Hiring, Retention, Promotion and Tenure

Department Criteria for Recommending Hiring



(Revised 03/04;12/02;12/86; 12/79; 7/76)


1. Undergraduate and graduate transcripts and dossier showing degrees appropriate to the position being applied for.
2. Recommendations.
3. Understanding of the nature of University of Wisconsin-Stout and understanding of the type of position being accepted as well as the ability and willingness to teach writing courses.

Department Criteria for Recommending Retention



In order of importance:

1. Teaching competence and creativity
2. Service to the department and university
3. Research and Scholarship
4. Service to community or profession

Department Criteria for Recommending Promotion



1. The criteria for promotion printed in the University of Wisconsin-Stout Handbook.
2. Professional qualifications weighted as follows: 

Qualification        (Weight)

 
Teaching excellence   (3)                                                                                                                     
  
Research, publications, faculty development and other   (3)                                                   
 
Service to the profession   (2)                                                                                                             

Educational preparation below minimum for promotion to the rank   (0)                                  

Educational preparation meets minimum for promotion to the rank   (1)                                 
 
Educational preparation above minimum for promotion to the rank   (2)                                  
 
1 to 9 years experience beyond the minimum required for promotion to the rank   (1)           
 
10 years or more experience beyond the minimum required for promotion to the rank   (2) 

Department Criteria and Process for Recommending Tenure



The goal of the tenure policy and process is to provide a responsive and supportive collegial system which will foster the growth of an excellent tenured faculty capable of meeting the needs of students, the department, and the profession. The successful candidate will demonstrate the necessary expertise for a high level of personal and programmatic achievement by public actions over a number of years. Such actions should put the candidate and department in a favorable light with other professionals and with the varied audience for the department’s programs.

I. The Criteria

In accord with UWS 3.06, UW-Stout Faculty-Staff Handbook, Chapter 3B, tenure awards are based on criteria contained in the individual and departmental Job Description for Faculty. Candidates for tenure shall be evaluated upon each of the following criteria, listed in descending order of importance.

  • Teaching is the prime criterion by which a candidate will be judged for tenure. The successful candidate will repeatedly demonstrate teaching excellence over a number of years, providing evidence of communicating effectively with students, stimulating learning, evaluating effectively and fairly, meeting classes, holding regular office hours, developing curriculum, and experimenting with classroom strategies.
  • Service to the department and the university is required for tenure. Department service is defined as constructive participation and leadership in department meetings and committees and may include activities which further department and university goals. University service includes but should not be limited to the Faculty Senate and Standing Committees, other university committees, and academic or co-curricular advisement.
  • Research and scholarly activity pertinent to the area of expertise are required. It is assumed that candidates will keep current with development in their areas of expertise by attending professional conferences or workshops and by reading the current literature. Further, it is expected that the candidate will be active in at least two of the following four areas: publication of scholarly or creative work, presentation of scholarly or creative work to professional or general audiences, and obtaining grants or fellowships, and paid or unpaid consulting work relevant to the candidate's research or teaching interests with outside businesses or organizations. It is recognized that work on the scholarship of teaching is an appropriate and important area of research. Please note that qualifications for tenure are not necessarily the same as the qualifications for promotion.
  • Service to the community or the profession which is demonstrably related to the area of expertise will influence the tenure decision. Such service may be but should not be limited to leadership roles and responsibility, organizational development, pro bono contributions of a professional nature, and advisory or advocacy activities in chosen areas.

II. The Process

The process for awarding tenure will be in accord with UWS 3.07 and UW-Stout Handbook 3B, including timelines, notifications, and open meetings.

