How To Get Tenure Or Promotion At A University

Transcription

1 Tenure and Promotion Lunch and Learn Secretariat and Office of General Counsel March 26, 2015

2 Agenda Welcome and introductions Deadlines in Policy 77 Tenure and promotion committees Timing (when to apply) Tenure and promotion procedures Tenure and promotion appeals

3 DEADLINES IN POLICY 77 May 1 chair reports DTPC membership to the dean and to the department s tenured and probationary faculty chair invites those who wish to be considered for tenure or promotion to apply by June 1 June 1 candidate applies to the department chair in writing then meets with the chair to discuss the procedures to be followed July 1 candidate shall submit: - a brief supporting the application for tenure or promotion - the names of at least three arms-length external referees who can assess her/his published work Fall term - applications considered by the DTPC and FTPC

4 TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEES Department Tenure and Promotion Committee (DTPC) Chaired by the department chair Includes four to six tenured faculty members Elected by the tenured and probationary faculty of the department Normally a majority should be full professors Desirable that it includes men and women Dean may appoint a non-voting advisor

5 TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEES (DTPC cont.) In small departments or where there are too few full professors to constitute a majority on the committee, the dean, after consultation with the department and with the written approval of the Vice-President, Academic & Provost (VPA&P), may make other arrangements respecting the size and composition of the DTPC.

6 TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEES Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee (FTPC) Chaired by the dean Includes at least five tenured faculty members broadly representative of faculty program areas Elected by the tenured and probationary members of the faculty FTPC members may not serve simultaneously on a DTPC in the same faculty A majority of the FTPC s elected members shall be full professors Desirable that it includes men and women

7 TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEES (FTPC cont.) VPA&P appoints an additional voting member from outside the faculty University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee (UTPAC) appoints a non-voting advisor Dean reports the membership of the FTPC to the VPA&P and to the faculty s tenured and probationary faculty

8 TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEES University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee (UTPAC) Is advisory to Senate through the VPA&P concerning tenure and promotion standards, policies and procedures, and may recommend changes to the VPA&P Reports to Senate annually on its activities Consists of the chair plus six additional tenured faculty members jointly appointed by the VPA&P and the FAUW president for three-year terms At least five full professors

9 TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEES (UTPAC cont.) Includes men and women UTPAC chair appoints a member to each FTPC, with no member serving on the FTPC in her/his own faculty Members of UTPAC may not serve on any DTPC or FTPC

10 TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEES University Tenure and Promotion Committee (UTPC) Is advisory to the president meets last Wednesday of February Chaired by the VPA&P Includes the deans, the associate provost, graduate studies and the vice-president, university research Two non-voting student members, one undergraduate and one graduate, appointed by the VPA&P in consultation with the presidents of the student groups

11 TIMING (when to apply) Tenure - normally occurs during the second year of the second probationary term Candidate may choose to postpone consideration until the third year.

12 Tenure Clock July 1, 2009 (beginning of first probationary term) Faculty member applies to chair by June 1, 2014 if chose to wait until third year of second probationary term. July 1, th Year 1st Year July 1, 2010 Must submit material by July 1, th Year 2nd Year 4th Year 3rd Year July 1, 2013 July 1, 2011 Faculty member applies to chair by June 1, 2013 if wants to proceed in fifth year. Must submit material by July 1, End of July 1, 2012 (beginning of second probationary term)

13 TIMING (when to apply) In exceptional circumstances, may be considered for tenure earlier than the second year of the second probationary appointment. Such early consideration requires the agreement in advance of the candidate and the DTPC plus the written agreement of the dean. If either the DTPC or the FTPC recommends against tenure, early tenure consideration ends and the candidate must wait for tenure consideration until the final year of the second probationary-term appointment.

14 TIMING (when to apply) Promotion - a tenured associate professor may apply in any year for promotion; unusual for promotion to occur prior to five years of fulltime service in the rank of associate professor. If an application for promotion is unsuccessful, the candidate becomes eligible to reapply two years thereafter.

