Provost

3.8 Review and Renewal of Non‐Tenured Faculty

Non-tenured faculty are subject to annual renewal/non-renewal reviews. General conditions related to renewal/non-renewal of probationary appointments are noted in the initial letter of appointment and in the Faculty Manual. Any years granted toward tenure consideration at the time of hire do not affect the renewal deadlines for new tenure-track faculty members, even if they have previously served in a visiting capacity.

Renewal/non-renewal notification of all first year and second year probationary faculty will be provided prior to the established deadlines of March 1 and December 15, respectively, and may include review of performance, as well as any other relevant consideration. Note that the December deadline may preclude full consideration of the fall semester’s teaching performance. Probationary faculty members are responsible for submitting any required or relevant material for renewal consideration by the time the college dean has indicated or at least two weeks in advance of the dean’s deadline, normally February 15 for first year appointments and November 30 for second year appointments.

Following a member’s second year of service, annual performance evaluations will take place as scheduled each spring, with notice of renewal/non-renewal due by May 31. In case of non-renewal, faculty members would still have the next academic year remaining on their contract. Second year faculty members renewed for their third year in December will be reviewed again in May for renewal or non-renewal for their fourth year. The Table of Employment decisions can be found in Appendix D.

Renewal/non-renewal recommendations, as well as performance evaluations, are shared with the faculty member, who will have opportunity for a conference with the college dean.

3.8.1 Requests for Reconsideration

Appeals of non-renewal decisions are limited to procedural matters and do not extend to considerations of judgment, in accordance with Section 5.9: Grievance Procedures. Non-renewal decisions do not necessarily constitute dismissal or imply unsatisfactory performance. The university is not, however, obligated to show cause or give reasons in the case of non-renewal of a probationary appointment.

3.8.2 Promotion from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer

Criteria for Promotion

1. Promotion from the rank of Lecturer to Senior Lecturer may be considered after five years of consecutive full-time service (at least 12 semester credit hours per semester), calculated from the date of hire.
2. Candidates for promotion to senior lecturer will be judged principally, though not exclusively, on their achievements in the area of teaching. Research and service achievements will be considered as part of the candidate's portfolio, but they are not required elements for consideration.
3. Candidates for promotion to senior lecturer should include the following items in their portfolios: an up-to-date curriculum vitae, copies of teaching evaluations, a self-analysis (described in Section 3.7.4.1 of the Faculty Manual), the philosophy of teaching (described in Section 3.7.4.1.2), and other supporting documentation about their professional practices and achievements that candidates feel are relevant for the review process.
4. Candidates for promotion to senior lecturer will be evaluated with the same ratings with which tenure-track candidates for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure and tenured candidates for promotion to Professor are evaluated (Section 3.7.7.1 of the Faculty Manual).
5. Candidates for promotion to senior lecturer will follow the same appeals procedures as other candidates for promotion and tenure as described in Section 3.7.9 of the Faculty Manual.
6. Senior Lecturers cannot be tenured, and they will receive the same review and renewal letters, as described in Section 3.8 of the Faculty Manual.
7. Once promotion to senior lecturer is approved, the new senior lecturer will receive a salary increment $4,000, and such an increment will be considered exclusive of other possible increments through merit and/or equity.

Promotion Timeline

1. A lecturer who is eligible for promotion to Senior Lecturer must submit a request and supporting evidence to the college dean by September 1.
2. The dean shall review the request and the supporting documentation and provide his recommendation for or against the request to the college promotion and tenure committee. The supporting documentation does not have to include evaluations from external reviewers.
3. The dean forwards his recommendation, along with the supporting documentation to the college advisory committee by September 15.
4. The college advisory committee reports their recommendation back to the dean by November 1. The candidate is informed of the committee's recommendation by November 15.
5. The dean's recommendation is sent to the University Promotion and Tenure committee, Provost, and candidate by November 15.
6. The University Promotion and Tenure Committee sends its recommendation to the Provost with a copy to the dean and the candidate by February 1.
7. The Provost sends his/her recommendation to the President with a copy to the committee, college dean, and candidate by March 1.
8. The President's recommendation is forwarded to the Chancellor on April 1.