David Jones Tami Benham Deal Office of Academic Affairs What is Tenure Standards and Criteria Faculty Career Path Portfolios Review Processes Career Strategies See web resources listed at the end ID: 699066
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Overview of faculty reappointment, tenure, and promotion for new faculty
David JonesTami Benham DealOffice of Academic Affairs
What is Tenure?Standards and CriteriaFaculty Career PathPortfoliosReview ProcessesCareer Strategies
See web resources listed at the end.
Acknowledgement: Myron Allen and Nicole BallengerSlide2
University Regulations
Photo source: http://guamwaterworks.org/rules-regs/
Designation/AppointmentsUW 5-1 (Professors, APs)UW 7-490 (Archivist)UW 7-631 (Librarians)
Review Process/Procedures
UW 5-803
(Tenure Track)
UW 7-490
(Archivist)
UW 7-631
(LibrariansSlide3
Expectations
by rank (from UW Regulation 5-1)Assistant professors shall normally have the doctor's degree in course, and shall have demonstrated ability
, through appropriate experience, to perform the functions of the position they are to hold.Associate professors shall normally have the doctor's degree in course, shall have established a reputation in scholarship, teaching, artistic creation, or other productive activity in the field in which they are to serve.
Professors, in addition to having the qualifications of associate professors, shall have demonstrated superior capacity for direction of graduate work and research where appropriate, have attained wide recognition in their professional fields for scholarship or other creative work, and shall have gained recognition as teachers and as consistent contributors to the fields in which they are to render University service.
It is not anticipated that each faculty member will attain the rank of full professor.Slide4
Expectations
by rank (from UW Regulation 7-490)Assistant Archivist: This rank designates the beginning level of archives
administration and special-collections curatorship and generally requires little or no professional experience. It requires adequate performance of assigned archives administration and special collections curatorship. Associate Archivist: This rank designates a faculty member who has established a reliable track record and demonstrates
commitment to continued excellence … It requires consistent expert professional performance, active participation in the profession, and sound scholarship. This rank carries the
expectation of continuing professional development or experience
Archivist:
Appointment or promotion to this rank is reserved for
individuals
who have made
distinctive
contributions
over
a significant
period
of time. Slide5
Expectations
by rank (from UW Regulation 7-631)Assistant Librarian. This rank designates the beginning level of librarianship and generally
requires little or no pertinent experience. Shows promise as an academic librarian as demonstrated by performance and experienceAssociate Librarian. Demonstrates expertise in librarianship and a high level of creative and analytical ability in performing job responsibilities (including teaching, administration and/or outreach, sustained research, scholarly activities, or creative
activities; and leadership).
Librarian.
Appointment or promotion to this rank is reserved for individuals who have made
distinctive
contributions
over a significant period of time
.Slide6
A. Legal view:
tenure is an employment contract. An appointment with tenure has no specified end date,can be ended only for specific reasons (discussed next).
Principles recognized in case law: There is no guarantee of tenure. Tenure necessarily involves subjective decisions. The review takes many factors into account. There are many levels of review and recommendation. Only the Board of Trustees can confer tenure.
I. What is Tenure?Slide7
B. Philosophic view: tenure and academic
freedom have social utility. “Academic freedom and tenure … exist in order that society may have the benefit of honest judgment and independent criticism which otherwise might be withheld because of fear of offending a dominant social group or transient social attitude.”
Clark Byse and Louis Joughin, Tenure in American Higher Education: Plans, Practices, and the Law (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1959), p. 4.Slide8
C. Institutional setting
UW is a doctorate-granting research university. This classification colors UW’s hiring practices as well as its standards for reappointment, tenure and promotion.
We hire people based on their promise in teaching, research, and service, and we expect them to be good at them all. There’s no fixed number of tenured slots. It’s possible for all tenure-track appointees to earn tenure.Slide9
II. STANDARDS AND CRITERIA
The key question:Does the candidate’s record reflect both the commitment and the promise to sustain a career-long record of effective teaching and advising, scholarship at the forefronts of knowledge, and effective service?
It’s not a matter of clearing the bar. Your colleagues will be trying to predict your future performance.Slide10
How do we answer this question?
