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FSD 17-05-A – Promotion And Tenure Criteria, Guidelines And Procedures

August 30, 2017

Purdue University Northwest Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Document 17-05-A

Submission Date: 8/30/2017 (Executive Committee)

Senate Action and Date:

  • Draft 7/30/17 (Senate/Deans Task Force)
  • Draft 8/18/17 (Chancellor & Provost)
  • Draft 8/30/17 (Provost; after meeting with Senate leadership and representatives from Faculty Affairs Committee)

Download the Word Document version showing markup of proposed changes.

Promotion And Tenure Criteria, Guidelines And Procedures

(all changes incorporated)

Purpose of This Document:

This document provides  information about promotion and tenure specific to Purdue University Northwest.  It supplements the system-wide Academic Tenure and Promotion Policy (I.B.2) and Procedures (DOCX). Other relevant system-wide policies include the Clinical Faculty Policy and Research Faculty policy and Procedures .

Following guidance from the Faculty Senate and Provost, each college/school must develop and disseminate procedures for candidates’ documents following the Procedures on Granting Academic Tenure and Promotion, IV. Documentation, and in particular, IV.B.2.

All candidates and committee members involved in the promotion and tenure process should study each of these documents with great care.

Introduction

Faculty excellence is essential to the mission of Purdue University Northwest. Generally, the University relies on its faculty members to develop, create, and disseminate knowledge in their fields of expertise. Consequently, the professional duties of faculty go well beyond instruction, encompassing both discovery and engagement. In certain circumstances, the University may hire faculty members with no explicit expectation for discovery; in such cases, faculty members will hold the rank of Clinical/Professional Instructor and are not eligible for promotion. Promotion and tenure committees should evaluate candidates for promotion and/or tenure based on professional impact, using evidence of contributions in the three areas of learning, discovery, and engagement. However, the contributions of a faculty member may be integrated among learning, discovery, and engagement, since many professional activities contribute to more than one of these. Activities that contribute to more than one of teaching, research, and/or service should be recognized and encouraged.  The Purdue System is dedicated to student success and requires all faculty to adopt the role of mentor to students.  Thus, mentoring of students is essential to successful promotion and/or tenure.

