Handbook of Operating Procedures 2-2160

Promotion and Tenure Review



Effective July 17, 2024
Executive Sponsor: Executive Vice President and Provost
Policy Owner: Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

 

  1. Policy Statement

It is the policy of the University of Texas at Austin (“University”) to provide fair and equitable faculty review. Faculty promotion and the award of tenure is based on excellence in performance, evidence of potential for continuing excellence, and consideration of the University’s best interests.
 

  1. Reason for Policy

The University’s promotion and tenure review policy is governed by The University of Texas System (“UT System”) Board of Regents’ Rules and Regulations as well as state and federal law (specific references are included at the end of the policy).
 

  1. Scope & Audience

This policy applies to tenured, tenure-track, and professional-track faculty and to administrators in programs, departments, academic centers, institutes, or organized research units who hold responsibility for providing recommendations for promotion and tenure review. This policy does not apply to faculty at the Dell Medical School except for tenure-track faculty who hold a position jointly with another academic unit outside of the Dell Medical School. 
 

  1. Definitions (specific to this policy)

Academic Center:

Any University institute, program, or center that offers instructional programs as a significant element in its overall mission. (Refer to the University's Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP) 2-2120).

Center:

An academic center, program, organized research unit (ORU), or institute that (1) is not an academic department or a program in a non-departmentalized college or school, and (2) employs professional-track faculty who are not also employed in a primary faculty position by another academic department.

Faculty:

Any individual holding an academic title listed in Regents’ Rule 31001, Section 2.1, 2.2, or 2.3.

Faculty Governance Committee:

A committee that offers recommendations to the unit supervisor for faculty hiring, faculty review, and other responsibilities as assigned. The two kinds of Faculty Governance Committees are Budget Councils and Executive Committees.

Good Cause:

The permissible conduct bases that may support termination of a faculty member who has been granted tenure and all other faculty members before the expiration of the stated period of appointment.

Professional-Track Faculty:

Faculty who are not tenured and are not on the tenure-track. Another term used for this set of faculty title series is “non-tenure-track.”

Promotion Review Committee:

A committee that offers recommendations about faculty promotion and tenure. Examples of Promotion Review Committees include a Budget Council (BC), Executive Committee (EC), ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, and a college or school advisory committee (CAC).

Serious Misconduct:

The permissible conduct bases that may support termination via Summary Dismissal of a faculty member who has been granted tenure and all other faculty members before expiration of the stated period of appointment, as defined in Regents' Rule 31008.

Unit:

Any department, non-departmentalized college or school, program in a non-departmentalized college or school, or center.

Unit Supervisor:

The head of the relevant faculty unit. Examples include the department chair for a department, the dean in a non-departmentalized college or school, the director of a program in a non-departmentalized college or school, and the director of a center.
 

  1. Website (for policy)

https://secure4.compliancebridge.com/utexas/public/getdoc.php?file=2-2160
 

  1. Contacts

CONTACT

DETAILS

WEB

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost 

Phone: 512-471-4363

Website:

https://provost.utexas.edu/
 
  1. Responsibilities & Procedures

 

Recommendations regarding faculty promotion and the award of tenure should be based on excellence in performance, accomplishments, evidence of potential for continuing excellence, and consideration of the University’s best interests. Recommendations are made following evaluation of each faculty candidate’s promotion materials in the relevant areas of specialization by the relevant promotion review committee, supervisor, and dean. The president reviews the recommendations and decides on the appropriate action. If the president favors granting tenure, the president’s recommendation will be forwarded to the chancellor of the University System. If the chancellor also favors granting tenure, the recommendations of the president and the chancellor will be presented to the Board of Regents, which will decide whether to grant tenure. 

Failure to communicate the result of an annual evaluation or to advise a faculty member about needed improvements shall not invalidate or prejudice any recommendation or decision that may be made regarding the promotion or award of tenure for a faculty candidate.

 
  1. Tenure
Regulations concerning academic tenure are provided in the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents, Rule 31001 and Rule 31007. 

Tenure denotes a status of continuing appointment as a member of the faculty at the University. The granting of tenure means the entitlement of a faculty member to continue in the faculty member’s academic position, unless dismissed by the institution for Good Cause or Serious Misconduct in accordance with Regents’ Rule 31008 and HOP 2-2320.
 
The granting of tenure may not be construed to create a property interest in any attribute of a faculty position beyond a faculty member’s continuing employment. Continuing employment includes the faculty member’s regular annual salary and any privileges incident to the faculty member’s status as a tenured professor. The privileges incident to a faculty member’s status as a tenured professor are limited to academic freedom and participation in shared governance. Such privileges do not include appointment to an endowed chair or professorship, administrative appointments, specific office space, schedules, course assignments, specific committee assignments, or other aspects of employment unrelated to academic freedom or participation in shared governance.
 
Only members of the faculty with academic titles of Professor and Associate Professor may be granted tenure. Tenure may not be granted to a faculty member in a professional-track faculty member title series. (See HOP 2-2010). Tenure may be granted at the time of appointment or withheld pending satisfactory completion of a probationary period of faculty service. Appointments to the title Professor or Associate Professor shall be with tenure, except when approved by the Executive Vice President and Provost, or their delegate, in limited circumstances.
 
  1. Areas of Specialization
The areas of specialization include: 
 
  1. Teaching. The Teaching area of specialization refers to teaching of organized classes in the fall, spring, and summer terms for the University’s undergraduate and graduate students, including any formula-funded University courses and University courses offered in programs that are not formula-funded (for example, Option III courses).
 
  1. Research, Creative Activities, and Scholarship (Research). The Research area of specialization refers to the research, creative activities, and scholarship contributions of the faculty candidate.
 
  1. Service. The Service area of specialization refers to all forms of service to the university (including leadership roles and administrative or committee service), as well as public service to the nation, state, or community that is germane to the candidate’s discipline.
 
  1. Mentoring. The Mentoring area of specialization refers to mentoring as well as sponsorship, coaching, supervision and academic counseling of students (from the University or from other educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools), of postdoctoral researchers or fellows, and of junior and peer faculty. The Mentoring focus can involve formal or informal guidance on research, scholarship, or creative endeavors, or advising about the mentee’s career and education more broadly. 
 
  1. Promotion and Tenure Review by Faculty Title, Role, and Rank
The area(s) of specialization to be evaluated for promotion and tenure review depends on the faculty candidate’s title, rank, and role as described below. The review should be contextualized by consideration of the best needs of the unit and the University. 
 
  1. Tenured and Tenure-track Faculty. Excellence in performance, accomplishments, and trajectory in all four areas of specialization listed in section B must be reviewed for any tenured or tenure-track faculty for promotion and tenure review, regardless of whether the candidate holds an administrative appointment.
 
  1. Professional-Track Faculty Outside of the Research Title Series. Promotion review for professional-track faculty who are not in the research title series (i.e., those who are in the instruction, lecturer, practice, clinical, or adjunct series) requires a focus on at least one of the first three areas of specialization listed in section B (i.e., teaching, research, or service) and evaluation of excellence in terms of additional contributions to the academic enterprise. Any professional-track faculty member who teaches any organized course during their time in rank must also be evaluated in the area of teaching.
 
  1. Professional-Track Faculty in the Research Title Series. Promotion review for professional-track faculty in the research title series requires a focus on the research area of specialization in terms of excellence in performance, accomplishments, and trajectory as well as evaluation of additional contributions to the academic enterprise (all of which must be consistent with the terms of employment).
 
  1. Review and Review Materials
  1. Each academic year, the University will issue the University’s General Guidelines on Promotion and Tenure Review for the Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty and the University’s General Guidelines on Promotion Review for the Professional-Track Faculty [“Guidelines”], which will be posted on the provost’s promotion and tenure webpage for the next academic year’s review.
 
