|
APP
3-50, Assistant Professors - Special Considerations in the
Academic Personnel review process
Specifies
the terms of appointment as well as the timing of the midcareer
appraisal and the tenure review. |
ACADEMIC
SENATE TITLES
3-50.
Assistant Professors - Special Considerations
A.
EACH APPOINTMENT AND REAPPOINTMENT OF AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IS
LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM TERM OF TWO YEARS
Reappointment
Review Process
Until
an assistant professor has achieved promotion to tenure, a department
chair must submit one of the following recommendations for each
assistant professor who is serving the second year of appointment.
1.
Reappointment with a Merit Increase
In a normal case, the expectation is that an assistant professor
will make satisfactory progress toward tenure and that the department
will therefore recommend a two-year reappointment with a merit
increase.
NOTE:
The department may wish to recognize exceptional achievement
by recommending a merit increase for an assistant professor
who is serving the first year of a two-year appointment. If
this accelerated increase is approved, its effective date will
mark the beginning of a new two-year appointment.
2.
Reappointment without a Merit Increase
If
progress toward tenure is minimally acceptable but not outstanding,
the department may recommend a two-year reappointment without
a merit increase.
3.
Nonreappointment
In
the case of an assistant professor who is not making minimally
acceptable progress toward tenure, the department may recommend
a terminal appointment.
B.
TOTAL UNIVERSITY SERVICE IN THE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AND OTHER
SPECIFIED TITLES MAY NOT EXCEED EIGHT YEARS
In
the University of California system, in order to remain as a tenured
member of the faculty, a person must earn promotion from assistant
professor to associate professor before the end of eight years
of service. (See Appendix I of this section
for guidelines on determining years toward the eight-year limit.)
In some cases, appointees can receive additional time on the clock
for childrearing. This type of approved leave will extend the
eight-year maximum limit.
It
should be noted that appointees are not guaranteed eight years
of employment. The eight-year limit refers to the maximum amount
of time in which the University may offer appointment in restricted
titles. Decisions about retention and advancement are based on
careful reviews of the appointee's promise, progress and achievement.
A review may result in a recommendation for nonreappointment earlier
than the sixth year but not later than the seventh year because
of the requirement to give a 12-month notice to the appointee.
Tenure
Review Process
A
department is required to conduct a formal appraisal of an assistant
professor's standing in regard to promotion to tenure both at
midcareer (in the third or fourth year of service under the eight-year
rule) and at the time of the tenure review (normally in the sixth
year). The following table illustrates the timing of the tenure
review in a normal case under the eight-year rule:
|
Years
Toward Tenure
|
Actions
|
Comments
|
|
First
Year |
Initial
Appointment |
|
|
Second
Year |
|
|
|
Third
Year |
|
|
|
Fourth
Year |
Midcareer
Appraisal |
May
occur earlier |
|
Fifth
Year |
|
|
|
Sixth
Year |
Normal
Tenure Review |
Postponement
to seventh year possible |
|
Seventh
Year |
If postponement is approved: mandatory
Academic Year for Tenure Review to Begin |
|
|
Eighth
Year |
|
Reserved
for notice (if necessary) |
Appendix
II in this section illustrates differences in the timing of
the tenure review for an assistant professor appointed with a
mid-year (other than July 1) effective date. See Appendix
III for special timing of the tenure review for an assistant
professor who has received a "childrearing extension."
1.
Midcareer Appraisal
Department chairs are responsible for conducting midcareer appraisals
of assistant professors and persons in equivalent ranks during
the third or fourth year of service under the eight-year
rule. The purpose of the midcareer appraisal is for the department
to provide the assistant professor with a careful, considered
analytical evaluation of his or her performance to date in
the areas of teaching, research and creative work, professional
competence and activity, and university and public service, and
to make a candid prediction concerning the probability or improbability
of a favorable promotion decision based upon the evidence. Outside
letters may be obtained but are not required if members of the
department have the expertise to make the assessment.
