Retention, Promotion and Tenure (RPT) Information
Lecturer promotioninformation »
The authoritative text for faculty is the Faculty Handbook. The Handbook spells out university-wide guidelines for renewal (mid-probationary review), tenure with promotion, and promotion to professor, and also contains policies for Post-Tenure Review. The College follows the guidelines and policies found in Section B4: Faculty Reviews.
Questions concerning the review process that cannot be answered by the Department Chair should be referred to the appropriate Area Associate Dean.
Retention, Promotion & Tenure Review Process
Click HERE for a schedule of ADVANCE workshops to assist with preparation of Milestone Reviews.
The College follows the RPT Guidelines issued by the Provost. (Rev. 8.2024)
Extension of Probationary Period ("tenure clock") due to COVID-19 (linked from Provost's website).
Each Unit will have performance standards reflective of expectations in the discipline. These standards are made available to new faculty at the time of appointment. The Unit Head's responsibility is to help the candidate develop the file, to follow department and university procedures for conducting reviews, to accurately summarize the results of the departmental review, and finally, to provide her/his own evaluation and recommendation on each case. In the case of a negative finding at any level, the candidate has an opportunity for appeal. Consult the Faculty Handbook Appeal Process for more information.
The Unit Administrator works with faculty on the details of organizing the file. After the file is submitted to the College office, it is evaluated by a committee of nine faculty broadly representative of the disciplines in Arts & Sciences. There are typically three such committees: a senior committee which reviews the promotion to full professor cases, a junior committee which reviews the promotion with tenure cases, and a third committee whichreviews renewal files. Each file is also evaluated by the Associate Dean for Faculty. The Dean, after taking all these reports and the documents in the file into consideration, makes the College recommendation on the case. The file then is submitted to the Provost’s office for the final series of reviews.
For guidance in navigating the RPT application, download the appropriate instructions:
- RPT App Instructions for All Candidates
- RPT App Instructions for Document Administrators
- RPT App Instructions for Department and College Reviewers
For guidance in dossier preparation, select from these guidelines:
- Dossier Organization Guidelines for tenure track candidates at all review levels
- Teaching Portfolio Guidelines
- Locating Course Evaluations
- Addressing Covid-19 in teaching statements
- Dossier Organization Guidelines for Department/Unit Administrators (rev. 11.2024)
- FAQs (rev. 10.2024)
Promotion/P&T Dossier Forms
- Standard Faculty Vitae
- Summary of Student Evaluations form
- List of Supplemental Materials
- Teaching Portfolio Guidelines
External Reviewer Resources
- External Reviewer List [Promotion and P&T]
- External Reviewer Request Template
Promotion/P&T Recommendation forms
- Faculty/Committee Confidential Recommendation Form [Promotion to Full]
- Faculty/Committee Confidential Recommendation Form [P&T]
- Summary of Department Vote Sheet (short) [P&T]
- Summary of Department Vote Sheet (long) [P/P&T]
Retention (Mid-Pro) Dossier Forms
Retention (Mid-Pro) Recommendation Forms
- Faculty/Committee Confidential Recommendation Form [Retention/Mid-Pro]
- Summary of Departmental Vote Sheet (short) [Retention/MidPro]
Lecturer Promotion Dossier Forms
- AY 2024-25 Lecturer Promotion Timeline
- Lecturer Curriculum Vitae
- Lecturer Promotion Dossier Organization of Contents
- Summary of Student Evaluations form
- List of Supplemental Materials
- Teaching Portfolio Guidelines
Document Administrator Resources:
Lecturer Recommendation Forms
Research Faculty Promotion
Promotions of research faculty are conducted at the department level. They do not go through RPT system and do not require the College or Provost level review. At minimum, the process should involve external reviewers, reviews by department faculty and a vote, as well as a Chair’s recommendation letter. The Dean will evaluate the promotion request after departmental-level review is complete.
Requests for Early Decision
To begin, read this memo from the Senior Vice Provost about how to manage shortened tenure clocks. When an assistant professor requests that his/her probationary period be reduced and the mid-probationary or tenure review accelerated, the Chair must complete a Contract Modification Letter. Once signed by the Chair and the candidate, the letter is sent to the Dean and then to the Provost. All approvals must be obtained before the candidate submits a dossier for early decision.
Post-Tenure Review
In addition to the general guidelines in the Faculty Handbook, each Department has developed a set of performance expectations for tenured faculty reflective of the expectations in the discipline. Annual reviews of tenured faculty must be shared with the faculty member and he/she has an opportunity for appending additional information to the Chair’s review and for appealing an annual review to the Dean. Consult the Handbook for information on the appeal process.