  • As part of the yearly retention and performance evaluation process and with Staff Committee advice, the chair will evaluate each candidate’s progress towards tenure on each of the four required components. This confidential evaluation will be shared with the candidate. The committee and chair may consult with such others as deemed appropriate to adequately represent particular areas of expertise and/or demographic balance and the Committee should, for these purposes, include at least four tenured faculty. Beginning with the fall retention and performance evaluation of a candidate’s second year and for each retention and performance evaluation thereafter, the candidate will maintain and make available to the Chair and Committee a tenure portfolio documenting accomplishments within the four criteria outlined above. The tenure portfolio should contain any supporting materials that the candidate wishes to include addressing the areas of teaching, research, and service to the department, university, profession, or community. For example, the candidate may wish to include examples of her/his use of technology, interesting assignments, new course proposals, publications, manuscripts, conference programs, explanation of service activities provided to the department or university, notices of readings organized for the campus, etc. The portfolio need not contain activity sheets, peer observations, student evaluations, or syllabi since these should be available in the candidate’s department file.
  • Candidates successfully completing the probationary period and eligible for tenure will present their tenure portfolios to the department. In addition, candidates’ department files containing peer observations, student evaluations, activity sheets, and syllabi will be compiled by the department secretary. The tenure portfolio and department file will be available to department members and a record of those consulting these documents will be kept.
  • All tenured members of the Department of English and Philosophy will vote to recommend or not recommend each candidate’s tenure at a meeting convened by the department chair for that purpose in accord with the notification and open meeting policy outlined in UWS 3.07. The Staff Committee chair will present the candidate at the tenure meeting, and the Staff Committee itself may recommend, not recommend, or simply present as it chooses.
  • An affirmative vote by two-thirds of the tenured faculty of the department is required for tenure. The department chair will sign and forward the department’s decision to the Chancellor.
  • If the department refuses to grant tenure, department members making the decision and the department chair are to note the faculty rules concerning non-renewal and initiate the appropriate actions.

University Renewal of Appointments and Granting of Tenure (UWS 3.06, 3/1/94)



 

General

Appointments may be granted only upon the affirmative recommendation of the appropriate academic department, or its functional equivalent, and the chancellor of an institution. When specified by the board, the institutional recommendation shall be transmitted by the president of the system with his recommendation to the board for action. Tenure appointments may be granted to any ranked faculty member who holds or will hold a half-time appointment or more. The proportion of time provided for in the appointment may not be diminished or increased without the mutual consent of the faculty member and the institution, unless the faculty member is dismissed for just cause, pursuant to 36.13 (5), Stats, or is terminated or laid off pursuant to 36.21, Stats.


Criteria

Decisions relating to renewal of appointments or recommending of tenure shall be made in accordance with institutional rules and procedures which shall require an evaluation of teaching, research, and professional and public service and contribution to the institution. The relative importance of these functions in the evaluation process shall be decided by departmental, school, college, and institutional faculties in accordance with the mission and needs of the particular institution and its component parts. Written criteria for these decisions shall be developed by the appropriate institutional faculty bodies. Written criteria shall provide that if any faculty member has been in probationary status for more than seven years because of one or more of the reasons set forth in UWS 3.04(2) or (3), the faculty member shall be evaluated as if he or she had been in probationary status for seven years.


Procedures

The faculty and chancellor of each institution, after consultation with appropriate students, shall establish rules governing the procedures for renewal or probationary appointments and for recommending tenure. These rules shall provide for written notice of the departmental review to the faculty member at least 20 days prior to the date of the departmental review, and an opportunity to present information on the faculty member's behalf. The probationary faculty member shall be notified in writing within 20 days after each decision at each reviewing level. In the event that a decision is made resulting in non-renewal, the procedures specified in UWS 3.07 shall be followed.

Appointments (UW-Stout 3.06; Approved 2/2/93-Faculty Senate, Approved 7/28/93-Chancellor)

  • Renewal of probationary appointments may be granted only upon the affirmative recommendation of the appropriate department or its functional equivalent and the Chancellor of the institution.
  • Tenure appointments may be granted only upon the affirmative recommendation of either the appropriate department or its functional equivalent or an ad hoc review committee and the Chancellor of the institution. An ad hoc review committee would be appointed only under both of the following conditions:

      a. The appropriate department or its functional equivalent recommends against tenure.