  1. Responsibility rests with the individual faculty candidate for creating and submitting an up-to-date dossier of relevant review materials that consolidate and summarize the evidence for and explanation of performance, accomplishments, contributions, and trajectory for the relevant area(s) of specialization (see Sections B and C). The dossier’s contents are listed in the Guidelines for the relevant faculty category (tenured and tenure-track or professional-track) and promotion review year
 
  1. Responsibility for review of the candidate’s dossier and for submission and documentation of review and recommendations regarding promotion and tenure rests with the relevant promotion review committees, supervisor, and/or dean.
 
  1. The dossier and all recommendations shall be forwarded to the president for final review and decision regarding promotion and tenure. If the president favors granting tenure, the president’s recommendation will be forwarded to the chancellor of the University System. If the chancellor also favors granting tenure, the recommendations of the president and the chancellor will be presented to the Board of Regents, which will decide whether to grant tenure.
 
  1. The Guidelines on the provost’s promotion and tenure webpage provide more specific details about the promotion and tenure review process, procedures, and materials for each title series and rank, including the process for jointly appointed faculty. 
 
  1. As documented in the Guidelines, the dean of a college or school, with approval by the provost, may distribute to the college or school faculty such additional procedural guidelines and information as may be appropriate to the evaluation of faculty for promotion and the award of tenure in the college or school. Such additional guidelines shall be void to the extent of any conflict with the Regents’ Rules and Regulations or the Handbook of Operating Procedures.
 
  1. Review Timing
  1. Faculty Candidates in Any Title and Rank.
  1. Recommendations for all changes in academic rank or status through promotion and tenure review are considered on a standardized cycle each academic year in accordance with a schedule and policies set forth by the Provost’s Office. UT Austin does not conduct off-cycle reviews for faculty promotions. In addition, faculty may not move from one rank to another through a hiring, appointment, or other process outside of the promotion review process unless an exception is approved by the provost for unusual and exceptional circumstances.
  1. Candidates who—immediately prior to their appointment at UT Austin—were appointed at one or more other institutions in a rank and tenure status equivalent to their current appointment at UT Austin may elect to combine their years of service at UT Austin with up to three full years of service at the other institution(s) for purposes of calculating years of probationary service or effective years in rank to satisfy the requirements for on-time promotion review. The University’s Guidelines contain more detail about this process, deadlines, and impact on review.
 
  1. Tenure-Track Assistant Professors.
Faculty members appointed as tenure-track assistant professors, who are in their probationary period, must be considered for promotion no later than the sixth year of their probationary service. A review that takes place in the sixth year of probationary service for a tenure-track assistant professor (also known as an "up or out" review year) is considered a mandatory review (also known as an "up or out" review year) as provided in HOP 2-2010 (Academic Titles and Tenure). This policy does not apply to tenure-track assistant professors who are solely appointed in Dell Medical School. This policy does apply to tenure-track faculty appointed jointly in Dell Medical School and another academic unit on campus.
 
  1. Tenure-track Associate Professors and Tenure-Track Full Professors.
Faculty members appointed as tenure-track associate or full professors, who are in their probationary period, must be considered for promotion no later than the third year of their probationary service. A review that takes place in the third year of probationary service for a tenure-track associate or full professor is considered a mandatory review. This policy does not apply to tenure-track associate or full professors who are solely appointed in Dell Medical School. This policy applies to tenure-track faculty appointed jointly in Dell Medical School and another academic unit on campus.
 
  1. Tenured Associate Professors and Professional-Track Faculty. 
 
  1.  Tenured associate professors and professional-track faculty members may be considered for promotion during any academic year deemed appropriate by their Faculty Governance Committee and supervisor. The Guidelines provide definitions and standards for both on-time and accelerated review. The applicable type of review is determined by the number of effective years of service at UT Austin (including any qualifying years of combined service, if elected) the faculty member has accrued.
 
