Overview
USU Policy 4004: Tenured and Term Appointments: Evaluation, Promotion, and Retention defines the criteria and procedures for tenure and promotion at Utah State University for tenure-track, tenured, and term appointment faculty. Faculty should carefully read and closely follow the formal requirements outlined in Policy 4004 (sometimes referred to simply as Faculty Code).
The following webpage provides faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences supplemental guidance to candidates as they prepare their dossiers. In addition to carefully reading Faculty Code, faculty should confer with their Department Head and Tenure/Promotion Advisory Committee (TAC or PAC) on the process. Candidates should also use resources developed by the Provost’s Office.
It is ultimately the candidate’s responsibility to construct a dossier that effectively describes their accomplishments. For purposes of promotion and tenure, the Faculty Code specifies that performance in the major area of emphasis (as identified on the role statement) must be judged to be “excellent” and performance in the remaining area(s) of emphasis must be judged to be “effective.” Note that this is true for tenured, tenure-track, and term appointment faculty.
For questions about the tenure and promotion process, best practices in documentation, or to review examples of dossiers, faculty can contact Associate Dean for Faculty Success Julia Gossard.
PAC/TAC Forms
- ArtSci T/PAC Form
This form should be completed only by a department head or staff designee. Candidates and chairs should not complete this form
Provost’s Office Resources
The USU Office of the Provost provides several resources to help guide faculty through the tenure and/or promotion process. Faculty are encouraged to review these resources regularly, especially as they construct their self-assessments and dossiers.
Office of the Provost Resources
- Tips for Preparing a Successful Promotion and Tenure Dossier
- Teaching Documentation Workshop
- Promotion and Tenure FAQ
Interfolio/EDossier
USU uses the Interfolio platform to digitally manage the creation and review of tenure, promotion, and third-year review dossiers. This system, sometimes referred to as e-dossier, is available online to faculty and reviewers at https://dossier.usu.edu or https://interfolio.usu.edu.
Interfolio allows faculty to upload files into a digital portfolio, which passes through a structured review process, manages viewer permissions, handles voting and committee letters, and retains a case copy for future reference.
Deadlines
The tenure and promotion process follows an important series of deadlines.
Ombudspersons
As stated in Policy 4004.6.5, “the ombudsperson is responsible for ensuring that the rights of the candidate and the university are protected, and that due process is followed according to 4000-level of the USU Policy Library. Ombudspersons shall not judge or assess the candidate, and therefore is not a member of the promotion, tenure, or review committee, or supervisor of the candidate.”
As Dean Ward announced, as part of faculty service roles, every eligible ArtSci faculty member will serve as an ombudsperson for up to 3 T/PAC meetings this academic year. Faculty members will receive their ombudsperson assignments in early August via a ServiceNow email. Assignments will be made by the Dean’s Office, and we will work to identify and mitigate any conflicts of interest. Individual preferences, requests, and historical service precedent are not factored into assignments.
Faculty must be trained before serving as an ombudsperson and no later than the first Friday of the first week of classes for the fall semester. The Provost’s Office hosts ombudsperson training through Canvas. Follow these instructions:
- Visit Canvas and log in.
- Under Courses, click on the Faculty Ombudsperson Online Training.
- Review the materials and then complete the training by taking the quiz. Email the contact listed on the Provost’s Office with your quiz score to update the records.
*Questions about training? Email Michele Hillard in the Provost’s Office.
Faculty only need to complete this training once during their time at USU.
Committee chairs should plan to include the assigned ombudsperson in planning the T/PAC meeting. Chairs will be notified who is assigned as ombudsperson to their committees via ServiceNow.
Advisory Committee Chair & Committee Responsibilities
Please register and plan to attend one of these trainings. While this is required of all chairs one every three years, those who serve only as committee members are not required to attend though they are still welcome.
Tenure-track faculty will have a Tenure Advisory Committee appointed to them in consultation with the Department Head. Promotion-eligible faculty (including term faculty) will have a Promotion Advisory Committee appointed to them in mutual agreement with the Department Head.
Policy 4004.6.2 “Advisory Committees” outlines the role and responsibilities of Tenure Advisory Committees, Promotion Advisory Committees, and their Chairs.
TAC and PAC Chairs should meet with the candidate one-on-one annually. This meeting does not require the presence of an ombudsperson. Chairs should also schedule annual meetings with the candidate and the committee. Candidates should not be responsible for scheduling their meeting. This responsibility sits with the chair.
External Review Guidance
In the year that tenure-track and tenured faculty go up for promotion and/or tenure, they will need to submit a list of possible external reviewers to their department head. Department Heads should articulate the due dates for this to candidates as it varies by department. Those seeking promotion in the lecturer ranks do not need external review.
Code indicates that external peer reviewers should be “of rank equivalent to or higher than that sought by the candidate.” Thus, for tenure-track faculty seeking tenure/promotion to Associate Professor, reviewers must be tenured Associate Professors or Professors and for tenured faculty seeking promotion to Professor, reviewers must be tenured Professors. Candidates are encouraged to submit a strong list of senior scholars who can provide insightful comments on their record. External reviewers should be respected scholars in the candidate’s discipline and should have sufficient rank, experience and perspective to judge the candidate’s record and compare it to others of equivalent experience in the field. Candidates are advised to recommend external reviewers who will not have, or be perceived as having, a conflict of interest and/or a close personal relationship with the candidate. As examples, candidates should not recommend a former mentor, former or current collaborator, relative, close friend, or former classmate as reviewers.
The ideal external reviewers are not invested in the career of the candidate but, rather, have sufficient distance to serve as objective external reviewers. Candidates should avoid any appearance of close personal relationships with suggested reviewers.
For the full process of external review letters, please see Faculty Code 4004.7.2.1 and 4004.8.2.1.
Dean’s Ad Hoc Advisory Committee
The Dean’s Ad Hoc Advisory Committee is a non-voting body that the dean can consult with as the dean crafts their letter.
Dean’s Ad Hoc Advisory Committee Membership & Overview