Tenure-Track

Progress Toward Promotion / Tenure - Prior to Tenure Decision Deadline

• February 1 or Prior
  The chair, director, or program/division coordinator provides probationary faculty with annual letter of evaluation regarding progress toward tenure. No request by these faculty is required.
• March 15 or Prior
  Faculty member receives formal notice of reappointment for next year. Continuing faculty, excluding those undergoing active consideration for promotion/tenure are sent contracts, if feasible.
• July 15
  Contracts sent to all continuing faculty members unless deadline extended by Faculty Senate.

Second Year Probationary Faculty - Information Verification

Each year, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost sends information, retrieved from Human Resources records, for verification to tenure-track faculty members in the second year of their probationary period. Information includes their probationary period end dates, tenure deadlines, and other relevant information.

Probationary Period Extensions

A faculty member's probationary period can be extended beyond the maximum time only in the event of a procedural error, as the result of a period of leave of six months or longer, or of significantly reduced capacity for six months or longer, and subject to approval by the Promotion and Tenure Committee of the Faculty Senate.

In case of sick leave or other cause of significantly reduced capacity lasting six months or longer, a probationary faculty member may request that the probationary period be extended by one year. This written request goes first to the departmental chair, then to the academic dean, and finally to the Provost with the understanding that normally it will be granted. The request should be made ahead of time if the sick leave or reduced capacity can be anticipated; but, in any case, the request must be made within one year of the beginning of the period of sick leave or reduced capacity and before August 15 of the individual's penultimate probationary year. It is possible to have a second one-year extension during the probationary period, but the approval is much less automatic.

In the case of leaves of absence, non-tenured faculty members, periods of leave for longer than six months will extend the probationary period by one year, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary approved by the faculty member, the departmental chairperson, the academic dean, and the Provost.

Note: In March 2020, Ohio University granted an automatic, one-year extension to the tenure clock of all tenure-track faculty employed at that time. In addition, if a mid-term (three-year) review is required by a college or department, the automatic extension also applied to mid-term reviews. However, tenure-track faculty may also opt to forgo the automatic, one-year extension and apply for tenure and have their mid-term review (if required) according to the schedule in their original letter of appointment.
 

Promotion and Tenure Review

The Tenure Track Faculty Review Form (effective 7/1/24) accompanies the dossier throughout the review process.

Requirements for tenure and promotion in specific disciplines are developed within the departments/schools and the colleges or regional campuses where those disciplines are housed. Tenure is granted by the president upon recommendation of the department, the college dean, and the executive vice president and provost. For detailed information regarding faculty tenure, promotion, denial of tenure, and other matters at Ohio University consult the faculty handbook.

• Link to Promotion/Tenure Submission Guide for Tenure-Track Faculty

Documents for review by the executive vice president and provost should be submitted electronically in a single file.

External Review

External review is expected for all cases of promotion or promotion and tenure.

Both the faculty candidate and the department/school promotion and tenure committee should be involved in the process of selecting external reviewers. The committee should not select only reviewers proposed by the faculty candidate. Reviewers should not be the faculty candidates' thesis/dissertation advisor(s); former teachers, co-authors, and collaborators; friends, relatives or other persons closely aligned with the faculty candidate. The external reviewers should have appropriate academic accomplishments, rank (in the case of promotion to Professor should be similarly ranked) and be from appropriate institutions.

Reminder: Ohio University prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, ethnicity, national origin, national ancestry, sex, status as a parent during pregnancy and immediately after the birth of a child, status as a parent of a young child, status as a foster parent, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, military service, veteran status, mental or physical disability, or genetic information.

Dossiers should include descriptions of the external review process, external reviewer letters (typically four to six letters), and a short biographical summary for each external reviewer.

Promotion and Tenure Review Timeline

The timeline below may vary by college, campus, department, school, or division. Dates determined by the Faculty Handbook, indicated with an *, are unlikely to change.

• Summer and Early Fall Semester
  • Faculty seeking promotion / tenure finalize their dossiers.
• Prior to September 15
  • Tenured faculty, who are eligible for promotion, inform the department chair, school director, or division coordinator of the intent to seek promotion.
• September 15*
  • Tenured faculty eligible for promotion may request letter of evaluation from the department chair, school director, or the division coordinator. (All probationary faculty receive an evaluation letter annually, without requesting one, on or before February 1 each year.)
• September 15 - Fall Semester Exam Week
  • Department, school, division committees (if applicable) review dossiers.
  • Chairs, directors, division coordinators, etc. review dossiers.
• Last Day of Fall Semester Exams or Prior*
  • Chair or director notifies candidates under review for tenure and/or promotion, in writing, of departmental decisions regarding their promotion/tenure applications.
• First Day of Spring Semester or Prior
  • Chair, director, or division coordinator forwards approved dossiers, along with their own written recommendations, to the college / regional campus deans.
• From First Day of Spring Semester through March 1
  • ​​​​​​​College / campus P&T committee (if applicable) and dean reviews dossiers.
  • ​​​​​​​Dean's office prepares documents for review by the executive vice president and provost.
• March 1 or Prior*
  • ​​​​​​​Deans sends written notification to candidates, and their chairs or directors, regarding any rejections of recommendation for tenure and/or promotion.
  • Deans add their own written recommendation to each dossier.
  • Deans' offices submit the appropriate documents from dossiers electronically.
• On or before March 1, as dossiers are received
  • The staff in the office of the associate provost for faculty development reviews dossiers and then submits them to the executive vice president and provost and then to the president for evaluation.
• March
  • Executive vice president and provost and president reviews dossiers.
• April 1*
  • Executive vice president and provost notifies dean, chair, and candidate in writing of rejection of department recommendation for promotion/tenure.
• First week of April
  • EVPP office sends notifications to candidates of president's and executive vice president and provost's approval of departmental recommendations for promotion/tenure.
• Board of Trustees
  • A list of faculty awarded tenure and/or promotions is given to the Board of Trustees, as an information item, at their next meeting.

Promotion / Tenure Effective Dates

The probationary period ends when tenure is awarded. Promotions and tenure are effective on the first day of the faculty contract for the next academic year, excepting unusual circumstances.

NOTE: This web page provides general promotion and tenure information. The Ohio University Faculty Handbook addresses these topics more fully and is the university's authority on these matters.

Tenure and Promotion Review Progression - Regional Campus Faculty

1. Department/school P&T committee
2. Department chair or school director
3. College P&T committee (if applicable)
4. College Dean
5. Provost
6. President
7. Board of Trustees (notification only)

Note: Advancement in rank or award of tenure of RHE-based faculty is the responsibility of the Athens home department and follow criteria presented at the time of hire (Ohio University Faculty Handbook, Section II.O).

Note: Regional Campus Deans letters should be solicited and used in the same way as external review according to the department/school promotion and tenure processes.

Detailed information can be found in the Ohio University Faculty Handbook.