GUIDELINES ON PROMOTION AND TENURE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON November 11, 2005 [proposed revisions 3/9/2011] Approved April 13, 2011 PURPOSE The purpose of these guidelines is threefold. 1. Establish criteria and procedures for promotion and tenure (P&T) recommendations in the College of Engineering (COE). 2. Serve as a basis for the Dean and the COE P&T Committee (PTC) to evaluate the performance of faculty members relative to P&T recommendations. 3. Provide guidance for faculty members concerning their career development. These Guidelines supplement policies and procedures of The University of Texas at Arlington and The University of Texas System. University and System-level policies have precedence should a conflict arise. INTRODUCTION All assistant professors on the tenure track must be considered for tenure upon completion of a five-year probationary period. In other words, the faculty member must be evaluated for tenure during the sixth year on the tenure clock. A faculty member may not remain in a tenure track position beyond the seventh year. Associate professors and professors appointed without tenure must be considered for tenure during their third year on the tenure clock. Applications may be made earlier. The tenure clock starts on September 1 for those faculty members whose initial tenure track start date was September 1. For faculty members with any other start date, the tenure clock begins on the following September 1. Please refer to the UTA Handbook of Operating Procedures, Subchapter 6-300, for more details. An assistant professor must be promoted to associate professor at the time he/she is granted tenure. An associate professor (with tenure) may apply for promotion to full professor during the year of his or her choosing. There is no minimum or maximum time period during which a faculty member must remain at the rank of associate professor, although the faculty member can typically expect to spend at least five years as an associate professor. Specific deadlines for the submission of promotion packets during the year a faculty member is applying for promotion are established by the Provost and the Dean of Engineering. Typically, the candidate s promotion package will be reviewed by the P&T Committee of the appropriate department during the month of October. It is then
2 forwarded to the Department Chair, who appends a letter of recommendation to the promotion package, and forwards it to the College of Engineering P&T Committee. After review by the College of Engineering P&T Committee (typically in November), the Dean of Engineering reviews the promotion packet, appends a letter of recommendation, and forwards the packet to the Provost (typically in December). The promotion packet is reviewed by a university-level committee and the Provost, and is then forwarded to the President for the final decision. The candidate is typically notified in February or March of the promotion and/or tenure decision. A faculty member may not apply for tenure and/or promotion in two consecutive years except for those in the final year of their probationary period. Please see Appendix A for a timeline of the promotion and tenure process. PROMOTION AND TENURE COMMITTEE The COE P&T Committee (PTC) consists of one tenured full professor from each academic unit within the College. Unit representatives are elected by the faculty of the unit. Should there be no tenured full professor in a unit, a tenured associate professor may be elected as the representative. Units with no tenured faculty members will elect a tenured full professor from another unit as their representative. Deans, associate deans, and department chairs or program directors are not eligible to serve on the committee. The duties of the PTC are as follows: 1. Make recommendations regarding the annual renewal of untenured, tenuretrack faculty members. 2. Make recommendations regarding the promotion and/or tenure of faculty members who are being considered for promotion and/or tenure. When voting, each member of the committee may vote for or against promotion and/or tenure, or abstain. The results of this vote will be recorded and become a part of the promotion or renewal package. All voting will be done by secret ballot. Committee members who may have a conflict of interest with the candidate may not participate in the discussion, nor cast a ballot. PROMOTION AND TENURE CRITERIA The faculty is the foundation of the academy, and the granting of tenure and/or promotion to a faculty member is recognition that the faculty member has reached a significant milestone in his or her professional development. Therefore, the earning of tenure and/or promotion is among the most meaningful steps in a faculty member s career.