  1. Invoking The Right of Consideration for Promotion Review. Except when subject to restrictions imposed by discipline, tenured associate professors and professional-track faculty members have the right to be considered for promotion as early as their tenth year of service in rank after completing at least two full academic years in service in the same rank at the University. 
  1. To invoke this right of consideration, the tenured associate professor or professional-track faculty member must advise their supervisor of their request to be considered for promotion no later than February 1 of the academic year immediately before the fall semester of the requested review year. 
  1. Should the tenured associate professor or professional-track faculty member not be promoted after invoking their right of consideration for promotion review, then:
  1. The tenured associate professor or professional-track faculty member may be considered for promotion during any subsequent academic year deemed appropriate by their Faculty Governance Committee and supervisor; and
  1. When not subject to restrictions imposed by discipline, the tenured associate professor or professional-track faculty member may again invoke their right to be considered for promotion review in the fall semester that follows completion of a minimum of five additional full academic years of service. The first year of this five-year period starts in the first academic year that begins the fall after the negative promotion decision is made.
  1. Progression of Cases
  1. Promotion review cases for tenure-track faculty members who are up for mandatory review progress through all levels of review unless the candidate resigns from the University before the case progresses to the President’s Review Committee.
 
  1. Promotion review cases for all faculty candidates not up for mandatory review progress through all levels of review unless the candidate either (1) withdraws the case prior to the president’s review or (2) resigns from the University before the case progresses to the President’s Review Committee. 
 
  1. Reconsideration of tenure-track cases in a terminal year do not progress beyond the first level of review (a department in a departmentalized college or a college/school in a non-departmentalized college) unless the BC/EC vote is favorable in support of promotion.
  1. Review and Recommendation Options
Options for the University’s recommendations vary as a function of title series, rank, recommender (committee, supervisor, dean, etc.), and timing of review (up-or-out or not). The Chart of Recommended Actions provided on the provost’s promotion and tenure review webpage contains information about recommendation options.

The president may accept, reject, or modify any recommendation with regard to promotion and the award of tenure of a faculty candidate and may make recommendations to the Board of Regents via the chancellor regarding promotion and tenure regardless of whether a recommendation has been received. The president may also decide to issue a terminal appointment to a tenure-track faculty member.
  1. Reconsideration of Promotion and Tenure Decisions
The University provides the following due process for promotion candidates who have been denied promotion or issued a terminal appointment. 
 
  1. Final Arguments
Within each promotion review cycle, only those tenure-track promotion candidates who have been notified of a decision of terminal appointment pending will be afforded the opportunity to present final arguments to the president before a final decision is made by the president. The Guidelines contain more detail about this process and deadlines.
 
  1. Reconsideration in the Terminal Year
The University has no obligation to provide a faculty member with reconsideration of a negative tenure decision during the terminal year following a promotion review cycle, but a department may request reconsideration based on submission of substantial new evidence by the candidate. The Guidelines contain more detail about this process.
 
  1. Reconsideration by the President
A candidate may request reconsideration of a promotion or tenure decision made by the president if the request is based on new evidence or on evidence of an infringement of the laws or constitution of this state or the United States.
 
  1. Forms & Tools

 Office of Faculty Affairs- Faculty Evaluation Resources
 

  1. Frequently Asked Questions

None
 

  1. Related Information

Regent's Rules and Regulations, Rule 31001 – Faculty Appointments and Titles

Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 31007 – Tenure

Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 31008 – Termination of a Faculty Member

HOP 2-2310 – Faculty Grievance Procedure
 
HOP 2-2010 – Academic Titles and Tenure

HOP 2-2020 – Extension of the Tenure Track Probationary Period
 

  1. History    

Modified: July 17, 2024
        Next scheduled review: July 2027

Modified: October 21, 2014
       Reviewed: July 2022


Previously HOP 3.17