II. Letters of Appointment

All full-time members of the faculty with the rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor and Instructor shall be appointed for such terms of office as shall be provided in this statement of policy, subject to the provisions contained herein with respect to the termination of their appointments. All such appointments shall be made by the President of the University who will normally be guided by the recommendations of the appropriate faculty bodies, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, or such other manner as shall be set forth in the by-laws of the University. The precise terms and conditions of every appointment shall be stated in writing and shall be in the possession of both the University and the faculty member before the appointment becomes effective.

Written renewals of contracts of employment will not be necessary between the University and those members of the faculty entitled to life tenure except when a change is made in such person's rank.

IV. Tenure

A. Tenure Standards

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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*

The initial letter of appointment for a presidential faculty member at the rank of professor or associate professor shall state which paragraph below is applicable to the appointment

1. Professors

a. Professors who have substantial experience in comparable full-time faculty positions shall be appointed initially for a term of three years, to be followed either by the granting of tenure as hereinafter stated or by the termination of the contract, provided, however, that the individual has been given in writing at least one year's notification of the intention to terminate. A decision on tenure may, by mutual consent in writing arrived at prior to the end of the second year, be delayed until the third year; and, in the event of a negative decision in such a case, a terminal contract for a fourth year will be granted.

Professors who hold tenure in the institution from which they come shall be considered for tenure after one full year of service; and, under exceptional circumstances, such persons may be granted rights of tenure upon initial appointment.

b. Professors who do not have substantial experience in comparable full-time faculty positions shall be appointed for a term of three years, and may be reappointed for an additional term of one year to be followed either by the granting of tenure as hereafter stated or by the termination of contract, provided, however, that the individual has been given in writing at least one year's notification of the intention to terminate. A decision on tenure may, by mutual consent in writing arrived at prior to the end of the third year, be delayed until the fourth year; and, in the event of a negative decision in such a case, a terminal contract for a fifth year will be granted.

2. Associate Professors

a. Associate Professors who have substantial experience in comparable full-time faculty positions shall be appointed initially for a term of three years to be followed either by the granting of tenure as hereinafter stated or by the termination of contract, provided, however, that the individual has been given in writing at least one year's notification of the intention to terminate. A decision on tenure may, by mutual consent in writing arrived at prior to the end of the second year, be delayed until the third year; and, in the event of a negative decision in such a case, a terminal contract for a fourth and terminal year will be granted.

*Tenure eligibility provisions were modified in Spring 1993. The Faculty Senate approved the changes on March 18, 1993 and the Board of Trustees approved the changes on May 11, 1993.

b. Associate Professors who do not have substantial experience in comparable full-time faculty positions shall be appointed initially for a term of three years, and may be reappointed for an additional term or terms not to exceed two years, to be followed either by the granting of tenure as hereinafter stated or by the termination of contract, provided, however, that the individual has been given in writing at least one year's notification of the intention to terminate. A decision on tenure may, by mutual consent in writing arrived at prior to the end of the fourth year, be delayed until the fifth year; and, in the event of a negative decision in such a case, a terminal contract for a sixth year will be granted.

3. Assistant Professors

a. Assistant Professors and Instructors without previous full-time teaching service at a recognized college or university shall be appointed initially for a term of one year and may be reappointed for two additional terms of one year each and then a term or terms not to exceed three years. A series of terms amounting to six years 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 for the seventh year; or (3) tenure as hereinafter stated.

b. Assistant Professors and Instructors with previous full-time teaching service at other recognized colleges or universities may be given credit toward time of the tenure decision for all or part of that service, not to exceed three years. The determination of the amount of such credit, if any, will be made in writing at the time of initial appointment. Initial appointment shall be for a term of one year and the individual may be reappointed for an appropriate number of additional terms of one or more years each. The total number of years of appointment 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.

4. Rules Applicable to All Eligible Faculty

a. 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.

b. 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.

c. 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. 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

1. Consideration for tenure shall be automatic, appropriate to the rank and years of service of the individual as prescribed above.

2. Consideration for tenure may be initiated at the appropriate time by any or all of the following five University agencies:

a. The chair or appropriate committee of the faculty member's department.

b. The Dean of the school or college in which the faculty member serves.

c. Any full professor in the relevant department.

d. The faculty member.

e. An appropriate committee of the relevant school or college.

3. 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.

4. Following action by the department, the chair has these responsibilities:

a. To make an independent recommendation on each tenure case and to communicate this recommendation to the appropriate committee of the department.

b. To inform the individual faculty member of the departmental recommendation.

c. To transmit all of the recommendations of the departmental committee and the chair to the college level for consideration.

5. 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.

6. Following consideration at the college level, the Dean has these responsibilities:

a. To make an independent recommendation on each tenure case and to communicate this recommendation to the appropriate committee of the school or college.

b. To inform the individual faculty member of the college recommendation.

c. To transmit all recommendations to the Chair of the Council of Deans.

7. On receipt of the several recommendations on tenure from the Dean, the Chair of the Council of Deans shall:

a. Submit recommendations on tenure to the Council of Deans for information only where all preceding recommendations are in agreement.

b. Submit all materials relating to tenure for all cases where there is disagreement among preceding recommendations to the Council of Deans for their advice.

8. In the case of an adverse recommendation the appropriate Dean shall notify the department chair and faculty member of the basis for such action.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

1 Temple University Faculty Guide.

(January, 1988), pp. 5-9