental executive committee decides to bring up candidate for promotion (2nd semester)
  • Tenure review committee requests external referee letters (2nd semester)
  • Contract renewal (as appropriate)

Sixth Year, First Semester:

  • Receipt of external letters
  • Departmental executive committee reviews, meets, and votes
  • Department finalizes dossier, chair writes cover letter
  • Department submits dossier to dean for approval (deadlines vary by school/college)
  • Dean approves transmittal to divisional committee (submission deadlines are posted: Arts & Humanities, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences)