An associate professor's qualifications for tenure may be reviewed at the end of a four-year probationary period but must be reviewed at the end of a six-year probationary period. Only in exceptional cases may the basic academic unit recommend tenure at the time of the initial appointment of an associate professor.
By the end of a six-year probationary period (which must include any years given for prior service), an assistant professor's qualifications for tenure must be reviewed. Any individual who has not made substantial progress toward achieving the rank of Associate Professor by the end of the third year of the probationary period will be given a terminal contract.
The initiation of any early tenure recommendation may be made by the faculty member before the full probationary period ends. If the decision is negative, the faculty member will be notified in writing, and this faculty member may not reapply for tenure until the full probationary period has been served. Generally, early tenure is intended primarily for faculty members who have held tenure at another institution and/or who have made significant contributions to their fields. Assistant Professors who have received prior years of service credit who are in their sixth year of their probation period (including prior service) are not considered as early tenure candidates. If those individuals do not receive tenure in their sixth year, they will not be eligible for further tenure considerations.
Tenure applies only to continuous full-time appointment in the academic units which have the authority to initiate tenure recommendations, except as noted below.
Tenure applies only to a basic nine-month teaching appointment and does not apply to administrative positions. If administrators have tenure, it is held through their academic appointments. An instructional academic unit with authority to initiate tenure recommendations may or may not initiate the recommendation of an administrator who holds academic rank in that unit. In order to be eligible, an administrator must meet the same criteria as full-time faculty.
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