That issue was not a key concern of Health Affairs faculty. Faculty members in Health Affairs frequently do not follow the straight and relatively short route to full professor that is common in Academic Affairs. Health Affairs faculty may take longer to earn their degrees and to find permanent positions, and they may spend time on a clinical or research track as well as on tenure track. For those on tenure track, deferral of review for promotion to full professor appears to be more common than in the Division of Academic Affairs, although records were not checked to confirm this impression. Deferral may be suggested by the chair of the department or requested by a faculty member who does not feel ready or does not expect a favorable recommendation at all stages of review.
Some associate professors stay at that level by their own informed choice.
They understand which activities are necessary for promotion, but they value what they are doing so highly that they are unwilling to shift their professional priorities. Everyone agreed that the department chair is the key to promotion and that he or she must take seriously the responsibility to guide and help junior faculty. Some faculty members expressed disappointment at being asked to defer without being told why and without advice about how best to prepare for promotion at a later time. Opinions varied about the importance of teaching in promotion decisions. Most people said that they spend more time now than in the past documenting their teaching and creating teaching portfolios.