Midcareer appraisal files often include a recommendation for reappointment or for a merit increase. If this is the case, the reappointment/merit recommendation must be separate from the midcareer
appraisal, with separate letters and separate department votes for each.
The
department should assess the complete record-to-date (including
work in progress), and it should carefully and frankly assess
the prospects for the individual's achieving promotion based
upon continuation of that record. The appraisal should note
specific areas of deficiency (if any) and should recommend actions
to be taken by the individual and/or the department and chair.
The Mid-Career Appraisal should be clearly labeled as "Positive," "Negative," or "Cautionary." The department or a designated committee should have reviewed the appraisal (with notation that a copy has been provided to the candidate.) The letter should assess the candidate's prospects for promotion, contain a report of the faculty opinion and vote and an evaluation of the candidate's performance in the following areas:
a. Teaching
b. Research or creative work
c. Professional competence and activity
d. University and public service
The
chair must also convey to the candidate, in writing, the substance
of the midcareer appraisal, along with any recommendations for
changes in activities or emphasis. (A copy of this written
statement should be included in the file.) The Committee
on Academic Personnel urges that the midcareer assessment be
prepared by a departmental sub-committee instead of the department
chair. After approval by the departmental faculty, the candidate
should be given the opportunity to examine and comment on the
assessment.
Because
the midcareer appraisal is directed primarily to the candidate,
it is in the best interest of the candidate and the department
that the midcareer appraisal be careful, cautious and candid,
addressing problems where they exist while there is still time
for adjustment and improvement. It is important that the faculty
member is made thoroughly aware, in a formal way, of his or
her situation in regard to eventual promotion.
The
midcareer appraisal should be forwarded to Academic Personnel
through the appropriate dean. The Committee on Academic Personnel
will review the midcareer appraisal and decide whether it wishes
to conduct further review. Academic Personnel will notify the
chair (via the dean) of CAP's decision, and at that time the
chair should forward to the candidate any comments received
from subsequent reviewers.
2.
Tenure Review
Review
for promotion to tenure normally takes place in the sixth year
of service under the eight-year limit; however, postponement
is possible.
Postponement
of the Tenure Review
In
the latter half of an assistant professor's fifth year (under
the eight-year rule), the department should determine whether
the tenure review should take place, as normal, in the sixth
year or whether circumstances exist which justify postponement
of the tenure review until the seventh year. Postponement of
the tenure review will be justified if the candidate has significant
work in progress, the evaluation of which will occur within
a year but not in time to be included in a sixth-year review.
Postponement may be justified in the case of an assistant professor who has a childrearing extension, and is making sustained progress, even if it is at a slower pace. A postponement may also be appropriate under exceptional circumstances, such as when serious illness has disrupted the candidate's normal progress, but there is still sufficient evidence that a seventh-year tenure review will be successful.
Postponement of the tenure review is not appropriate for an assistant professor whose midcareer appraisal was negative, or for an assistant professor who has been reappointed without a merit increase.
To
request postponement, the assistant professor should provide
tangible evidence to the department that the record will change
significantly in the sixth year. The department should discuss
the evidence and vote for or against postponement of the tenure
review.
The postponement file must be accompanied by the candidate's full merit or reappointment file, which will normally be required for continuation beyond the sixth year. Form UCI-AP-38 itemizes the documentation required for the postponement of tenure review. The postponement file, accompanied by the merit or reappointment file, is forwarded to the appropriate dean's office for recommendation, for further review by the Council on Academic Personnel and the Vice Provost for Academic Personnel.
Tenure
Review
At
the time of the tenure review (in the sixth or, with postponement,
the seventh year), the department will submit one of the following
recommendations:
a.
Promotion
If the department determines that the assistant professor's
record meets or exceeds the university's expectations for promotion
to the rank of associate professor, the department will recommend
promotion to tenure.
b.