15 Reapply? Only two situations when can reapply: early tenure application ends; wait until final year of appointment promotion application unsuccessful; can reapply two years later

16 TENURE AND PROMOTION PROCEDURES Application - The candidate informs the department chair in writing by June 1; meets with the chair to discuss the procedures to be followed Candidate s brief - By July 1, the candidate submits a brief supporting the application. Brief must include a curriculum vitae, copies of relevant scholarly work, a summary of the candidate s contributions in scholarship, teaching and service, and any other relevant information the candidate feels may be useful

17 T and P Procedures ( cont.) Annual Performance Reviews The chair provides the DTPC with copies of all written assessments made of the candidate within the department. External referees External opinions of a candidate s scholarly contributions are sought in all tenure and promotion cases; normally at least three external reviews are obtained.

18 T and P Procedures (cont.) External referees are to be external to UW and at arm s-length from the candidate Candidate must submit, by July 1, the names of at least three arms-length external referees who can assess her/his published work DTPC considers the candidate s list of referees and normally will suggest additional names Chair consults with the dean Chair informs candidate of the pool of potential referees

19 Candidate may challenge, in writing to the DTPC, a potential referee for bias, apprehension of bias, perceived conflict of interest or unsuitability. If the DTPC and the candidate do not agree on the pool of potential referees, at least half of the referees contacted must be from those approved by the candidate. Letters soliciting comments from referees shall be sent by the dean. [template letters and guidelines May 29, 2009]

20 Referees are sent copies of Policy 77 and scholarly work Informal contacts with potential external referees by the department chair, DTPC or FTPC members, or the candidate are inappropriate fine to contact to see whether will be a referee before sending material Note also: If a candidate s work intersects significantly with work in another academic unit, the chair will normally ask an appropriate member or members of that unit for comment and gives those names to the DTPC.

21 Tenure or promotion file all evidence considered by the DTPC, the FTPC or the president the DTPC assessment of the candidate s performance in teaching, scholarship and service the outcome of deliberations by the DTPC, the FTPC and the president the numerical record of votes taken, plus any written statements, including reasons, by DTPC or FTPC members who do not agree with the majority recommendation

22 If the file is provided to the candidate, it shall include all internal or external letters of assessment with the names of the authors and other identifying references deleted, unless the authors have expressly consented to being identified. Be careful to remove anything that could identify the referee, his/her institution or location (even reference such as other European institutions )

23 Conflict of interest Committee member who has a conflict of interest in a particular case is to declare the conflict E.g. sharing a grant, co-author within past 5 years may be a conflict Must be absent from the portion of committee meetings dealing with that case, not just the voting If the chair has a conflict of interest, the committee elects a member to serve as chair pro tem during the absence of the chair

24 Challenges A candidate may challenge in writing any member of a DTPC or FTPC for bias, apprehension of bias or perceived conflict of interest. The committee, excluding the member challenged, shall decide whether the challenge is well-founded. If so, the challenged member shall not attend those portions of committee meetings dealing with the specific case. If the committee decides that a challenge is not wellfounded, the challenged member shall participate, but the challenge becomes part of the record for any subsequent consideration or appeal.

25 Procedures at the Department Level (DTPC) DTPC is to: meet to consider all applications from the department prepare an assessment of each candidate s performance in teaching, scholarship and service decide whether to recommend tenure or promotion [Note: recommend, not decide to grant] This is what is to be completed by the end of the process.

26 The assessment should set out the evidence considered, the criteria applied to the evidence, the evaluation of the candidate in each of the three areas and the emphasis placed on each area. The assessment that is provided to the FTPC should explain the discussion by the DTPC how the success of the candidate in each area was viewed, any differing opinions offered, what matters were viewed as significant, the impact of the referees letters.

27 Policy 77 (section 6) states: If members of the DTPC express significant reservations that could result in a negative recommendation, the Chair shall provide the candidate with a complete copy of the tenure or promotion file, together with a written explanation of the nature of the reservations in sufficient detail to allow the candidate to respond.

28 Policy 77 (section 6) The key phrase is that could result in a negative recommendation. There has not yet been a recommendation, so there should not have been an official vote. How does the chair find out if there might be a negative recommendation? A straw poll to get an indication of the opinion on the candidate certainly is appropriate. It is not a vote and the numerical results are not to be communicated to the candidate.