Strong teaching, demonstrated early. C
apacity for strong scholarship, critical for teachers to remain effective throughout their careers. Review of scholarly work by nationally or internationally recognized peers, as well as by UW students and faculty. You have to be a player in the game.
Service (caption re: UP4 – public engagement)Slide11
Initiative and leadership count!
Research and/or Creative Contributions
TeachingExtension, Professional Service, & University-Related ActivitiesSlide12
What about Collegiality?
Collegiality: ability to work both independently and constructively with othersCollegiality is not evaluated as a separate attribute Collegiality comes into play if it has a
negative effect on the research, teaching, and/or service mission of the department/college/university Slide13
0 6
12
Employment year
Hired as Assistant Professor
Annual probationary reappointment or dismissal
(possible to skip 3
rd
& 5
th
reviews)
Tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, or
contract ends
Promotion to Professor (optional)
III. FACULTY CAREER PATH
Not tied to years of service, but a period of additional growth that results in a greater level of accomplishment and intellectual leadership is expectedSlide14
IV. PORTFOLIO
Documentation of performance Teaching evaluations (students, peers, administrators) Research record (publications, grants, creative work) Service (UW committees, statewide service,
professional organizations)Evidence of progress Job description and expectations Record of previous years’ recommendations at all levels Written evaluations by candidate, peers, and administrators
External evaluations
Letters from outside experts (T&P cases)
Letters from former
students (optional, but…)
See Academic Affairs website for detailed list of contents
Does the evidence meet department and discipline standards?
What are your duties?
Level of quality or attainmentSlide15
Systematically design your packet.Follow College Guidelines
Table of ContentsClearly label sectionsTip #1
OrganizeOrganizeOrganizeSlide16
Know your audience.Don’t assume that your colleagues will understand your research, teaching, and service.
The further your packet makes it through the system, the less familiar your audience will be.Seek out external feedback.
Tip #2Prepare your packetfor the“stranger”Slide17
Provide evidence of progress by drawing connections between your research, teaching, and service/extension performance to:
Department (Discipline) ExpectationsCollege Mission University Mission/Academic Plan
Tip #3Faculty EssayConnect the Dots!Slide18
Precise and concise statement that “connects the dots.”Remember your audience.
It is not about educating your audience about your research, teaching or service.It is about providing evidence of your scholarship, teaching effectiveness, and service.
How to construct the essay (narrative)Slide19
Have you addressed these questions about scholarship?
Research planHow does my research contribute to the body of knowledge in my discipline?What is the impact of my research?How is my research novel?
What makes my research relevant and meaningful?Where am I now?Where am I going?How will the reviewer know I got there?Slide20
Does your essay do this?
Show trajectory … connect the dots.Illustrate how: grants lead to publications? p
resentations lead to publications?publications lead to publications?Slide21
Does your reflection on teaching do this?
Explain why you choose teaching strategies and methods?Illustrate how you use feedback (i.e., student, peer, self) to modify and/or retain teaching strategies and methods?Show connections to research- or evidence-based best practice?
Show a trajectory of improvement and/or sustained excellence?Slide22
Does your reflection on service?
Provide evidence of contributing to the service mission of the university?Reflect public engagement beyond the university community? Provide evidence of your leadership role in service activities?Slide23
External peer review
Department faculty review
Department head’s recommendation
College-level faculty review
College dean’s recommendation
University-level faculty review
Review by Academic Affairs
Trustees’ action
Review by President (on appeal)
V. REVIEW PROCESSES
A
B
CSlide24
Department-level
review Solicitation of external letters (T&P cases) Review and vote by faculty peers Recommendation by department head
Example peer remark (reappointment): “For someone with a 60% teaching split, who has taught for two years in another institution before coming to the University of Wyoming, her progress in teaching is unsatisfactory. … _____ is much more suited to clinical settings or pure research.”TEACHING COUNTS!Outcome: resignation in the face of a negative reappointment recommendation from Academic AffairsSlide25
Example: external letters from
Colby College Columbia University Dartmouth College Duke University Oberlin College
“Professor ______’s scholarship is bold in treating major authors and issues, careful in its close reading of primary texts and its consideration of secondary literature, and scrupulous in its honesty and clarity. I have found his work of genuine value for my own teaching and writing.” [From Duke University]UW Regulation 5-803 requires a minimum of 4 letters from arm’s-length reviewers.Letters from co-workers and former students are okay, but they must be in addition to the required letters.Slide26
Suggestion for newly minted assistant professors:
Make a list of important scholars in your field. Make sure it has wide representation and heft. Send them copies of your work as you complete it.Slide27
B.
