This document presents guidelines for the tenure and promotion process in a manner consistent with the Board of Regents regulations and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Specific criteria for tenure and promotion must be developed by individual colleges and departments. In order for the University to perform its functions effectively, it is essential that faculty members feel free to express new ideas and divergent viewpoints in their teaching and research. A university must create an atmosphere that encourages faculty members to develop and share different ideas and divergent views and to make inquiries unbounded by present norms.
Tenure contributes significantly to the creation of such an atmosphere.
These criteria shall take into account the mission and needs of the institution and shall place appropriate emphasis upon teaching and teaching-related scholarship. In this regard, the institution shall ensure that teaching is evaluated broadly, including assessments by peers and students, and that teaching performance is prominently considered in the award of tenure. The academic units of the University may further refine these criteria according to the standards of the respective disciplines. In addition, collegiality and participation as a citizen of the University are an integral part of faculty performance. Because the decision projects lifetime performance from the first few years of a faculty member's career, tenure must be awarded only as a result of careful assessment over a period of time sufficient to judge the faculty member's documented accomplishments, ability, and probable future productivity.