Nonreappointment
If
the department determines that the assistant professor's record
does not meet the university's criteria for promotion to tenure,
the department should recommend nonreappointment, or a one-year
terminal appointment if this is necessary to provide notice.
NOTE:
When a tenure review results in a recommendation for nonreappointment
at any level, reviewers still need to follow the procedures
to ensure fairness in the review of assistant professors set
forth in APM
Policy 220-84 and in this manual (APP
1-12). It is essential that a recommendation for nonreappointment
be as carefully and thoroughly documented as a recommendation
for promotion.
Preliminary
Assessment Procedure
In
August, 1993, the campus was issued revised APM
Section 220-84-b concerning preliminary assessment notification
by the Executive Vice Chancellor in nonreappointment cases.
During
a tenure review of an assistant professor (or a comparable
review for an assistant professor in residence, assistant
professor of clinical X, or assistant adjunct professor),
if the Executive Vice Chancellor's preliminary assessment
is for nonreappointment, the department chair and the candidate
will be notified in writing and will have an opportunity to
respond after receiving access to extra departmental documents
in the review file.
Under
this policy, intact copies of the dean's letter and the CAP
report, plus redacted copies of the chair's letter and any
ad hoc report, will be sent to the candidate via the
dean's office at the time of the preliminary assessment. In
addition, a copy of the department letter and redacted copies
of outside letters will be provided to the candidate if he
or she did not request such access at the time of the department
review. Candidates will be given five working days
to submit any additional materials to their chairs. Policy
allows the candidate to respond directly to the Executive
Vice Chancellor if he or she chooses, but the response will
be returned to the department for advice. This response, together
with additional recommendations from the department and dean,
will be returned to the Committee on Academic Personnel for
final review.
References
- University Policy
APPENDIX
I
HOW
TO DETERMINE YEARS TOWARD THE EIGHT- YEAR RULE
Years
of service toward the eight- year limit are calculated from the
beginning of the first complete quarter of service (see APM
Policy 133-17 for complete details). Some special considerations
for figuring years of service are:
A.
Service in acting professor and visiting professor titles counts
toward the eight-year limit.
B.
Normally, appointments at any percent of time (including 0%,
or Without Salary) count toward the eight- year limit. See APM
Policy 133 for exceptions.
C.
A break in service does not invalidate the counting of service
prior to the break.
D.
Periods of service on any campus of the University of California
in any combination of the titles listed in APM Policy 133 count
toward the eight- year limit.
E.
Applicability of periods of leave toward the eight- year limit:
1.
Periods of leave, whether with or without salary, will be included
as service toward the eight- year period unless the Chancellor,
after consultation with the Committee on Academic Personnel
but prior to approval of the leave, determines that the activity
undertaken during the course of the leave is substantially unrelated
to the individual's academic career. (On this campus approved
leave due to illness is normally excluded.)
2.
Any childbearing or parental leave which is equal to or exceeds
one quarter is automatically excluded from service toward
the eight- year limit. The maximum time which may be excluded
for one or more of these leaves is one academic year (3 quarters
for a 9- month academic appointee and 4 quarters for an 11-
month fiscal year academic appointee) for each event
of birth or adoption.
3.
Exclusion of one or two quarters will not necessarily affect
the timing of the tenure or promotion review, since these
reviews are conducted on an academic-year basis.
F. An assistant professor who is responsible for 50 percent or more of the care of a newborn child or a child under age five newly placed for adoption or foster care is eligible to request that their tenure clock be stopped for up to one year for each event of birth or placement, provided that all the time off the clock totals no more than two years in the probationary period. This request must be made within two years of the birth or placement of the child and exercised before July 1 of the academic year in which a promotion review is to occur (no later than the second half of the actual fifth year). See APP 3-50, Appendix III.
