Policy #5

Academic Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment, 1975-76

The provisions contained herein have been developed in conformity with Chapter Six of The Code of The University of North Carolina as adopted by the Board of Governors on June 13, 1975, and with cognizance of the Resolutions to Accompany Chapter Six which were passed by the Board of Governors on the same date. In addition this memorandum reflects the policies in the document prepared by the Ad Hoc Tenure Committee, the recommendations of the chairman of that committee and of the Academic Personnel Committee, and the advice of the Faculty Senate given this fall. These provisions shall be in effect during the academic year 1975-76.

I. CLASSES OF APPOINTMENT TO FACULTY RANK

There are three distinct categories of faculty appointments: appointments with permanent tenure, probationary appointments, and fixed-term appointments.

A. Appointments with Permanent Tenure

An appointment with permanent tenure is a continuing appointment to a professorial rank, not affected by changes in such rank, which continues until terminated by resignation, retirement, or by approved procedures as provided in Sections 603 and 605 of The Code. Only faculty members at the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor, and professor are eligible for permanent tenure.

Administrative personnel with a professorial rank are eligible for permanent tenure in rank as faculty members but not in their administrative positions. Although the criteria may vary, the procedure for securing permanent tenure for the administrative officer is the same as that prescribed for other faculty members, i.e., a recommendation must originate within an academic department and receive endorsement by the appropriate dean and the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Faculty members with permanent tenure who are subsequently appointed to administrative positions retain tenure in their academic ranks.

B. Probationary Appointments

1. A probationary appointment is one under which the appointee will become eligible for consideration for the award of permanent tenure at the end of a specified minimum period.

2. The maximum probationary period is five years of continuous full-time service {1} at Western Carolina University. Faculty members appointed at the rank of assistant professor become eligible for consideration for permanent tenure during the third year of full-time continuous service at Western Carolina University; associate professors become eligible for consideration for permanent tenure during the second year of full-time continuous service at Western Carolina University; and professors become eeligible for consideration during the first year of full-time continuous service at Western Carolina University. If awarded, tenure becomes effective at the beginning of the next academic year.

   Permanent tenure may be recommended by a department head prior to the completion of three years as an assistant professor for an instructor or lecturer with three years or more of continuous full-time service at Western Carolina University who is promoted to the rank of assistant professor.

3. The probationary appointment period typically will be for one academic year. However, the Chancellor may under unusual circumstances authorize appointments up to a maximum of three years.

4. Probationary appointees are limited to a maximum of five continuous years of full-time service and must be considered during the fourth year for either (a) a terminal one-year appointment, or (b) recommendation for tenure.

5. Permanent tenure may be conferred only by action of the President and the Board of Governors, or by such other agencies or officers as may be delegated such authority by the Board of Governors. The award of permanent tenure by the President and the Board of Governors refers to tenure at Western Carolina University and not to the University of North Carolina system.

6. The review of probationary appointees must be conducted on a schedule which permits the timely notice requirements in Section III A to be observed. {2}

C. Fixed-term Appointments

All appointments of visiting faculty (including any person who is appointed on a less than full-time basis or to a term of less than one academic year), adjunct faculty, or other special categories of faculty such as instructors, lecturers, artists-in-residence, or writers-in-residence, shall be for a specified term of service only. That term shall be set forth in writing when the appointment is made, and the specifications of the length of the appointment shall be deemed to constitute full timely notice of nonreappointment when that term expires. The provisions of Section 604 (A) and 602(4) of The Code shall not apply to these appointments. However, full-time appointees with the rank of instructor shall be given the timely notice of nonreappointment specified in Section III A, below, provided that the conditions of appointment to the rank of instructor include a provision that the appointment is subject to renewal.

Special or fixed-term appointments may be made for part-time or full-time teaching and/or administrative positions with or without compensation.

II. PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR TENURE

Persons in the following categories are not eligible for permanent tenure:

A. Persons with special or fixed-term appointments.

B. The Director of Athletics, Head Football Coach, Head Basketball Coach, Assistant Director of Athletics, other full-time members of the intercollegiate athletics staff, and assistant coaches of football and basketball. (See Policy #1)

C. Persons employed in positions funded in whole or in substantial part (75 percent or more) from sources other than continuing state budget funds or permanent trust funds. Contingent upon the continuing availability of "soft monies" to fund the positions, reappointments may be made on an annual basis for an indefinite period. However, if at any time the funding for the contract period is provided primarily (75 percent or more) through state appropriations and is expected to continue, then tenure may be granted subject to existing regulations and procedures.

D. Camp Laboratory School Faculty. (They may hold adjunct appointments at Western Carolina University, but not probationary appointments.)

E. Persons holding SPA (Subject to the Personnel Act) appointments.

III. TIMELY NOTICE FOR PROBATIONARY APPOINTEES AND INSTRUCTORS

A. The decision not to reappoint a full-time instructor or probationary faculty member at the expiration of a fixed term of service shall be made by the Chancellor or his designee early enough to permit timely notice to be given. {2} For full-time faculty at the ranks of instructor (see Section I C), assistant professor, associate professor, or professor, the minimum requirement for timely notice shall be as follows:

1. During his first year of service at Western Carolina University, the faculty member shall be given notice not less than 90 calendar days {3} before his employment contract expires;

2. During his second year of continuous service at Western Carolina University, the faculty member shall be given notice not less than 180 calendar days before his employment contract expires; and

3. After two or more years of continuous service at Western Carolina University, the faculty member shall be given notice not less than twelve months before his employment contract expires.

B. Notice of reappointment or nonreappointment shall be given in writing by the Chancellor or his designee and shall be in the form of an unelaborated statement of the decision. If the decision is not to reappoint, then failure to give timely notice of nonreappointment will oblige the Chancellor to offer a terminal appointment for one academic year.

IV. COMPOSITION AND PROCEDURES OF TENURE AND PROMOTION ADVISORY COMMITTEES

A. Departmental Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committees

1. The departmental advisory committee shall consist of tenured members of the department up to a maximum of six. In departments with more than six tenured faculty {4} three shall be elected by the full-time faculty of the department and three shall be appointed by the department head. Those selected by the department head should bring an optimum balance to the committee in terms of seniority and professorial rank. In departments with fewer than three tenured faculty members, the committee shall be composed of at least three members, including the tenured faculty members, one or two members elected by the full-time faculty, and one or two members appointed by the department head to achieve optimum balance in terms of seniority and professorial rank.

2. The department head shall be chairman of the committee and shall not vote. When the department head is the person under consideration by the committee, he shall excuse himself and a pro-tem chairman (voting) shall be elected by the committee from its membership. The pro-tem chairman shall submit the committee's recommendations directly to the appropriate dean. The department head shall absent himself during the committee's deliberations concerning him.

3. The University Library faculty shall function as a department with the University Librarian as nonvoting chairman of the Library Tenure and Promotion Committee.

B. School Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committees

The School Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee shall consist of the dean of the school as the nonvoting chairman and a maximum of twelve faculty members, equally divided between elected and appointed members. The elected members of the committee must be tenured faculty members elected by the full-time faculty of each department, with a limit of one elected representative from each department.

Members appointed by the dean must be full-time faculty members in the school. In making appointments to the committee, the dean should attempt to achieve optimum balance in terms of seniority, professorial rank, and continuity of membership. The dean shall appoint one faculty member only from each department. Senior administrative officers and deans of other schools are not eligible for appointment.

1. In schools with six or fewer departments the committee shall consist of the dean and one tenured faculty member elected by the faculty in each department and one full-time faculty member appointed by the dean from each department.

2. In schools with more than six departments, the committee shall consist of the dean and twelve faculty members, six appointed by the dean and one tenured full-time faculty member elected by the faculty members in each of six departments chosen by lot with annual rotation of departments, When possible the six members appointed by the dean will come from departments not represented by elected members.

