A. Tenure Standards*
- With due consideration for accepted standards of academic freedom, and in light of the long term structural academic needs of the departments, a decision to grant tenure shall be based on the judgment that an individual meets the accepted standards for (1) teaching; (2) scholarship, research or creative work; and (3) service within and outside the University appropriate to rank.
Faculty members who show evidence of outstanding performance with respect to two of the above standards may be considered for tenure. - Contributions to the general evaluation processes regarding tenure shall involve the administration, faculty and students, with the understanding that faculty status and related matters are a primary faculty responsibility.
- Tenure standards, considerations regarding tenure eligibility, and procedures for granting of tenure are matters of importance in their own right and can be considered apart from provisions regarding promotion.
- The length of service required for eligibility for tenure shall vary to accommodate both the experienced professor who is already established and the person at the beginning of an academic career.
- All matters related to tenure shall be applicable to the entire University in a manner which preserves the autonomy of the individual college or school in administering them, providing other provisions of this section are duly observed.
B. Tenure Eligibility**
- Presidential faculty members may be appointed at the rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, or Instructor depending upon their credentials and their prior experience in faculty positions or other pursuits that qualify them for initial faculty appointment. After consultation with the appropriate faculty body in the department and/or school/college and the department chair, where pertinent, the Dean shall recommend appointment at a suitable rank based upon the credentials and experience of the proposed appointee.
- By mutual consent between a presidential appointee at any rank and the University, a specified number of years of prior experience, but not to exceed three years, may be credited toward the six-year period during which a faculty member shall be considered for tenure. The determination of the amount of such credit, if any, will be made in writing at the time of initial appointment. The number of prior years of experience that shall be credited toward the six-year period shall be recommended by the Dean to the President after consultation with appropriate faculty bodies and administrators as provided in paragraph 1 above.
- Presidential faculty members in any rank may be given an initial appointment of up to three years and additional appointments of one year or more. There is no right to reappointment at the end of any initial or additional appointment, but a person who is not reappointed shall be given written notice in advance pursuant to the terms of paragraph III.
- The total number of years of appointment and reappointment for a presidential faculty member shall not exceed six years, including the years credited for prior experience at the time of initial appointment, and will be followed by either: (1) a termination of contract provided at least one year's notice of termination has been given in writing; (2) a one-year terminal contract; or (3) tenure as hereinafter stated. In no event may the service at Temple, combined with tenure track service at comparable institutions of higher education exceed ten years.
Nothing in these provisions shall preclude a faculty member from applying for consideration for tenure before completion of the maximum six-year period of service for consideration for tenure.
Persons appointed at the rank of Professor or Associate Professor may, under exceptional circumstances, be granted tenure upon initial appointment. Where the person so appointed does not hold tenure at a comparable institution, the appointment may be made only after due consideration by an appropriate faculty body through a procedure (expedited, if necessary) substantially in compliance with Paragraph IV.C, numbers 3-5.
Rules Applicable to All Eligible Faculty
- If an individual has not been formally informed of being considered for tenure during the year in which such consideration is mandatory, it shall be the responsibility of the individual to inform, in writing, by December 1 of that year, the Department Chairperson, Dean, and Provost that such tenure consideration is necessary. If both the University and the individual miscount the individual’s years of service that qualify for tenure eligibility so that a tenure review inadvertently does not take place during the individual’s last year of eligibility for tenure consideration as set forth above, then the individual shall be considered for tenure as soon as possible following the discovery of such circumstance; and, in the event of a negative decision in such a case, a terminal contract for a final year will be granted.
- Except when on terminal contract, Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Instructors who have held office in the University for more than the number of years provided for above, shall have tenure for life, or until retirement under a general retirement plan, or for mental or physical disability, or until the termination of their service in accordance with the provisions hereinafter stated.
- All full-time faculty members shall be eligible for consideration for tenure. Excluded, in addition to part-time personnel, are all individuals serving on an agreed upon limited period of service (Dean’s appointments) such as visiting faculty or faculty serving limited terms related to the consummation of specific research programs. Except for appointees on clinical educator tracks in the Schools of Medicine, Allied Health, Pharmacy, Podiatry, and Dentistry, Legal Writing Professors in the Law School, and Special Appointment Faculty, in no case will the service of a faculty member ineligible for tenure exceed seven years. Specifically, the only full-time faculty ranks eligible for tenure consideration shall be Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Instructors.
C. Tenure Procedure
- Consideration for tenure shall be automatic, appropriate to the rank and years of service of the individual as prescribed above.
- Consideration for tenure may be initiated at the appropriate time by any or all of the following five University agencies:
- The chair or appropriate committee of the faculty member’s department.
- The Dean of the school or college in which the faculty member serves.
- Any full professor in the relevant department.
- The faculty member.
- An appropriate committee of the relevant school or college.
- Initial consideration of tenure cases shall be at the departmental level through a departmental faculty vehicle to be defined by the tenured members of the department or, where there are no tenured faculty, by those who are full-time Presidential appointments.
- Following action by the department, the chair has these responsibilities:
- To make an independent recommendation on each tenure case and to communicate this recommendation to the appropriate committee of the department.
- To inform the individual faculty member of the departmental recommendation.
- To transmit all of the recommendations of the departmental committee and the chair to the college level for consideration.
- Tenure decisions are next considered by an appropriate college committee having responsibility for tenure matters, where such a committee exists, and by the Dean of the college. Procedures at this level should be established by the individual college. Only presidential faculty will serve on the collegial tenure committee and only presidential faculty may select the faculty to serve on the tenure committee.***
- Following consideration at the college level, the Dean has these responsibilities:
- To make an independent recommendation on each tenure case and to communicate this recommendation to the appropriate committee of the school or college.
- To inform the individual faculty member of the college recommendation.
- To transmit all recommendations to the Chair of the Council of Deans.
- On receipt of the several recommendations on tenure from the Dean, the Chair of the Council of Deans shall:
- Submit recommendations on tenure to the Council of Deans for information only where all preceding recommendations are in agreement.
- Submit all materials relating to tenure for all cases where there is disagreement among preceding recommendations to the Council of Deans for their advice.
- At each step during consideration for tenure, a candidate shall receive copies of the memoranda of transmittal when they are forwarded by the Departmental Committee, Department Chair, College Committee, and Dean. In the case of an adverse recommendation by the Council of Deans, the appropriate Dean shall notify the department chair and faculty member of the basis for such action.
- Any of the agencies of the University involved in these tenure procedures may initiate action for review of a tenure recommendation with the Council of Deans.
- All such recommendations on tenure shall be forwarded by the Chair of the Council of Deans to the President of the University for transmittal to the Board of Trustees. Rejection of these recommendations by the President or the Board of Trustees should be only for compelling reason, stated in detail to those agencies which made the recommendation.
- If recommendation for tenure is denied, an appeal on either substantive or procedural grounds may be presented by the faculty member to the Personnel Committee of the Faculty Senate, which shall forward its recommendations to the appropriate officers of the University for transmittal to the Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees.