Guidelines for implementation of University Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Criteria

The basic policy governing the promotion and tenure process at Penn State is HR-23, a document developed by the faculty to describe the general principles, criteria, procedures, and regulations involved in the review of academic personnel and the awarding of promotion and tenure. The central theme of HR-23 is that our process of faculty review for promotion and tenure should contribute to academic excellence.

The College endorses this principle and views the promotion and tenure process as an important opportunity to reward excellence and move the College forward to higher levels of quality. The purpose of this document is to specify further our understandings concerning the procedures and criteria for promotion and tenure. As HR-23 states, an important part of the tenure process for faculty members "is that all parties to the process share common expectations and understandings. Since general statements of principles will be broad and inclusive, each academic unit may develop its own specific expectations and standards as the operational basis for tenure and promotion recommendations." (emphasis added).

Procedures

I. No tenure or promotion committee shall consist of fewer than five members. Only members of the Liberal Arts faculty, as defined in Article I of the Rules and Procedures of the Liberal Arts Faculty, may serve on any College or department tenure and promotion committee.

II. Liberal Arts faculty from non-University Park colleges must be represented on departmental committees and on the College committee when non-University Park Liberal Arts faculty are being reviewed.

III. The committee will consist of seven tenured professors. When Liberal Arts faculty from non-University Park Colleges are being reviewed, the committee will include representation from non-University Park Liberal Arts faculty.

IV. Because some departments and non-University Park colleges have a limited number of tenured senior faculty, membership on the College Promotion or Tenure Committee will not preclude membership on other promotion and tenure committees, but no person can vote on a given candidate at more than one level of review.

V. Departments have the responsibility of polling their faculty at University Park and at non-University Park colleges on the acceptability of department and college implementation procedures.

Criteria

VI. The overarching goal, guiding all policy decisions in the College, is our collective desire to become one of the best liberal arts colleges in the nation. To achieve this goal, the scholarly accomplishments of faculty members-- including research, teaching, and other scholarly services to the academic community and society--must serve to enhance our reputation as a distinguished College.

Teaching (called “The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning “)

A favorable recommendation for tenure or promotion will be forthcoming only if the faculty member presents clear and consistent evidence of effective teaching. Excellence in teaching is a major goal of the College. Faculty must have a thorough knowledge of the subject matter, be able to communicate that knowledge to students, and have sound academic standards in their evaluations of the performance of students.

Evidence for evaluation of teaching will be based on syllabi, reading lists and examinations; classroom observations by two or more peers in the department or at the non-University Park college (it is important that a significant portion of these evaluations should be no more than one year old); and review of teaching evaluations from previous courses. If the faculty member has a significant role in graduate teaching or supervision of independent projects, interviews or letters from former students who have worked closely with the faculty member are also appropriate. Letters from current students are discouraged. Other types of evidence of special relevance to a particular department may be included.

Research (called “The Scholarship of Research and Creative Accomplishments”)

a. Research and Creative Accomplishment

A favorable recommendation for tenure or promotion will be forthcoming only if the faculty member presents clear and consistent evidence of excellence in research. This excellence will be demonstrated by evidence indicating the ability to initiate, conduct, and sustain a high-quality research program (or, for those in the creative arts fields, a record of creative accomplishment) that has resulted in publications in outlets generally recognized to be of high quality by leaders in the discipline and, most importantly, that has had (or is likely to have) a significant impact on the field of specialization. The nature of the outlet will vary from discipline to discipline, but it is essential to provide evidence of high quality.

Evidence for the evaluation of research will be comprised of the record of publications and forthcoming publications, especially those with substantial peer review by leaders in the field, published reviews of a candidate's work, citations, and confidential letters from external reviewers. In general, the last should be drawn from tenured professors in the discipline's leading departments, and always from evaluators holding higher rank than the candidate.

In weighing this evidence, research activity (that is, the quantity of publications) is not equatable with significant research accomplishment (that is, the quality of publications). Here, as in other areas of College decision-making, the primary focus is on quality.

b. Scholarship

The candidate will also have maintained a sustained record of scholarship. Evidence for this will include primarily the presentation of papers at important professional meetings, speaking engagements, honors and awards, and related evidence of continuing professional growth.

Service (called “Service and the Scholarship of Service to the University, Society, and the Profession”)

A favorable recommendation for tenure or promotion will be forthcoming only if the candidate has contributed in a positive way to the intellectual life and governance of his or her department to the College. For promotion to professor, faculty should demonstrate a consistent record of quality service.

Differences by Unit and Location

Missions may differ from college to college. In general, for those faculty at non-University Park colleges, teaching and service are likely to carry relatively more weight than for University Park faculty. Nonetheless, a positive tenure or promotion recommendation for a faculty member in the College of the Liberal Arts will be made only if a sustained record of quality research, scholarship, and teaching is demonstrated.

Further Criteria for Promotion to Professor

For promotion to professor, the candidate will have a national or international reputation in his or her field of research. Moreover, the candidate must demonstrate significant accomplishments beyond those presented at the time of promotion to Associate Professor, show continued effectiveness as a teacher, and contribute positively to the activities of his or her department.

Consultation

VII. HR-23 encourages consultation among various groups involved in the review process. The College specifically encourages consultation at each review level: between department heads and departmental review committees, and between the Dean and the College review committee. Department committees should also consult with the appropriate non-University Park academic administrator when their decisions differ from the non-University Park college recommendation. Moreover, the College review committee must consult with the department head in cases where a divergence of opinion exists between the College committee and the evaluations of both the department head and departmental committee, and consultation should occur when the College committee differs with the department head only. Such consultation will take the form of a meeting between the department head and the College committee before the final vote is taken by the committee. The Dean must consult with the College committee when his or her recommendation differs from that of the Committee.

For candidates with joint appointments, consultation during the second and fourth, as well as the sixth, year is also necessary between the tenure home department and the other department where a budgeted joint appointment is held. The promotion and tenure committee will consist of faculty in the tenure home department (except for exceptional cases where the tenure home department lacks the requisite number of faculty at appropriate rank or tenure status), but the non-tenure home unit shall have the opportunity to provide written evaluation of the candidate to be included in the dossier. The head of the non-tenure granting unit or his or her designee(s) will have the opportunity to meet with the promotion and tenure committee of the tenure granting unit before the vote. In non-budgeted joint positions, consultation is encouraged but not required.

September 1992

July 1993 - Section III, Procedures; PS-23 to HR-23

August 1994, Four cell to three cell

May 1995, Change in Minimum Size of CES Promotion and Tenure Committee

April 1997, Changes to accommodate the reorganization of the CES into four colleges

July 1998, Changes to bring dean’s consultation sentences into conformity to university policy

September 1999, Change Section III, Deleted sentence regarding 1997-98 committees

September 2002, Changes to accommodate new cell divider titles