Criteria and Procedures for Tenure
- The tenure of a faculty member is described in the Bylaws of the Board of Regents. The description, in part, states:
- A ‘Continuous Appointment’ is an appointment terminable only for adequate cause, bona fide discontinuance of a program or department, retirement for age or disability, or extraordinary circumstance because of financial exigencies. No person shall acquire a Continuous Appointment until notice has been received by him that such an appointment has been awarded by the Board. Continuous Appointment as defined herein means academic tenure . . . The total period of full-time service on a faculty Appointment for a Specific Term prior to acquisition of a Continuous Appointment shall not exceed seven years, including all previous tenure-related full-time service with the rank of instructor or higher in all accredited institutions of higher education, unless a contrary agreement is specified in writing at the time the appointee is initially appointed by the University to an Appointment for a Specific Term. For faculty members with three or more years of previous tenure-related full-time service with the rank of instructor or higher at accredited institutions of higher education, such agreement will not normally extend the period of service at the University beyond four years before a Continuous Appointment is acquired . . .
- The College expects faculty members to be productive over their entire careers in the three important areas of teaching, research/creative activity, and service. The College sees the interdependence of these three as fundamental and expects achievement in these three areas to carry national or international significance, as appropriate. In this light, a recommendation for tenure should be made only if the faculty member’s attainment is not only significant but also has been sustained over a sufficient period of time to indicate the likelihood of continuation after an award of tenure.
In order to attain tenure, faculty performance in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity and service must meet the requirements of the School of Music and the College, and must be at a level that is commensurate with the ideals of the university. Specific criteria for describing faculty performance that meets these goals are determined by the faculty in music and dance. However, achievement in all areas must at least meet expectations at the time of tenure.
In all but unusual circumstances, promotion of tenure eligible faculty to the rank of associate professor takes place at the same time as or before the tenure decision. However, since the decision regarding tenure is based upon broader criteria (particularly involving the probability of continued achievement and the attainment of national or international recognition), the two actions take place separately and require separate decisions. While it is assumed that a faculty member who has earned tenure should also have earned promotion to associate professor, promotion in rank carries no guarantee regarding the granting of tenure.
- Procedure: In the GKSOM, a faculty member working toward tenure undergoes a major reappointment review during the fourth year of service. A final major review, with respect to tenure, occurs during the sixth year of service. At the end of the sixth year, the faculty member is notified of an award of either a one-year terminal contract or tenure beginning in the seventh year. Early granting of tenure (if there was no previous tenure-related experience) is possible but only when extremely meritorious performance, deemed outstanding, is evidenced. Tenure recommendations are developed in a context separate from other concerns; i.e., neither promotion offered before completion of the probationary period, nor positive annual evaluations, are guarantees of eventual tenure.
Faculty members on tenure-track lines should be aware that, for the tenure file, evaluative comments in the appropriate music or dance discipline will be solicited by the Director from other major universities, professional or other suitable organizations, additional scholarly institutions, etc. These outside evaluations will become one of the important components of the prepared file. The Director will invite the candidate seeking tenure to recommend the names of possible external reviewers who, in the estimation of the candidate, are well qualified to assess the significance of the candidate’s work, particularly regarding the candidate’s research/creative activities. The office of the Vice Chancellor provides a release form offering confidentiality options with respect to the selected reviewers. For a copy of this form, please see the Director.
Recommendations for tenure are voted on by all faculty members in the GKSOM whose tenure has been approved by the Board of Regents and only by them. The official voting is done by secret ballot following a meeting of the appropriate faculty during which discussion and clarification of the candidate’s file occurs. Any tenured faculty member can indicate whether or not further information would help in arriving at a decision. The Director submits the faculty’s recommendation and his or her recommendation to the Dean’s Office with supporting documents, including teaching evaluations. The Dean’s Office submits the faculty’s and Director’s recommendations to the College Executive Committee. The College Executive Committee forwards all materials, previous recommendations, and its recommendation to the Dean for his or her recommendation. All recommendations are presented to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and to the Chancellor. The Board of Regents has final approval. At every step in the process, the faculty member must be given copies of all recommendations and has the right to read and respond to any recommendation forwarded to the next level.