Criteria for Promotion and Tenure

  1. Definitions.
    1. Learning: The term “learning” refers to the entire area of student-faculty interaction for educational purposes. Faculty members with strength in learning mentor and engage students to enhance the academic success of students of all ability levels, maintain scholarship through sustaining breadth and depth of knowledge, and continually strive to improve methods and context of teaching. Strong performance in teaching must be demonstrated in multiple ways, which might include: student evaluations; innovative pedagogy; creating or transforming courses and curricula; and involving undergraduate students in research.
    2. Discovery: The term “discovery” refers to the broad area of research, scholarship, and creative endeavor. The varying nature of academic accomplishments across and within disciplines are taken into account when promotions are considered. Faculty members with strength in discovery undertake quality activity relevant to their area of specialization and disseminate the results through publication, presentations, juried shows, artistic productions, or other appropriate methods, thereby ultimately achieving recognition by peers in their field. Accomplishment in discovery may also extend to guided inclusion of students in the faculty member’s discovery activities.
    3. Engagement: The term “engagement” refers to professional service to the University, professional organizations and the community. University service refers to engagement and/or leadership in governance responsibilities or other University affairs. Community service refers to public service contributions related to a faculty member’s discipline. Professional service refers to experience as an advisor to government or industry, as well as active participation and/or leadership in professional, technical, or scholarly societies.
    4. Mentoring: The term “mentoring” refers to the act of directing students for the future. It is important to provide direction and knowledge related to career goals and graduate education.
    5. Further Information: Candidates should refer to their individual College guidelines for further information, including supporting documents to assist them in demonstrating effectiveness in learning, discovery, and engagement at Purdue University Northwest.
  2. Criteria by RankThe following criteria are intended to set minimum promotion and/or tenure standards for Purdue Northwest. Utilizing the following criteria each college, school, and/or academic unit shall set forth its own specific guidelines and criteria for promotion and/or tenure.
    1. Associate Professor: Promotion to Associate Professor is based upon actual performance as well as the likelihood of future growth. Above all, the individual, while maintaining effectiveness in teaching, should demonstrate growth in discovery and engagement. Successful candidates must have documentation of demonstrated excellence in learning or discovery, together with strength in the other and activity in engagement. Promotion to Associate Professor will not normally be considered before five years in rank for faculty on their first full time academic appointment. Tenure is in immediate effect upon promotion to this rank, as stated in system-wide policy I.B.2.
    2. Professor: Promotion to Professor is based on recognition of the individual by professional peers as an authority in the field of specialization, and by peers and students as a teacher who has demonstrated a consistently high level of effectiveness in teaching. Promotion to this rank is based on excellence in learning or discovery, together with strength in the other and in engagement. Where the excellence lies in learning, the candidate will be recognized for outstanding contributions to the University’s educational program through an effective blend of interaction with students, professional growth, curricular development, course content and methodology, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Where the excellence lies in discovery, the candidate will have made important and recognized contributions in scholarly activities and will be recognized as a leader in educational or professional circles in her/his discipline on a regional, national or international level. Those wishing to be promoted to Professor must be nominated by a member of the Primary Committee or must wait 3 years since their last consideration for promotion in accordance with Procedures for Granting Academic Tenure and Promotion Procedures (I.C.).
  3. Criteria for Clinical/Professional Faculty:
    1. Associate Professor: Successful candidates for promotion to Associate Clinical Professor must provide evidence of excellence in teaching and provide evidence of strength in clinical practice and scholarly activity. Promotion to Associate Clinical Professor is based on actual performance as well as increased realization of potential.
    2. Professor: Successful candidates for promotion to Clinical Professor must provide evidence of excellence in teaching and clinical practice and provide evidence of strength in scholarly activity. They must be recognized by their peers at the national level.
  4. Research Faculty: To enable the University to recruit and retain top research scholars, a position of Research Professor has been established. The primary responsibilities are to support and enhance the discovery mission of the University.
    1. Associate Professor: Candidates for promotion to the rank of Associate Research Professor must have a significant and sustained record of scholarly accomplishment and externally funded research, where appropriate. In addition, they must demonstrate strength in the area of teaching. The candidate must show promise of continued professional growth, recognition, and contribution to the discovery mission of the University.
    2. Professor: Candidates for promotion to the rank of Research Professor should be recognized nationally/internationally as authorities in their fields of specialization, have established significant and sustained extramural research funding, and have significantly contributed to the research mission of the University. In addition, they must demonstrate strength in the area of teaching.

Descriptions of Promotion Committees

  1. Department/School Committee

    Voting membership shall consist of all tenured faculty members at the rank of associate professor or professor. In addition, members must consist of faculty with teaching appointment of at least 0.5 FTE and no supervisory duties over faculty. The department/school committee shall elect its chair in the Spring. The chair shall be a voting member. The Department Chair shall be responsible for ensuring that these elections occur and that the results are reported to the faculty of the department/school and to the Senate’s Faculty Affairs Committee. Candidates for the rank of Professor will only be reviewed by members of that rank. In instances where there are insufficient numbers within the school/department, the faculty in the school/department shall determine a process for selecting qualified faculty outside the unit.

  2. College Committee

    Voting membership shall consist of at least five tenured faculty members at the rank of associate professor or professor, selected in accordance with procedures established by the faculty of the college, but with at least one member from each academic unit in the college. In colleges with more than 5 academic units, there shall be at least one member from each academic unit together with an at-large member, if necessary, to assure an odd number of voting members. In addition, members must consist of faculty with teaching appointment of at least 0.5 FTE and no supervisory duties over faculty. College committee members must be chosen in the Spring semester for the following academic year. The College committee shall elect its chair in the Spring from among its members after they are selected. The chair shall be a voting member. If a member of the committee has served on a candidate’s department/school committee, he/she will be recused from voting on the candidate. The Dean shall be responsible for ensuring that these elections occur and that the results are reported to the faculty of the college, and to the Senate’s Faculty Affairs Committee. Candidates for the rank of Professor will only be reviewed by members of that rank. In instances where there are insufficient numbers within the college, the faculty in the college shall determine a process for selecting qualified faculty from outside the college.