29 Policy 77 (section 6) If there are significant reservations, the candidate should be given an explanation of the concerns of the DTPC so that s/he can try to address them. The candidate has ten working days to provide her/his written response (including any relevant new evidence) to the chair for distribution to the DTPC. The candidate may also choose to appear before the DTPC and may choose to be accompanied by a UW academic colleague.

30 The DTPC does not finalize its recommendation until the candidate has been given the opportunity to respond. It is after the candidate has been given the chance to submit a written response to the concerns expressed and to appear that the DTPC votes and finalizes its recommendation. The vote is to be by secret ballot (Deans Council instruction June 2013)

31 When the DTPC has completed its deliberations the chair does a letter to the candidate to advise of the outcome, but not the numerical record of the votes. If the outcome is negative: the letter should include a brief explanation of the reasons. the chair gives the candidate an opportunity to withdraw the file (and should let the candidate know that the result of withdrawal is that the candidate will not be pursuing tenure at UW [cannot apply again]. The file is forwarded to the dean for consideration by the FTPC unless the candidate withdraws.

32 DTPC Memo (Deans Council, Nov. 25/09) Committee chair provides a copy to members. To acknowledge that s/he has received a copy, each member signs one master copy or s the committee chair within two working days of distribution of the memo. Any committee member who does not agree with the majority recommendation may submit a signed statement setting out the reasons s/he disagrees to the committee chair within five working days of distribution of the memo. The committee chair will append any statement received to the memo.

33 DTPC Memo (Deans Council, Nov. 25/09) Statement on the memo/in the I acknowledge that I received a copy of the memo setting out the discussion and recommendation of the committee. I am aware that, in the event I disagree with the majority recommendation, I have the opportunity to submit a signed statement with reasons for my disagreement. I am also aware that should I see the need, I have the opportunity to submit a signed clarification. Disagreements and clarifications must be submitted to the chair within 5 working days of distribution of the memo.

34 Procedures at the Faculty Level (FTPC) The FTPC considers all positive recommendations to ensure that the DTPC has acted carefully and appropriately in its deliberations, that its recommendations are sound and that comparable standards are being applied from department to department. Negative DTPC recommendations are reviewed unless the candidate has chosen to withdraw her/his case.

35 Procedures at the Faculty Level (FTPC) DTPC chair (or delegate) normally will present the DTPC recommendations to the FTPC and will be available to answer questions, but shall not otherwise participate in the proceedings In exceptional circumstances, the FTPC may decide to contact additional arms-length, external referees; if such additional referees were not in the original pool of potential referees developed by the DTPC, the candidate has a right to challenge as at the DTPC level.

36 Procedures at the Faculty Level (FTPC) If there are significant reservations, the candidate should be given an explanation of the concerns of the FTPC so that s/he can try to address them. It is likely that a summary of these concerns would be included in the memo to the president no matter what the recommendation. The candidate has ten working days to provide her/his written response (including any relevant new evidence) to the chair for distribution to the FTPC.

37 The candidate may also choose to appear before the FTPC and may choose to be accompanied by a UW academic colleague. The FTPC shall not finalize its recommendation until the candidate has been given the opportunity to respond. It is after the candidate has been given the chance to submit a written response to the concerns expressed and to appear that the FTPC votes and finalizes its recommendation. The vote is to be by secret ballot (Deans Council instruction June 2013)

38 Procedures at the Faculty Level (FTPC) ( cont.) When the FTPC has completed its deliberations the dean does a letter to the candidate to advise of the outcome, but not the numerical record of the votes. If the outcome is negative: the letter should include a brief explanation of the reasons. the dean gives the candidate an opportunity to withdraw the file (and should let the candidate know that the result of withdrawal is that the candidate will not be pursuing tenure at UW [cannot apply again].

39 Procedures at the Faculty Level (FTPC) ( cont.) The file is forwarded to the president for consideration unless the candidate withdraws. Note: Negative promotion recommendations by both the DTPC and FTPC result in the file being closed for that particular year; can reapply in two years.

40 Procedures at the President Level The President The president considers all tenure or promotion recommendations forwarded by the FTPC, together with the advice of the UTPC. If the president decides in favour of promotion, he/she informs the candidate and reports the promotion to Senate (September) and the Board of Governors (October) for information.