3. In schools without departments or with fewer than three tenured faculty members, the committee shall consist of the Dean, the tenured faculty, and sufficient nontenured faculty members elected by the faculty of the school to constitute a committee of three.

C. University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee

The University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee shall consist of the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs as nonvoting chairman, one tenured faculty member elected by the full-time faculty in each undergraduate school and the University Library, the Dean of the Graduate School, and faculty members appointed by the Chancellor equal to the number of elected faculty.

D. Procedures of Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committees

1. Department heads will be given the opportunity to explain their written recommendations to the school committee. A summary of each such oral statement will be included in the written record of the committee.

2. Deans of schools and the University Librarian will be given the opportunity to explain their written recommendations to the University committee. A summary of each such oral statement will be included in the written record of the committee.

3. No department head or dean who is a member of a tenure and promotion committee shall vote when faculty members in his department or school are under consideration by the committee.

4. Committee advice and administrator recommendations, both positive and negative, on reappointment, nonreappointment, promotion, and permanent tenure shall be sent up the line for approval or disapproval on the positive recommendations and for information and possible reconsideration on the negative recommendations. The elected secretary of each advisory committee shall see that a report of committee deliberations is submitted to the next higher level. At no level will administrators stop the flow of information and advice from the departmental, school, and university committees.

5. The faculty member will be notified informally by his department head if a negative decision is made on his candidacy at any level of consideration or if a decision at one level, positive or negative, is reversed at a higher level. These informal notifications shall consist of simple unelaborated statements of the decision. The department head will keep a record of these notifications.

6. A faculty member may withdraw his candidacy from consideration for promotion and tenure at any time, except during the fourth year of a probationary appointment when the candidate for permanent tenure must have a decision that year.

7. Tenure and promotion committees need only review and consider those faculty members currently eligible for consideration for reappointment, nonreappointment, promotion, and permanent tenure. The minimum qualifications enumerated in this document and the Faculty Administration Handbook, 1972 must be met prior to consideration for promotion or permanent tenure.

8. Only after the Chancellor has acted upon recommendations on reappointment, nonreappointment, promotion, and permanent tenure will the faculty member be officially notified. This notice shall be given in writing by the Chancellor or his designee.

V. ROLE OF ADMINISTRATORS IN THE REAPPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND TENURE PROCESS

A. Serve as chairmen, nonvoting, of their respective tenure and promotion committees.

B. After consultation with their respective tenure and promotion committees, make recommendations to the next administrative level on reappointment, nonreappointment, promotion, and permanent tenure.

C. Forward their recommendations and the committee's report as written by the elected secretary, including the results of the committee's votes, to the next higher level.

D. Review and approve or disapprove the tenure and promotion and annual faculty evaluation criteria and standards of the departments. Disapproval requires modification and resubmission for approval. The Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs will review and approve or disapprove the criteria, standards, and procedures of the departments and schools.

E. Provide tenure and promotion advisory committees with the written criteria and standards of the departments and the information they have which will aid the committees in their advisory roles.

F. See that their recommendations conform to the Institution's affirmative action plan and The Code.

VI. FUNCTIONS OF TENURE AND PROMOTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committees at all levels should:

A. Review periodically the criteria and standards used in making recommendations.

B. At the departmental level, prepare and circulate to the general faculty of the department a list of eligible candidates and indicate what personnel action is being considered.

C. Determine the faculty member's professional qualifications as provided in Section VII, below.

D. Assure that impermissible reasons have not been used in making recommendations.

E. Consider the needs and resources of the institution and the role of the candidate in the future plans of the department, school, and university.

F. Verify that the candidate meets the minimum standards and criteria of the department, school, and university, and is currently eligible for consideration.

G. Verify that the advice received from other committees and administrators is properly documented and supported by evidence.

H. Assure that the advice of the committee conforms to the university's affirmative action plan and to The Code.

I. Advise the department head, dean, or Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs on reappointment, nonreappointment, promotion, and permanent tenure on all eligible candidates.