APPENDIX
II
SPECIAL
TIMING OF THE TENURE REVIEW FOR MID-YEAR APPOINTEES
Service
toward the eight-year limit for 9-month appointees is counted
in quarter units (three quarters = one year). When total service
includes a fraction of a year, the total should normally be rounded
in years of service for review purposes.
As an example, an assistant professor hired spring quarter, 2006,
would normally be reviewed for tenure in the 2011-2012 academic
year (the sixth year). This timing is necessary in order to provide
a period for the review and to allow for a full year's notice
in the event of nonreappointment.
The
following table illustrates the timing of reviews for a 9-month
academic year appointee with a mid- year appointment effective
at the beginning of Winter Quarter:
|
Academic
Years of Service
|
Months
Toward Tenure
|
Actions
|
Comments
|
|
First
Year (partial) |
Winter
and Spring only - Quarters 1, 2 |
Initial
Appointment |
|
|
Second
Year |
Quarters
3, 4, 5 |
|
|
|
Third
Year |
Quarters
6, 7, 8, |
|
|
|
Fourth
Year |
Quarters
9, 10, 11 |
Midcareer
Appraisal |
May
occur earlier |
|
Fifth
Year |
Quarters
12, 13, 14 |
|
|
|
Sixth
Year |
Quarters
15, 16, 17 |
Normal
Tenure Review |
Postponement
to seventh year possible |
|
Seventh
Year |
Quarters
18, 19, 20 |
If postponement is approved: mandatory
Academic Year for Tenure Review to Begin |
|
|
Eighth
Year |
Quarters
21, 22, 23 |
|
Quarters
22 and 23 must be reserved for notice (if necessary)
|
| Ninth
Year (partial) |
Fall
only - Quarter 24 |
|
Quarter
24 available for notice (if necessary) |
|
Table
I
Mid-year Appointments (9-Month - Winter Quarter)
|
The
following table illustrates the timing of reviews for a 9- month
academic year appointee with a mid-year appointment effective
at the beginning of Spring quarter:
|
Academic
Years of Service
|
Months
Toward Tenure
|
Actions
|
Comments
|
|
(partial) |
Spring
only - Quarter 1 |
Initial
Appointment |
|
|
First
Year |
Quarters
2, 3, 4 |
|
|
|
Second
Year |
Quarters
5, 6, 7 |
|
|
|
Third
Year |
Quarters
8, 9, 10 |
|
|
|
Fourth
Year |
Quarters
11, 12, 13 |
Midcareer
Appraisal
|
May
occur earlier |
|
Fifth
Year |
Quarters
14, 15, 16 |
|
|
|
Sixth
Year |
Quarters
17, 18, 19 |
Normal
Tenure Review |
Postponement
to seventh year possible
|
|
Seventh
Year |
Quarters
20, 21, 22 |
If postponement is approved: mandatory
Academic Year for Tenure Review to Begin
|
Quarter
22 must be reserved for notice (if necessary) |
|
Eighth
Year (partial) |
Fall
and Winter only - Quarters 23, 24 |
|
Quarters
23 and 24 available for notice (if necessary)
|
|
Table
II
Mid-year Appointments (9-month - Spring Quarter) |
Service
toward the eight- year limit for 11- month fiscal year appointees
is counted in 12 monthly units. When total service includes a
fraction of a year, the total should normally be rounded upward
in determining years of service for review purposes. Thus, any
period from 61 months through 72 months should be counted as six
years for such purposes.
