Except under unusual circumstances described in item 8, to obtain tenure, a professor must have been employed continuously at the University for five to seven years prior to tenure being awarded. Professors will be notified by the end of the seventh year if the President has approved the recommendation for tenure. The next year s contract will reflect the awarding of tenure and the terms of continuous employment. If tenure is not to be awarded, the professor will be given employment for one more year to allow his or her to search for another position. If tenure and promotion are frozen, the years involved will not count in the five to seven year period under consideration.
All faculty are subject to a yearly evaluation.
Given a satisfactory yearly evaluation, the employee can expect, with the recommendation of the President, to be employed the next year. IF a tenured employee s annual evaluation is unsatisfactory, the division head will confer with the individual detailing a plan for improvement for the coming year s appointment. The faculty member will be informed that satisfactory improvement will result in continuation of tenured status, and unsatisfactory improvement will result in termination for cause. Option of the plan of improvement could include, but are not limited to, leave of absence for up-dating skills and close evaluation of specified weak areas with satisfactory improvement criteria clearly specified. A copy of the plan of improvement and the method of evaluation will be filed with the Vice President for Academic Affairs.