41 Procedures at the President Level If the president supports the granting of tenure, he/she informs the candidate, recommends approval to the Board of Governors (April, letter from secretary of the university) and subsequently reports the granting of tenure to Senate for information. (Sept.) If the president decides against tenure or promotion, he/she informs the candidate in writing with reasons. In the event of a negative tenure decision, the candidate s appointment is extended as necessary to provide 12 months notice from the date the candidate is informed.

42 TENURE AND PROMOTION APPEALS A negative tenure or promotion decision by the president may be appealed. Within ten working days of being informed of the negative decision, the candidate must submit written notice of intent to appeal to the UTPAC Chair (through the Secretariat). Now the Secretariat becomes actively involved.

43 Tenure and Promotion Appeals (cont.) *The UTPAC Chair establishes a three-person Tribunal to hear the appeal. *The Secretariat facilitates this process. *Members of the Tribunal are usually tenured Associate Professors or Professors in the candidate s discipline or a related discipline, with no prior connection to the case, and with no close personal connection to the candidate.

44 Tenure and Promotion Appeals (cont.) How are the tribunal members chosen? Both the President and the Candidate each propose at least three possible Tribunal members. Both parties have the opportunity to challenge in writing the names proposed by the other. Process managed by the Secretariat. There should be at least one member proposed by both parties. Formal Appointment of members and of Tribunal chair done by UTPAC Chair.

45 Tenure and Promotion Appeals ( cont.) Sometimes a Tribunal member external to the University must be considered (rare) The Secretariat arranges all of the elements of the Tenure and Promotion hearing. This includes gathering the complete Tenure and Promotion file together, taking submissions from the President and from the candidate, and distributing the submissions to the Tribunal members for review. A Tenure and Promotion Appeal hearing is held with the selected Tribunal members presiding.

46 Tenure and Promotion Appeals (cont.) At the Tenure and Promotion Appeal hearing, both the candidate and the President may present arguments and submissions, and may call, examine and question witnesses. Anyone may be called as a witness. The candidate may be accompanied by a UW colleague. Burden of proof on candidate that criteria for Tenure and Promotion have been met.

47 Tenure and Promotion Appeals (cont.) The Tribunal decides the matter by majority vote, and a written decision is sent by the Tribunal Chair to the parties. Decision is final and binding although allegations of procedural error may be grieved. Entire process managed by the Secretariat. Entire process conducted in accordance with the principles of natural justice.

48 Tenure and Promotion Appeals (cont.) What is natural justice? Simply put, rules of fair play long established by the common law Evidence - No bias or apprehension of bias - Right of full and fair hearing The Secretariat role is to: - facilitate the hearing - ensure that the hearing is held in accordance with natural justice -ensure that all participants are treated fairly.

49 Tenure and Promotion Appeals Role of Chairs / Directors/ Deans: to ensure that meticulous records are kept; to ensure that there is no bias or reasonable apprehension of bias at the Department or Faculty levels; to call the Secretariat with any questions or concerns we are happy to help!

50 Managing DTPC Records Official records: T&P files forwarded to the FTPC: the forwarded file (paper) is the official record. T&P files not forwarded (i.e. the candidate withdraws): the official file is the DTPC file (paper) retain as part of the candidate s official employment file in the department (should be stored separately must be redacted if the faculty member wants to see it)

51 Managing FTPC Records Official records: T&P files forwarded to the president: the forwarded file (paper) is the official record. T&P files not forwarded (i.e. the candidate withdraws): the official file is the FTPC file (paper) retain as part of the candidate s official employment file in the department (should be stored separately must be redacted if the faculty member wants to see it)

52 List of Potential Referees Policy 75, Official Employment Files of Regular Faculty Members provides: the list of names from which referees were selected shall be included in the file - dean s office should ensure the list is put in the candidate s file

53 Copies: the copy of the forwarded file retained by the DTPC/FTPC chair/secretary confidentially destroy once the final decision (including any appeal) has been rendered copies distributed to DTPC/FTPC members confidentially destroy once the committee decision has been rendered includes both paper and electronic copies. Best practice is to collect paper copies at the end of the final committee meeting. If using electronic copies of files, use a secure site such as SharePoint rather than distributing by and delete once the committee s decisions have been made. Ensure that any copies printed from the SharePoint site are also destroyed.