VII. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND CRITERIA FOR DECISIONS OF REAPPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND PERMANENT TENURE

The criteria for appointment, reappointment, promotion, and permanent tenure are contained in the Faculty-Administration Handbook, 1972 and in the approved departmental and school criteria and procedure documents. The criteria stated below and in the Handbook provide the University-wide framework for decisions on these matters. It shall be incumbent upon each school and department to continue the development of more precisely defined criteria based upon these institutional guidelines to be used in making recommendations for reappointment, promotion, and tenure. In making recommendations and decisions, administrators and committees shall use criteria, standards, and procedures approved by the appropriate dean and the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and shall comply with all applicable requirements of The Code. The criteria to be applied in considering each candidate will be those in effect during the 1975-76 academic year.

A. Criteria for the Award of Permanent Tenure

1. Qualifications and Academic Credentials

   All candidates for permanent tenure are required to possess either

   (a) an earned degree appropriate to the area of responsibility, or

   (b) its equivalent in terms of education, experience, training, scholarly and/or creative productivity.

2. Performance of Teaching and Other Related Academic Duties

   It will be the department's responsibility to establish and maintain reasonable, fair, and open means of determining the effectiveness of a probationary faculty member's teaching and performance of other academic duties.

3. Scholarly Achievement and Professional Growth

   The "scholarly achievement and professional growth" requirement for permanent tenure will vary from one academic field to another. However, tenure-recommending bodies and officials should give consideration to the extent to which the candidate has shown promise of professional growth and potential for engaging in scholarly research and/or creative activity.

4. Contributions to the Academic Community

   In recommending permanent tenure, consideration should also be given to such factors as the candidate's contributions to faculty government; research and consultant service; work with students, graduates, and colleagues; and to community service activities which demonstrate commitment to the welfare of the institution.

B. Guidelines for Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and the Award of Permanent Tenure

In conducting deliberations and making decisions and recommendations on appointment, reappointment, promotion, and permanent tenure, administrators and faculty committees must consider:

1. The future needs of the academic unit for an additional permanent employee with the candidate's competencies.

2. The University's needs and resources, excluding federal funding and foundation grants.

3. The candidate's demonstrated professional competence and service to the department, school, students, and the university community. The quality of a candidate's performance may be determined by informal and/or formal student, peer, and supervisory evaluations.

4. The candidate's potential for future contribution to the University from the present to the age of retirement.

VIII. PERMISSIBLE AND IMPERMISSIBLE GROUND FOR REAPPOINTMENT

The decision not to reappoint a faculty member when a probationary term of appointment expires may be based on any factor considered relevant to the total institutional interests, but it must consider the faculty member's demonstrated professional competence, his potential for future contributions, and institutional needs and resources. These considerations may form, in whole or in part, the basis of the ultimate decision, except that a decision not to reappoint may not be based upon (1) the faculty member's exercise of rights guaranteed by either the First Amendment to the United State Constitution or Article I of the North Carolina Constitution; (2) discrimination based upon the faculty member's race, sex, religion, or national origin; or (3) personal malice.

IX. RECONSIDERATION PROCESS FOR THE APPEAL OF NEGATIVE DECISIONS ON REAPPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND TENURE

A. A faculty member may initiate an appeal for reconsideration of a negative decision at any time after receipt of informal notification of a negative decision at the school level. However, if a faculty member makes no written request for reconsideration within ten days from receipt of the official notice from the Chancellor of a negative decision, further recourse to institutional grievance and appellate procedures is waived.

B. A faculty member who wishes to request reconsideration shall do so by sending a written request to the Chancellor. The Chancellor shall determine the level at which the reconsideration process shall begin, ordinarily the level at which the first negative decision was made.

C. The reconsideration process shall consist of the following steps:

1. Conference with the department head {5}

   Upon receiving written notice of a faculty member's request for reconsideration, the department head {6} shall grant the request forthwith and arrange a private conference within five days to discuss the reasons for nonreappointment or a negative decision concerning promotion or tenure. The department head may, at his discretion, consult with the departmental advisory committee. Within five days after the conference, the department head shall give the faculty member a simple, unelaborated, written statement of whether the original decision remains in effect.