  3. University Committee

    The University Committee shall include the PNW VCAA/Provost (ex officio, without vote) who will chair the committee, the deans of the five disciplinary colleges (ex officio, without vote), and two elected tenured Professors from each of the five disciplinary colleges who have teaching appointments of at least 0.5 FTE and no supervisory duties over faculty. The faculty members will serve a two year term, with the terms arranged initially so that half of these members are elected each year. The Deans shall be responsible for ensuring that the election of members representing their colleges occur, and that the results are reported to the VCAA/Provost, the faculty of the College, and the Faculty Affairs Committee. Election of members of the University Committee should take place in the Spring as soon as the deliberations of the previous University Committee are complete.

Processes for Promotion Committees

Promotion Committees shall be responsible for reviewing untenured, tenure-track faculty and those faculty seeking promotion and tenure. Tenure-track faculty shall be reviewed by the Department/School Committee every year beginning in the Fall of the second year and by the College Committee every year beginning in the Fall of the fourth year. This evaluation will take into consideration the cumulative work of the individual faculty member.

  1. Department/School Committee Process
    1. The Department/School Committee shall meet according to the dates published by the office of the VCAA/Provost. The Chair of the Committee shall be responsible for arranging the time and place of the meeting.
    2. Each candidate for promotion and tenure shall be considered by the Committee according to the procedures given in the system wide Procedures document, Section II.C, with the exception that the Chair of the Committee shall vote. In the case of annual cumulative reviews, the Department/School Committee must vote for one of the following two recommendations: 1) Continued tenure track status, or 2) termination, both with written support for the conclusion.
    3. The Chair of the Committee is responsible for coordinating the writing of a Committee report on each candidate, which must record the Committee’s deliberations on the candidate, together with the vote of the Committee. The Chair is responsible for conveying the Committee’s report to the Dean and the Department Chair (or corresponding administrator).
    4. For candidates for promotion recommended by the Department/School Committee, as well as those under annual review in their fourth year or later, the Dean is responsible for attaching the Committee’s letter to the candidate’s document for review by the College and University committees, as well as by the Dean. The Dean is also responsible for acquiring and attaching a letter of evaluation from the candidate’s Department Chair, or corresponding administrator.
    5. For all candidates, the Chair of the Committee and the Department Chair must meet with the candidate within 10 business days of the vote of the Department/School Committee to review their recommendations with the candidate.
  2. College Committee Process
    1. The College Committee shall meet according to the dates published by the office of the VCAA/Provost. The Chair of the Committee shall be responsible for arranging the time and place of the meeting, with the assistance of the Dean’s Office.
    2. The Committee shall consider all candidates previously reviewed by the Department/School Committee, unless the candidate notifies the Dean of his/her college in writing prior to the first meeting of the committee that the promotion application is withdrawn.
    3. Each candidate shall be considered by the Committee according to the procedures given in the system wide Procedures document, Section II.C, as referred to in II.D, with the exception that the Chair of the Committee shall vote.
    4. The Chair of the Committee is responsible for coordinating the writing of a Committee report on each candidate, which must record and summarize the Committee’s deliberations on the candidate, together with the vote of the Committee. The Chair is responsible for conveying the Committee’s report to the Dean.
    5. The Dean is responsible for attaching the Committee’s report to the candidate’s document, as well as the Dean’s own recommendation. The Dean shall then forward to the Office of the VCAA/Provost all required documents.
    6. The Chair of the Committee and the Dean must meet with each candidate within 10 business days of the vote of the College Committee to review their recommendations with the candidate.
  3. University Committee Process
    1. The University Committee shall meet according to the dates published by the office of the VCAA/Provost. The VCAA/Provost, who chairs the Committee without vote, shall be responsible for arranging the time and place of the meeting.
    2. The Committee shall consider all candidates previously reviewed by the College Committee, unless the candidate notifies the VCAA/Provost Office in writing prior to the first meeting of the committee that the promotion application is withdrawn. In case of an application withdraw before committee consideration, a new application can be submitted during a subsequent year without prejudice. In cases of applications for early tenure, once a candidate is under active review by the committee, the review is considered final.
    3. Each candidate shall be considered by the Committee according to the procedures given in the system wide Procedures document, Section II.F.
    4. For all candidates, the Dean must meet with the candidate within 10 business days of the vote of the University Committee to review its recommendation with the candidate.

