Tenure and Promotion

Texas State University is committed to supporting the mission and goals of the institution through effective hiring, evaluating, and promoting practices for its faculty. 

01.SCOPE 

01.01 In accordance with Texas State University policy, colleges must have detailed and explicit requirements for documentation incorporated into their tenure and promotion policies. 

01.02 Colleges must establish and implement a policy and procedure statement for the process of external review of scholarly activities for all candidates.  

02.RELATED POLICY 

02.01 See AA/PPS No. 04.02.20, Tenure and Promotion Review for more information. 

03.PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES FOR TENURE AND PROMOTION 

03.01 The following documents provide procedures for the evaluation of candidates for tenure and promotion: 

a. AA/PPS No. 04.02.20, Tenure and Promotion Review (division level);   

b. this policy and procedure statement (college level); and 

c. department or school tenure and promotion guidelines. 

General expectations and procedures will be detailed in division and college policy and procedure statements (a. and b.). Specific expectations for candidates for tenure and promotion will be detailed in the department or school tenure and promotion documents (c.). 

03.02 Application Documentation 

Promotion and tenure application documentation to be submitted by the candidate to Faculty Qualifications System include the following: 

1. a CV using candidate’s preferred format (optional); 

2. copies of reappointment letters for tenure-track candidates; 

3. summary of teaching philosophy, effectiveness, accomplishments, and future plans (not to exceed two pages); 

4. summary sheets of student evaluations for all courses taught during the probationary period or since the last promotion per departmental requirements; 

5. teaching peer evaluations per departmental requirements; 

6. summary of research accomplishments, impact, and future plans (not to exceed two pages); 

7. copies of (or links to) 3 to 10 research papers published during the period of current rank at Texas State; 

8. summary of service accomplishments for promotion to associate professor and summary of leadership and service accomplishments for promotion to full professor (not to exceed two pages) 

9. additional supporting data (optional) – substantive materials to support CV entries, such as notifications of election to committees or professional organizations, appointments to editorships, invitations to review work of others, selection for grants, fellowships, and awards, etc.; and 

10. If the candidate also serves as faculty in an interdisciplinary program, such as the Materials Science, Engineering and Commercialization (MSEC) Program, the candidate may notify the chair or director. The chair or director may request a review letter from the coordinator of the interdisciplinary program and notify the dean that a letter from the coordinator of the interdisciplinary program will also be included with the application. 

  

03.03 External Reviewers and Submission of Letters 

Qualified peers from outside the university will be asked to review the research credentials of candidates. External reviewers must hold rank at least as high as the rank sought by the candidate. Each candidate will submit to the chair or director the names, contact information, and short biographies of at least four potential external reviewers. The chair or director must also produce a list of at least four external reviewers independent of the list submitted by the candidate. Candidates may also request up to one individual not be included as a potential external reviewer. The chair or director will forward the submitted information to the dean for approval. The dean may request revisions to the list of reviewers. 

Once the external reviewers are approved, the chair or director will be responsible for requesting reviews. The candidate and department chair or director will consult on the contents of the external review materials. Typical materials include a CV using the candidate’s preferred format, copies of three research papers published during the period of current rank at Texas State University, and a summary of research accomplishments, impact, and future plans. 

When a potential external reviewer agrees to conduct a review, the chair or director will send the external reviewer a description of the candidate’s teaching and service responsibilities, a copy of the departmental tenure and promotion guidelines, the materials submitted by the candidate, and a list of questions. 

The list of questions must include the following. Additional questions may be included: 

1. What is the nature of your acquaintance, if any, with the candidate? 

2. How does the candidate’s research productivity compare to faculty members in similar situations? 

3. What impact does or will the candidate’s research have on progress in their discipline or development of approaches, techniques, and products of value to our economy or society? 

4. Is it reasonable to think that the candidate’s current level of productivity will continue? 

At least four external review letters must be obtained for each candidate with at least two of these letters from reviewers not submitted by the candidate. 

03.04 College Review Process 

The College Review Group is to review the candidate’s documentation in Faculty Qualifications including the external letters, and the recommendations of the personnel committee and of the chair or director, within the context of departmental or school tenure and promotion guidelines.  The College Review Group will discuss each candidate and will vote by ballot to approve or disapprove each candidate. A member of the College Review Group will enter the results into Faculty Qualifications along with evaluative remarks. If the vote is to deny tenure or promotion, comments may be provided, but are not required.