Faculty members, over their careers, should make contributions in the areas of teaching, scholarly research, and service. Teaching includes effective performance in the classroom; development of courses, laboratories, and curricula; and the supervision of student research projects. Scholarly research includes conducting and/or directing projects that produce advances in a field of study closely aligned with engineering, publication of these results in recognized high quality scholarly journals and conference proceedings, and the acquisition of external funds to support the projects. Service includes departmental, college, and university activities, and professional society involvement. All faculty members are expected to excel in the research and teaching areas. Most recent unsuccessful tenure or promotion decisions have been due to lack of satisfactory performance in the scholarship and research areas. Therefore, tenure and/or promotion candidates are strongly advised to pay particular attention to the scholarship and research criteria. While a nominal level of service involvement for junior faculty is expected, senior faculty members have an obligation to make significant contributions in the service area. Therefore, a faculty member would usually find his/her service load increasing as he/she passes each tenure and promotion milestone. Promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor The criteria given below are intended to provide the candidate for promotion ( the candidate ), the PTC, and the Dean a focus on specific issues that describe the qualifications for the rank of Associate Professor. A recommendation for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure may be made during any year of the candidate s appointment. However, it is unusual for such a recommendation to be made before the fifth year and must be made no later than the sixth year. Candidates are expected to meet the criteria for tenure and promotion to a degree satisfactory to the PTC and the Dean. Teaching Instruction The candidate is expected to show a strong commitment to teaching and to exhibit a good teaching record. He/she is expected to be actively involved in the support of both undergraduate (if applicable) and graduate education. Examples of evidence of a commitment to teaching include but are not limited to good teaching evaluations; development of new laboratories, courses, or curricula; and research and publications on engineering education topics. Supervision of Students The candidate is expected to demonstrate an involvement with students by supervision of theses and dissertations, chairing and serving on master s and Ph.D. committees, and supervision of undergraduate student projects. The candidate is expected to have supervised master s theses and Ph.D. dissertations to completion prior to promotion. 3
4 Scholarship and Research Scholarly publications The candidate is expected to have published significant papers, both in quality and quantity, during his/her probationary period as Assistant Professor and have a consistent record of publication and commitment to scholarship. Examples of desirable publications include but are not limited to publication of full-length papers in reputable, top-tier, refereed journals. Research funding The candidate is expected to have demonstrated both an ability and a commitment to secure extramural funding to support his/her research. It is important that the candidate demonstrate, satisfactorily, the ability to secure external funding as a lead principal investigator. Quality scholarship in executing grants and contracts The candidate is expected to have demonstrated quality scholarship in executing contracts and grants as reflected by the quality and quantity of publications resulting from these grants and contracts, and as reflected by direct support of graduate student theses and dissertations. National recognition The candidate is expected to have achieved or have shown promise for achieving national recognition in his/her area of expertise. Recognition by peers, citation of candidate s papers by peers, service on editorial boards of major journals, and service on the program committee of major conferences are typically used in measuring the satisfaction of this criterion. Service Professional Service The candidate is expected to hold membership in relevant professional societies and have a demonstrated record of participation in activities of one or more societies, particularly in serving on major conference organizing and technical committees. The candidate is encouraged to obtain professional licensure. University Service The candidate is expected to have a demonstrated record of service in the Department, College, and/or University. Examples of such service include but are not limited to service on committees, attending and participating in Departmental meetings, and initiation of actions in the Department (e.g., formation of ad hoc discussion groups, student advising, and maintenance of resources such as network hardware and software). Promotion from Associate Professor to Full Professor The criteria given below are intended to provide the candidate for promotion ( the candidate ), the PTC, and the Dean a focus on specific issues that describe the qualifications for the rank of Professor. There are no minimum or maximum time-inrank requirements for promotion to Professor. Candidates are expected to meet the
5 criteria for promotion to a degree satisfactory to the PTC and the Dean. A faculty member s performance throughout his/her career will be considered in decisions for promotion to full professor. However, the individual s performance at UTA since promotion to associate professor will have particular significance. Teaching Instruction The candidate is expected to show a strong commitment to teaching and to exhibit a good teaching record. He/she is expected to be actively involved in the support of both undergraduate (if applicable) and graduate education. Examples of evidence of a commitment to teaching include but are not limited to good teaching evaluations; development of new laboratories, courses, or curricula; and research and publications on engineering education topics. Supervision of Students The candidate is expected to demonstrate an involvement with students by supervision of theses and dissertations, chairing and serving on master s and Ph.D. committees, and supervision of undergraduate student projects. The candidate is expected to have supervised master s theses and Ph.D. dissertations to completion before promotion to professor. The candidate is expected to have demonstrated this productivity, in part, at UT Arlington. Scholarship and Research National recognition The candidate is expected to be nationally recognized in his/her area of expertise. Fellowship in professional organizations, recognition by peers, citation of candidate s papers by peers, service on editorial boards of major journals, and service as the general chair or chair of the program committee of major conferences are typically used in measuring the satisfaction of this criterion. Scholarly publications The candidate is expected to have published significant papers, both in quality and quantity, during her/his appointment as Associate Professor and have a long-term consistent record of publication and commitment to scholarship. Examples of desirable publications include but are not limited to publication of full-length papers in reputable, top-tier, refereed journals. Research funding The candidate is expected to have demonstrated a consistent record of securing significant extramural funding, as a lead principal investigator, to support his/her research. Quality scholarship in executing grants and contracts The candidate is expected to have demonstrated quality scholarship in executing contracts and grants as reflected by the quality and quantity of publications resulting from these grants and contracts, and as reflected by direct support of graduate student theses and dissertations.