College-level review Review and vote by faculty-elected college committee Recommendation by deanExample remark from college committee:
“It is clear from _____’s packet, especially the comments made by the external reviewers, that he has achieved a regional, national, and international reputation for his work… . His record of securing external funding and publishing his work are exceptional. Student evaluations of his teaching have consistently been positive and his graduate students have been very successful in terms of their ability to produce peer-reviewed products.”Firing on all cylindersSlide28
C.
University-level review Review by faculty-elected university committee, if required Recommendation by VP for Academic AffairsExample UT&P comment (tenure):
“This case presents an all-too-familiar pattern: fine teacher, great citizen who is … succeeding at tasks necessary for the department, college, and university, but doing so at the expense of … research development.”Lesson to be learned:Good performance in one dimension of the job description doesn’t trump inattention to other dimensions.Slide29
Trustees’ action Only positive cases forwarded March for first-year cases; May for all othersThere is no tenure until the Trustees confer it.UW does not recognize “de facto” tenure (and neither do courts).Slide30Slide31
VI. CAREER STRATEGIES
Become a versatile, engaging teacher.Identify and cultivate a national or international audience for your scholarly activities.
If external funding is available in your field, develop and follow a plan for seeking it.Find ways to connect your scholarly work with your teaching.Select a meaningful array of service activities.Learn how to be a leader.Maintain a love of your discipline.
These are strategies for staying sane, not just for getting tenure!Slide32
UW Regulation 5-1.E:
Faculty members on tenure may be dismissed only for cause or because of bona fide financial exigencies of the University. "Cause" is defined to include any conduct which seriously impairs the ability of the University of Wyoming to carry out its functions, including physical or mental incapacity, incompetence, neglect of duty, dishonesty, immorality or conviction of a felony. Slide33
Web resources:
Academic Affairs website (several documents):www.uwyo.edu/AcadAffairs/promotion/UniReg 803, General Counsel website:www.uwyo.edu/generalcounsel/new-regulatory-structure/academic-personnel.html
QUESTIONS?Slide34
Extra slides follow …Slide35
Summary:
UW’s standards require strong teaching and sustained, internationally significant scholarship and research.The faculty career path allows for a lengthy probationary period as well as an opportunity to develop wide recognition for teaching and research.
A substantial portfolio, documenting teaching and scholarship, forms the basis for all reviews of faculty.Our processes ensure rigorous review by UW faculty peers, by outside experts in the field, and by academic administrators at all levels.Slide36
Post-tenure review
UW Regulation 5-808 defines corrective measures available when a tenured faculty member’s performance falls below expectations. Dismissal is possible in persistent cases.Slide37
C. University-level review
Review by faculty-elected university committee, if required Recommendation by VP for Academic AffairsExample comment from UT&P committee:
“_____ has a strong … international reputation for research in an emerging and interdisciplinary field. His 7 letters from outside evaluators indicated strong support. He has generated strong grant support. He has a record of professional and university service. He also carries a heavy teaching load and is an excellent teacher as indicated by student evaluations and department head’s comments. Slide38
Example: external letters from
Texas A&M University Oklahoma State University University of Washington Drexel University
Excerpt: “While … teaching and service seem to be adequate for this stage of [the] academic career, I do not see the depth of work, either in research/publications/ presentations or in professional practice to merit the granting of tenure. … The tenure package lacks direction and focus.Slide39
III. FACULTY CAREER PATH
“Probationary” period: Normally start as Assistant Professor Normally 6 years from time of appointment
Annual reviews for reappointment Evaluation of teaching, research, and service Reappointment contingent upon performanceTenure decisionNormally in 6th yearInvolves in-depth scrutiny of performance (discussed later)
Normally involves promotion to Associate Professor
Promotion to Professor
Optional – not everyone earns it
Normally
after
at least 5 years as Associate Professor
Requires national or international recognition