      b. The Committee on Termination of Employment, on appeal, reviews the negative     recommendation of the department or functional equivalent, finds the negative decision was based to a significant degree on impermissible factors as defined in UWS 3.08, reports these findings to the Chancellor and appoints an ad hoc review committee who are knowledgeable or experienced in the probationary faculty member's academic field or a substantially similar field. The Committee on Termination of Employment in consultation with the chair of the Faculty Senate shall choose the five members of the ad hoc committee. Members of the ad hoc committee shall be tenured faculty members of the University of Wisconsin-Stout and/or scholars from outside the University of Wisconsin-Stout but they shall not be members of the probationary faculty member's department or functional equivalent. The ad hoc committee shall base its decision on the credentials of the tenure candidate, a comparative analysis of the department's (or functional equivalent's) recent tenure recommendations and the written criteria used by the department or its functional equivalent to reach its tenure decision, as provided in this handbook (UW-Stout 3.06(2)). The Committee on Termination of Employment has 30 days to select the ad hoc committee. The ad hoc committee has 30 days from receipt of the materials to submit its recommendation to the Chancellor with a copy to the chair of the Committee on Termination of Employment.

Criteria

Decisions regarding renewal and tenure must involve a performance evaluation. The criteria for evaluation of performance shall be based upon performance within the faculty member's specific job assignment. A person's primary functional responsibility as defined by the job description shall be the basis for the major portion of the evaluation of the individual's performance. Other bases for evaluation shall include secondary activities based upon the individual's job description. Decisions relating to renewal of appointments and recommendations of tenure shall be made in accordance with institutional rules and procedures which require an evaluation of teaching, research, professional and public service and contributions to the institution. The relative importance of these functions in the evaluation process shall be decided by the department, school/college, and university faculties in accordance with the mission and the needs of UW-Stout and its component parts. Written criteria for these decisions will be developed at each level of the appropriate institutional faculty bodies. Neither the faculty member's department or its functional equivalent nor any ad hoc review committee may base its recommendation on impermissible factors, as defined in UWS 3.08.


Procedures

The personnel committee of each department or its functional equivalent shall develop policies and procedures for determining renewal of probationary appointments and tenure recommendations. These policies and procedures shall provide for written notice of the department review to the faculty member at least 20 days prior to the date of the review and an opportunity for presentation of information on the faculty member's behalf. The probationary faculty member will be notified in writing within 20 days after each decision at each reviewing level.

In the event a decision is made resulting in a nonrenewal, the procedures specified in UWS 3.07 shall be followed.

Explanation and Process for Recommendation of Tenure of Faculty Member

Before completing the form recommending tenure, persons involved are to review departmental profiles and departmental, school/unit, university and UW System regulations regarding the awarding of tenure. UW System regulations may be found in Chapter IIIB Personnel Rules for Faculty, paragraphs UWS 3.01 (a) and (b), 3.03, 3.04 and 3.06. UW-Stout rules are found under rules UW-Stout 3.03, 3.04 and 3.06. Whenever a person being recommended for tenure has a "split" appointment between two or more departments, each department is to submit a separate form for that portion of the "split" in that department. Following an affirmative action by the Chancellor, recommendations for tenure are forwarded to the Board of Regents for their action, which is final. Tenure is not awarded to any individual until the Board of Regents' final approval. Usually this action takes place once a year, in late spring, as part of the budget action by the Board. Following this action, the initial date at which tenure starts is the July 1st following Board action. However, this is not guaranteed. It is best simply to plan that tenure is assured only following an affirmative action by the Board of Regents of the UW System.