6 Service Leadership The candidate is expected to have demonstrated leadership in the Department. Examples of the expected leadership include but are not limited to fostering collaboration with other members of the department, serving as a mentor for one or more Assistant Professors, seeking funding for joint proposals, joint authorship of papers, being instrumental in the development of Departmental facilities (e.g., acquiring equipment), or the development of programs and curricula at the undergraduate or graduate level. Professional Service The candidate is expected to hold membership in relevant professional societies and have a demonstrated record of participation in major activities of one or more societies, including serving on editorial boards of reputable journals and serving on major conference organizing and technical committees. The candidate is encouraged to obtain professional licensure. University Service The candidate is expected to have a demonstrated record of service in the Department, College, and/or University. Examples of such service include but are not limited to service on committees, attending and participating in Departmental meetings, and initiation of actions in the Department (e.g., formation of ad hoc discussion groups, student advising, and maintenance of resources such as network hardware and software). Granting Of Tenure Tenure is granted to assistant professors concurrently with promotion to associate professor. Faculty members whose initial appointment was at the associate professor or professor level without tenure must be considered for tenure no later than their third year on the tenure clock. ANNUAL REVIEW OF UNTENURED FACULTY MEMBERS UTA policy requires all tenure track faculty members to be evaluated each year for the purpose of renewing their appointment for another year, renewing with tenure, or not renewing. Those not renewed during the first or second year of appointment will have their appointment terminated at the end of that academic year. Those not renewed after the second year will receive a terminal appointment for the following year. Please see Appendix B for processes and timelines. Faculty Members in Their First or Second Year of Appointment A faculty member must show a commitment to teaching and scholarly research. Evidence of such includes but is not limited to effective teaching of assigned courses as viewed by colleagues and/or students, developing new courses or laboratories, submitting manuscripts for publication in high-quality, top-tier, scholarly journals or major conference proceedings, and submitting proposals for funding to governmental agencies or industry. Eligible faculty members are especially encouraged to submit proposals to one or more of the federal young investigator programs that are available,
e.g., NSF CAREER. Moreover, the faculty member must show a willingness and ability to collaborate with students and colleagues on relevant professional matters. This can be demonstrated by such means as initiating departmental committee matters, working with other faculty members on proposals, and supervising graduate students. Failure to meet these expectations, as determined by the PTC and/or the Dean, may result in a faculty member not being recommended for renewal beyond the first or second year. Faculty Members in Their Third Year of Appointment and Beyond A faculty member must have shown growth in teaching, scholarly research, and service commitments and achievements with each year of service. Evidence of such growth includes but is not limited to a consistent record of performance in the areas of effective teaching as viewed by colleagues and/or students, development of new courses and/or laboratories, publication and/or presentation of refereed papers in high-quality, top-tier, scholarly journals or major conference proceedings, and funding of proposals by government agencies or industry. The faculty member must be supervising master s and/or Ph.D. students and have supervised at least one such student to completion of a degree. Moreover, the faculty member must have demonstrated a commitment to serve the College and the profession through meaningful committee work and participation in appropriate professional society activities. The faculty member wishing to be evaluated for tenure and promotion earlier than the end of the five year probationary period must demonstrate strength in all areas, i.e., teaching, scholarly research, and service, and have a record of performance in teaching and scholarly research at least equal to that of a typical faculty member promoted in the sixth year. The faculty member is expected to demonstrate before or during the third probationary year that he/she is on track to earn tenure. Faculty members viewed to be performing below such a level by the PTC and/or the Dean may receive a recommendation for reappointment with reservation or against reappointment. In this regard, the College will follow the University s Third Year Pre-Tenure Review policy as described in Section 6-309 of the Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP). 7
8 APPENDIX A PROMOTION AND TENURE PROCESS AND TIMELINE DECISION YEAR MINUS ONE April Names of faculty members to be considered for tenure and/or promotion are submitted to the Provost. DECISION YEAR September Faculty member submits tenure and/or promotion dossier to Department Chair. October Departmental T&P committee and Department Chair review dossier and make recommendations and forward dossier to the Dean. November College T&P committee reviews dossier and makes recommendations. December Dean reviews dossier and makes recommendations and forwards dossier to the Provost. Mid-January Dean meets with President and University T&P committee to review tenure and/or promotion cases. Late February President sends decisions to the Dean. Early March President sends letters of promotion/tenure or terminal appointment to faculty members (by certified mail).
9 APPENDIX B RENEWAL PROCESSES AND TIMELINES FACULTY MEMBERS IN FIRST OR SECOND YEAR Mid-October Departmental T&P committee and Department Chair make recommendations and forwards to the Dean. Late October College T&P makes recommendations and forwards to Dean. Early November - Dean makes recommendations and forwards to Provost. December Deans send non-renewal letters by certified mail to faculty in second year, with a copy to Provost and Chairs. February Deans send non-renewal letters by certified mail to faculty in first year, with a copy to Provost and Chairs. FACULTY MEMBERS IN THIRD YEAR August - Faculty member prepares Tenure & Promotion dossier. September Faculty member submits pre-tenure dossier to Department Chair. November/December Departmental T&P committee and Department Chair review dossier and make recommendations and forwards dossier to Dean. January College T&P makes recommendations and forwards to Dean. March Dean makes recommendations and forwards to Provost. Deans send notice of terminal appointments by certified mail to the individual faculty members, with a copy to Provost and Chairs. FACULTY MEMBERS IN FOURTH OR FIFTH YEAR January/February Departmental T&P committee and Department Chair make recommendations and forwards to the Dean. February College T&P makes recommendations and forwards to Dean. March Dean makes recommendations and forwards to Provost. Deans send notice of terminal appointments by certified mail to the individual faculty members, with a copy to Provost and Chairs.