Responsibilities of Participants

  1. Candidate

    The Candidate shall be responsible for the following:

    1. Being familiar with all Academic Tenure and Promotion Policy, Procedure, and Criteria documents.
    2. Submitting to the Dean two copies of a two-inch binder, one for each campus site, conforming to the formatting requirements given below (see Content of Dossier, below). The documents submitted should be accurate and complete.
    3. Submitting, in conformity with the candidate’s College policy, a list of names of potential external reviewers.
  2. Members of all Committees

    Members of all Committees: Department/School, College, and University, are responsible for attendance in person at all scheduled meetings of their Committees. They must become familiar with the contents of the binders of all candidates to be considered prior to the meeting, and be prepared to discuss and vote on each candidate in a thoughtful and considered fashion.

  3. Chair of the Department/School Committee

    The Chair of the Department/School Committee shall be responsible for the following:

    1. Scheduling all meetings of the Department/School Committee and ensuring the attendance of all members.
    2. Coordinating the preparation of the report on the deliberations about each candidate considered by the Committee.
    3. Conveying the Committee’s report on each candidate to both the Department Chair (or corresponding administrator) and the Dean.
    4. Meeting, along with the Department Chair (or corresponding administrator), with each candidate within 10 business days of the vote of the Primary Committee, in order to share the recommendation of the Committee with the candidate.
  4. Department Chair (or corresponding administrator)

    The Department Chair shall be responsible for the following:

    1. Ensuring that the election of members of the Department/School Committee occurs in a timely fashion, along with the election of its Chair, and reporting the results of these elections to the faculty and the Faculty Affairs Committee.
    2. Writing a report on each candidate for promotion or tenure, and also on all annual review candidates. The report must contain a recommendation either for or against the candidate’s application. The Department Chair must then convey the report to the Dean.
    3. Complying with the requirements of the system-wide Procedures policy, section IV.B.3, making sure that candidates are aware of their rights and the timetable of relevant meetings.
    4. Soliciting external review letters for the candidate, according to College policy.
    5. Conveying the external review letters to the Dean for inclusion in the candidates’ binders.
  5. Chair of the College Committee

    The Chair of the College Committee shall be responsible for the following:

    1. Scheduling, with the assistance of the Dean’s office, all meetings of the College Committee, and ensuring the attendance of all members.
    2. Coordinating the preparation of the report on the deliberations about each candidate considered by the Committee.
    3. Conveying the report on each candidate to the Dean.
    4. Meeting, along with the Dean, within 10 business days of the vote of the College Committee, with each candidate. The meeting shall be to review the Committee’s and the Dean’s recommendations about the candidate.
  6. Dean

    The Dean shall be responsible for the following:

    1. Custody of the official version of the candidate’s document, starting from the time it is submitted by the candidate to after the submission of the reports of the College Committee and the Dean. At that time, the Dean shall be responsible for conveying the documents of all promotion candidates to the Office of the VCAA/Provost, who shall then take custody.
    2. Ensuring the timely election of members of the College Committee, along with its Chair, and reporting the results of these elections to the College faculty and to the Faculty Affairs Committee.
    3. Receiving and including the external review letters in the candidate’s binder.
    4. Receiving and including the reports of the Department/School Committee and the Department Chair (or corresponding administrator) in the candidate’s binder, which shall become part of the document considered by the Area Committee.
    5. Receiving the report of the College Committee, and including it to the candidate’s binder, before conveying the binder to the office of the VCAA/Provost.
    6. Writing a report on each candidate from the College for promotion or tenure. The report must contain a recommendation either for or against the candidate’s application. The Dean shall then include this report in the candidate’s binder before conveying the binder to the office of the VCAA/Provost.
    7. Including the College’s promotion and tenure policies and criteria in the candidate’s binder before conveying the binder to the office of the VCAA/Provost.
  7. VCAA/Provost