Process for Recommending Tenure

 

  • The departmental tenure committee reviews all related rules and regulations before considering individuals for tenure. (See Personnel Committee section for additional information.)
  • The committee reviews all pertinent information about each individual and makes a decision concerning the awarding of tenure of each individual involved. If the decision is affirmative, the department chairperson signs the form and forwards the form to the Chancellor. If the decision is not to award tenure, the committee and department chairperson are to note the faculty rules concerning action which must then be taken, mainly, nonrenewal.
  • The Chancellor will review all recommendations for tenure. In this process, the Chancellor may consult and seek input from various persons and offices in the university.
  • The Chancellor will forward all accepted recommendations to the Board of Regents (via UW System Office) for final action. Any recommendations which are not accepted will be returned to the individual with a statement of reasons for such rejection, with appropriate notice to others concerned.
  • The Board of Regents takes final action on all recommendations received, and notifies the Chancellor of such action.
  • The Chancellor notifies all parties concerned of the action of the Board of Regents. The Human Resources Office notifies all persons concerned, modifies or makes necessary records in appropriate files. Notification includes stating the effective date of tenure.

Criteria for Recommending the Rehiring of Academic Staff



(Revised 5/79; 12/01)

In order of importance:


1. Teaching competence and creativity
2. Service to the department and university
3. Seniority

Criteria for Recommending Converting Academic Staff to Faculty



1. Professional criteria, in descending order of importance, are:

  • Teaching competence and creativity
  • Service to the department and the university
  • Academic preparation
  • Publications
  • Other non-teaching services


The criteria above being fulfilled, equally, first preference should be given academic staff with the most teaching experience at Stout.

2. Programmatic needs

 

Process for Applying the Criteria for Hiring, Retention, Promotion, Tenure, Rehiring of Academic Staff and Converting Academic Staff to Faculty



These criteria will be given to the Chair of the Department to apply in consultation with the Committee on Staff of the Department of English.

University Guidelines Regarding Hiring

(see Faculty/Academic Staff/Limited Appointees Handbook, F5.3.1 - F5.3.4 and F6.2.1 - F6.2.3)

The existing full-time faculty of each division, school and/or department shall devise and implement a procedure for hiring of new staff members. This procedure should include the following features:


1. The faculty shall help determine abilities, interests and qualifications applicants should have.
2. The faculty shall help determine the procedures used in search for suitable applicants. While the dean and/or chair is normally expected to negotiate with applicants, a staff member should feel free to suggest possible applicants.
3. The division, school and/or department procedure shall specify the manner in which the faculty shall be involved in the selection process.

College of Arts and Sciences Guidelines Regarding Hiring

In the College of Arts and Sciences, the procedure should include the following features:

1. The method of selection for larger departments should include a subcommittee to work with this chair to screen the available candidates.
2. The method of selection should include opportunity for department members to participate in the evaluation of the candidate selected by the committee.
3. The recommendations shall be advisory to the chair, who shall make recommendations to the Dean.

University Guidelines Regarding Retention and Non-Retention

(see Faculty/Academic Staff/Limited Appointee Handbook, F5.3.6-F5.3.7 and F6.2.4-F6.2.5)



The full-time faculty who have been retained by each division, school and/or department shall devise and implement a procedure for evaluation of the work of a probationary staff member in order to help him/her maximize his/her contribution to the work of the department.


1. This evaluation procedure should be carried out frequently enough so that a probationary staff member has several opportunities to know and profit from the feelings of his/her colleagues during the probationary period.
2. A climate of mutual help among members should be developed such that if the faculty reaches the conclusion that the best interests of the department will be served by not retaining the probationary staff member, the probationary staff member should normally be expected to previously have been aware that his or her work had been deficient in the eyes of his or her colleagues.

University Guidelines Regarding Tenure

(see Faculty/Academic Staff/Limited Appointees Handbook, F5.3.6)

The full-time tenured faculty of each division, school and/or department shall devise and implement a procedure for recommending whether a probationary member should be granted tenure at the termination of the probationary period. These procedures should be consistent with regulations to be adopted by the Board of Regents in the near future.

College of Arts and Sciences Guidelines Regarding Tenure

In the College of Arts and Sciences, the procedure should include the following features:

1.Recommendations for tenure should take in account information from:

  • the students
  • the department members
  • the person
  • the chair

2. Recommendations for tenure shall be made by a committee of full-time tenured members of the department.

3. The recommendations shall be advisory to the chair, who shall make recommendations to the Dean.