Academic Affairs Home Faculty Review Promotion and Tenure Overview of Process

Overview of Process

The purpose of the promotion and tenure process is to perform an objective evaluation of each case at several levels of review. Therefore, each case goes through at least seven levels of independent review before a final recommendation is achieved: DFRAC, Department Chair/School Director, CFRAC, dean, UFRAC, provost, and president. The president’s recommendation in all cases is final, but is subject to approval by the UT System Board of Regents.

The promotion and tenure review process is summarized in the table below, which outlines the rough timeline and actions of the procedure.

When	Who	Responsibility
January	Academic Affairs	Forward forms for early promotion and tenure and promotion to full professor to the colleges and departments
Feb. 1	Dean's Office	Deadline to forward requests for early promotion and tenure review and requests for promotion to full professor to Academic Affairs.
Feb.– March	Academic Affairs	Notify deans and Department Chairs/School Directors which faculty members are due to undergo a mandatory review in the coming fall semester.
March	Academic Affairs	Notify tenure-track faculty members that their mandatory review will take place in the coming fall semester.
	Applicant	Begin assembling materials for application packet and materials for external reviewers; submit names of suggested external reviewers to chair.
April–May	Academic Affairs	Set up electronic boxes and forward links to applicants.
	Applicant	Continue assembling application packet and materials for external reviewers.
	Department Chair/School Director	Solicit suggestions of external reviewers from applicant and faculty; Begin contacting potential reviewers
	Dean	If the faculty member being reviewed for promotion to full professor is a Department Chair/School Director, the dean shall appoint another faculty member at or above the rank of the Department Chair/School Director to serve in the role of Department Chair/School Director for this process. Provide the name to Academic Affairs.
Summer		Finish assembling application packet
	Department Chair/School Director	Upload external review letters as received, a short bio for each reviewer and a copy of the letter sent to the reviewer requesting his/her assistance with the P&T cases no later than September 1st.*
September	Dean's Office	Provide DFRAC names to Academic Affairs no later than Sept. 1 or the first workday thereafter. Provide CFRAC names to Academic Affairs no later than Sept. 10 or the first workday thereafter.
	Applicant	Upload promotion and tenure documents to the official Faculty Review folder in SharePoint no later than Sept. 1^st or the first workday thereafter.
September-October	DFRAC	Review application packet and external review letters; Deliberate in closed meeting and vote on case; Prepare a written summary of evaluation analysis
	Department Chair/School Director	Review all application materials, including DFRAC recommendation; Prepare a written recommendation for forwarding to college; Provide a written notification to applicant of the Department’s recommendations; Upload DFRAC memo and Department Chair/School Director memo to the official Faculty Review folder in SharePoint;
	Applicant	Optional opportunity to update file by adding new materials before forwarding to College
September-November	CFRAC	Review application packet, external review letters, peer observer’s report(s), faculty member’s report(s), and department recommendations; Deliberate in closed meeting and vote on case; Prepare a written summary of evaluation analysis.
	College Dean	Review application packet, external review letters, peer observer report(s) faculty member report(s), department recommendations, and CFRAC recommendation; Prepare a written recommendation for forwarding to provost; Provide a written notification to applicant of the college’s recommendations; Upload signed checklist to the official Faculty Review folder in SharePoint; Upload CFRAC memo and dean’s memo to the official Faculty Review folder in SharePoint;
	Applicant	Optional opportunity to update file by adding new materials before forwarding to Academic Affairs
November	College Dean	Application materials due in to Academic Affairs by November 1^st, or the first work day thereafter
November-December	UFRAC	Review application packet, external review letters, department and college recommendations; Deliberate in closed meetings and vote on cases;
	Academic Affairs	Prepare a written recommendation for forwarding the Provost. Include a summary of evaluation analysis of cases for which there has been division of opinion. Upload UFRAC Memo to the official Faculty Review folder in SharePoint.
December– January	Provost	Review all application materials, including UFRAC recommendation; Consult with chairs and deans, as needed clarification of application materials; Prepare recommendations on all cases for the president
January	President	Review all application materials, including recommendations at each level; Render final decisions concerning promotion and tenure recommendations
January	Academic Affairs	Prepare written notification to all applicants concerning outcome of promotion and tenure review.
May	President	Forward positive recommendations to UT System by May1st.
August	UT Board of Regents	Approve promotion and tenure recommendations from all campuses in UT System

*External Review letters should be printed on the respective reviewer’s university letterhead with a clear, legible signature. An electronic version is acceptable, provided that it is on university letterhead and contains a clear, legible signature. All external review letters (including electronic versions) should be uploaded to SharePoint. Email letters are not acceptable.

Overview of Process

Academic Affairs

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