The message has been delivered over and over: plan now, don’t wait until the last minute.” Nowhere is this message more important than in seeking tenure and promotion. Investing time now and throughout one’s early years at the University of Michigan-Flint will make the tenure/promotion process manageable and far less stressful.

This notice provides “general” information that we hope will be useful in navigating the tenure and promotion. The word “general” is emphasized because each school/college operates in a slightly different way in terms of timelines and procedures. Each faculty member needs to know the procedure and standards used for tenure/promotion in their individual school or college, as well as university-wide standards and procedures. 

• All faculty members are evaluated on an annual basis.
• Faculty members undergo a more intense evaluation by their school/college either in their second and fourth years of service or their third year of service by your school/college.
• Usually, a faculty member will undergo the tenure review during their sixth year of service.
• Tenure must be achieved by the seventh year of service unless a delay in the tenure clock has been officially granted.

The tenure/promotion recommendation requires the candidate to assemble considerable material and to present this material is a casebook, which is a professional portfolio. Faculty should set aside a specific place where items that demonstrate accomplishments in teaching, scholarship (research, creative activities, and in certain professional programs, professional accomplishments) are collected. It is better to keep more than is needed and to sort through the material later than it is to find material that was available several years back. At some point, you will need to sort through the materials and decide which ones best represent your teaching, research, and service accomplishments. Whenever possible, keep original letters, journals, books, etc., rather than copies. Examples of items that you will want to collect are as follows:

• Annual evaluation letters;
• Two- and four-year (or three-year, whatever the case may be) review letters;
• All student evaluations;
• Unsolicited student comments;
• All course syllabi;
• Any course-related information that demonstrates teaching strengths;
• Awards/letters of commendation;
• All publications;
• Letters of appointment or thank your letters for service on department/school/college/university/community/professional committees;
• Keep requests for reprints of your papers and of the articles in which your research is cited;
• A compilation of potential outside referees (any information that may be helpful; and this may include whom not to ask).  You may want to label this file as your “network.”
• Other (anything that would enhance demonstrating your abilities in teaching, research, and/or service).

In addition to the file of materials it is useful to keep your vita up to date in electronic form.

Although the tenure decision does not usually occur until year six, it is important to begin scholarly production immediately. Keep in mind that many journals and publishers have a long lead time between submission and publication. Do not wait until year two or three to start sending articles out for review.

YOUR SIXTH YEAR OF SERVICE . . .

Recommendations for tenure and/or promotion are made according to the guidelines set forth by the Board of Regents for the University of Michigan (see attachment). Please be aware of the following general timeline that is used, based on the calendar set forth by the Office of the Provost. For your information, all casebooks and related information are sent to the Office of the Provost. Both, your dean and the Office of the Provost, must prepare/provide many other documents on your behalf as specified by Ann Arbor.  This whole process is a major collaborative task and therefore the timelines must be followed. 

You will need to provide the following … 

August: 

• You need to provide to your Dean your casebook(s).
• You need to provide your Dean with a list at least seven names of external reviewers.  External reviewers are not personal friends, thesis advisors, or co-authors.  They are experts in your field at appropriate ranks and institutions.  It helps if you have a network to help you identify those who will comment objectively and thoughtfully on your work.  The outside referees do not determine your fate.  But some comments are hard to ignore – so use your common sense.  (IMPORTANT:  This list needs to include names, complete work addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses.)  In addition, write one or two sentences regarding your association with the reviewer.   

      September:

• If you have not already done so, you need to submit to your dean a good, clean copy of  your vitae.  (Check on the required format.)
• You may be asked to provide your dean with your Statement on Teaching.   This is usually a one-, or not more than two-page overview of your teaching philosophy (possibly your strengths, goals; course-related materials you developed; overview of your student evaluations, etc.)
   

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