The
following table illustrates the timing of reviews for an 11- month
fiscal year appointee with a mid- year appointment effective
at the beginning of spring quarter (April 1):
|
Academic
Years of Service
|
Months
Toward Tenure
|
Actions
|
Comments
|
|
(partial) |
Spring
Quarter only - Months 1 - 3 |
Initial
Appointment |
|
|
First
Year |
Months
4 - 15 |
|
|
|
Second
Year |
Months
16 - 27 |
|
|
|
Third
Year |
Months
28 - 39 |
|
|
|
Fourth
Year |
Months
40 - 51 |
Midcareer
Appraisal
|
May
occur earlier |
|
Fifth
Year |
Months
52 - 63 |
|
|
|
Sixth
Year |
Months
64 - 75 |
Normal
Tenure Review |
Postponement
to seventh year possible
|
|
Seventh
Year |
Months
76 - 87 |
If postponement is approved: mandatory
Academic Year for Tenure Review to Begin
|
Months
85-87 must be reserved for notice (if necessary)
|
|
Eighth
Year (partial) |
Summer,
Fall, Winter Quarters only - Months 88 - 96 |
|
Months
88-96 available for notice (if necessary)
|
|
Table
III
Mid-year Appointments (11-month - Spring Quarter)
|
The
following table may be used as a worksheet to plan the timing
of reviews for an 11- month fiscal year appointee with
a mid- year appointment different from the case illustrated above:
|
Academic
Years of Service
|
Months
toward Tenure
|
Actions
|
Comments
|
|
(partial) |
Months____
to ____ |
Initial
Appointment |
|
| First
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
|
|
|
Second
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
|
|
|
Third
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
|
|
|
Fourth
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
Midcareer
Appraisal |
May
occur earlier |
|
Fifth
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
|
|
|
Sixth
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
Normal
Tenure Review |
Postponement
to seventh year possible |
|
Seventh
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
If postponement is approved: mandatory
Academic Year for Tenure Review to Begin |
|
|
Eighth
Year |
Months____
to ____ |
|
Quarter/s
____ must be reserved for notice (if necessary)
|
|
Ninth
Year (partial) |
Months____
to ____ |
|
Quarter/s____available
for notice (if necessary)
|
Table
IV
Mid-year Appointments (11-month)
APPENDIX
III
SPECIAL
TIMING OF THE TENURE REVIEW
FOR FACULTY WITH CHILDREARING EXTENSIONS
Assistant professors have the right, under certain circumstances provided for in policy
APM 133-17-h, to request a stop the clock during the pre-tenure review time (the probationary period).
Requesting
a "Stop the Clock"
An assistant professor who is responsible for 50 percent or more of the care of a newborn child or a child under age five newly placed for adoption or foster care is eligible to request that their tenure clock be stopped for up to one year for each event of birth or placement, provided that all the time off the clock totals no more than two years in the probationary period. This request must be made within two years of the birth or placement of the child and exercised before July 1 of the academic year in which a promotion review is to occur (no later than the second-half of the actual fifth year). To apply for a Stop the Clock, complete the Childrearing Stop the Clock Request/Certification (Form UCI-AP-92).
Exercising
the "Stop the Clock"
Some assistant professors who have been granted the option to “Stop the Clock” for the care of a child may never exercise it. Others may wish to exercise the option as the time for the tenure review approaches.
- If an assistant professor who has been granted the right for a stop the clock wishes to exercise the stoppage of his/her tenure clock, he/she must inform the chair in writing no later than the second half of his/her actual fifth year. This written request must also be forwarded to the appropriate dean’s office and the Office of Academic Personnel before the end of the second half of his/her actual fifth year. From that point forward, the sixth academic year will be treated as if it were the fifth academic year. In other words, this candidate will now be considered for tenure during his/her actual seventh academic year rather than during his actual sixth year.
- A request for a stoppage of the tenure clock may not be made after the actual sixth year has begun.
- A stop the clock will not be granted for a faculty member who has 50% or more childrearing responsibilities for a child when that child is born or adopted during the year of the tenure or promotion review.
- In addition, if the conditions described in the paragraphs above are met, the candidate may request Postponement of the Tenure review until the actual eighth academic year. This Postponement of Tenure review is not guaranteed. See APP 3-50 on the “Postponement of the Tenure Review” for appropriate guidelines and procedures to follow.
| * The child may be the appointee's child or that of the appointee's spouse or domestic partner. |