    The VCAA/Provost shall be responsible for the following:

    1. Publishing annually a specific timetable for promotion and tenure procedures.
    2. Taking custody of the official version of each promotion candidate’s binder when conveyed to the office of the VCAA/Provost by the Dean.
    3. Scheduling all meetings of the University Committee, and ensuring the attendance of all members.
    4. At the conclusion of the deliberation of the University Committee, transmitting to the Chancellor the candidate’s documents, the recommendation of the University Committee, and the recommendation of the VCAA/Provost. The remainder of the process is as specified in the system-wide Procedures, II.F.
    5. Publishing and administering the procedure for review of negative tenure and promotion decisions.

General Timeline for Promotion and Tenure Procedures

The VCAA/Provost will be responsible for publishing the key dates/deadlines regarding promotion and tenure processes for the coming year.

Below are hard due dates for the promotion/tenure cycle:

  • No later than May 1 — Candidate formally declares candidacy for promotion in writing and delivers to Dean’s Office: final list of external reviewers; final set of documents to be sent to external reviewers.
  • No later than September 1 — Candidate delivers to Dean’s Office: two copies of the final promotion dossier, including final Form 36.
  • No later than October 1 — Dean’s Office makes available to Department/School Committee: promotion dossiers, including Form 36.
  • No later than November 1 — Dean’s Office makes available to College Committee: promotion dossiers, including Form 36.
  • No later than December 1 — Dean’s Office delivers to VCAA/P Office: promotion dossiers, including Form 36.
  • No later than Thursday, December 7 — VCAA/P Office makes available to University Committee: promotion dossiers, including Form 36.

Content of Dossier

Candidates should carefully review the system-wide Procedures for Granting Tenure and Promotion.

Each College shall set policy for external letters of assessment.

Generally, candidates should limit their submission to two identical copies of a three-inch binder, one for each campus site.

The binders will be secured in the Dean’s office at each campus site and will be available for the candidate’s Promotion and Tenure Committees.

Order of Dossier

TAB 1: General Information

Form 36

Letter of intent, including purpose of the document: annual review, promotion, and prospective rank if for promotion.

Extended CV

  • Academic Rank
  • Academic Degrees Earned
  • Other professional Development
  • Prior Academic Appointments
  • Work History/Private Sector Positions
  • Awards/Honors
  • Memberships in Academic, Professional and Scholarly organizations

TAB 2: Learning/Teaching

  • Statement of Teaching Philosophy
  • Teaching Evaluations
    • Student evaluation Scores and Comments
  • Teaching observations
    • Peer
    • Department Chair
    • External
  • Samples of Current Course Syllabi
  • Course Load/Teaching assignments: numbers of student in classes, credit hours, graduate, undergraduate, Course Type (online/ hybrid/traditional)
  • Program/Course Development and/or major revision that contribute to teaching effectiveness
  • Teaching Development Activities: attending or conducting offerings, classes, seminars, webinars related to teaching development
  • Teaching Awards
  • Evidence of proactive mentoring of students
  • Substantial course materials

TAB 3

Discovery/Research

  • Statement of Research Philosophy
  • List of Publications
    • Research Monographs
    • Other Books
    • Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
    • Peer Reviewed Conference Proceedings
    • Peer Reviewed Book Chapters
    • Other Research Publications
    • Works in Progress
    • Invited Keynotes and Research Presentations.
    • Other Research Presentations
  • Research Awards
  • Research Grants
    • Received
    • Submitted

TAB 4: Engagement/Service

  • Statement of Philosophy
  • External to PNW (local, state, national, international, business/community organization, government; compensated or pro bono)
  • Internal to PNW (department/school, college, university, system-wide)
  • Engagement Awards

TAB 6: Performance Reviews

  • Annual Performance Reviews
  • Annual Cumulative Progress toward Promotion Reviews

TAB 7: Letters of Assessment

  • External
  • Department Chair
  • Primary
  • Dean
  • Area

TAB 8: College Tenure and Promotion Policy and Procedures