2. Conference with the dean of the school {7}

   Within five days after receiving notice from the department head that the original decision remains in effect, the faculty member may request in writing a conference with the dean. This request shall be granted and the conference held forthwith, within five days after receipt of the request if possible. The dean may, at his discretion, consult with the school advisory committee.

   Within ten days after this conference, the dean of the school shall send a written evaluation of the matter to the faculty member and to the department head, The evaluation may be in the form of an unelaborated concurrence with the decision; an expression of disagreement with the decision, with or without supporting reasons; or a recommendation for reconsideration of the decision, with or without suggestions for specific procedures in doing so. Whatever form the evaluation may take, it is merely recommendatory and not binding upon the department head or final as to the faculty member.

   Within five days after receipt of an evaluation that disagrees with the decision or recommends its reconsideration, the department head shall give the faculty member and the dean his response in writing.

D. In the conferences at both levels, the faculty member shall have the right to present in person the basis of the request for reconsideration.

E. If, upon reconsideration at any level, a negative recommendation is changed to a positive recommendation, a second consideration will be required by higher levels as in the initial process. If, after reconsideration by the concerned committees and administrators, the recommendation remains negative, the next higher administrative level and the Chancellor will be notified. The "next higher level" may then, at its discretion, review the negative reconsideration recommendation. The Chancellor, or his designee, will then notify the faculty member of the reconsideration decision.

F. Request for review by the University Grievance Committee

Within ten days after he receives notice of an unfavorable action resulting from the reconsideration conference with the dean,{7} a faculty member may request that the University Grievance Committee review the decision. However, a faculty member whose conference with the dean precedes his receipt of the official notice of a negative decision from the Chancellor specified in IV D. 8, above, shall request review by the Grievance Committee only upon, but within ten days after, receipt of notice from the Chancellor. The request for review shall be written and addressed to the chairman of the University Grievance Committee. If a faculty member makes no request to the committee in the time allowed, further recourse to institutional grievance and appellate procedures is waived.

1. Until the institutional tenure document receives final approval by the Board of Governors, five years will continue to be the maximum probationary period at Western Carolina University, as provided in the Faculty-Administration Handbook, 1972. However, Chapter Six of The Code provides that the probationary period shall consist of a period of continuous, full-time service.

2. The Administrative Timetable for 1975-76, previously distributed to deans and department heads from the Office for Academic Affairs, provides for the review of full-time nontenured faculty on a schedule which will permit observance of these timely notice requirements. The process of developing departmental recommendations on tenure, promotion, and/or reappointment of all eligible faculty except those in their first year of service is scheduled to begin in October 1975, and for faculty in their first year of service the process begins in January 1976.

3. Wherever it is used, except when calendar day is specified, the word "day" shall mean any day except Saturday, Sunday, or an institutional holiday. In computing any period of time, the day in which notice is received is not counted but the last day of the period being computed is to be counted.

4. The faculty of the department (school) shall consist of those members of the general faculty who hold appointments in that department (school). (See the Constitution and Bylaws of the General Faculty.) All administrative officers holding professorial rank are considered as "full-time faculty."

5. "Department" is used as a generic term for departments, schools, and any other academic unit to which faculty appointments are made. "Head" is used as a generic term for department heads, deans of schools, and any other heads of academic units to which faculty appointments are made.

6. If the initial decision not to reappoint is made by an administrative officer under the Chancellor other than the department head, substitute the name of that administrative officer for "department head" wherever the phrase occurs in this section. If the initial decision not to reappoint is made by the Chancellor or Board of Trustees, the faculty member who is not to be reappointed may seek review of that decision in accordance with the procedure set out in Section 501 C (4) of The Code.

7. Wherever the word "dean" occurs in this section, the administrative officer under the Chancellor on the next higher level above the officer who made the initial negative recommendation is intended.

Formerly Executive Memorandum 75-15
Initially approved November 21, 1974
Revised October 15, 1975
Under revision
Administering office: Academic Affairs

Posted June 8, 1999