2020-2021 Promotion and tenure updates and clarifications

In preparation for promotion and tenure reviews in the coming academic year, all deans and promotion and tenure unit heads should be aware of the following updates and clarifications. Please share this information with faculty in your unit(s).

On Feb. 19, the University Council approved revisions to Section I.A, “Contributions to Teaching” in the UGA Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure of Academic Rank Faculty. The changes broaden and clarify the types of evidence that can be used to document teaching effectiveness and accomplishments. The updated guidelines are posted on the Office of Faculty Affairs’ promotion and tenure webpage.
Academic Affairs Policy 1.10-9, “Implementation of Revised Guidelines for Faculty Appointment, Promotion or Tenure,” has been added to the Academic Affairs Policy Manual to clarify how revisions to University guidelines or PTU criteria will impact faculty who plan to apply for promotion and/or tenure shortly after any changes take effect. This new policy applies to faculty in any career track.
The UGA Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion and Tenure of Academic Rank Faculty state that, among other expectations, candidates for promotion to professor should demonstrate national or international recognition in their fields and the likelihood of maintaining that stature. Consequently, dossiers for promotion to the professor rank should contain clear evidence of national or international visibility, such as documentation of national or international awards, invitations to present at prestigious institutions and forums, service as president/vice president of professional societies or as chief editor of a scholarly journal, etc.
As previously announced, current untenured faculty whose promotion eligibility or tenure status has a time limit and whose progress toward promotion and/or tenure has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may request a one-year extension to their P&T review period. Use of this one-year extension will be at the faculty member’s discretion, and it will not count toward the two-year extension available for events that qualify under the Family Medical Leave Act.

All faculty currently in their fifth or sixth year in rank who would like to request a COVID-19-related extension must do so by Sunday, May 31. All other faculty must submit their requests before the spring semester of their fifth year in rank.

To request this type of extension, faculty must complete the COVID-19 extension request form. Upon submission, an automated email will be sent to an administrator in the faculty member’s school or college for further review. Each faculty member also will receive an email record of their submission and will be notified of the final status of their request.

Faculty who are currently in their first or second year in rank who are granted a COVID-19-related extension will undergo their third-year review (if applicable to their career track) in their fourth year unless they specifically request a review in their third year.

Any faculty member who wants to apply for promotion and tenure according to their standard eligibility schedule may still do so. Third-year reviews and preliminary consideration reviews underway this spring may continue as expected because they are based largely on work completed before the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19-related extension does not alter the University’s standards for promotion and tenure. Review procedures in the coming academic year will proceed according to the usual schedule.

For questions, please contact Truitt Broome or the associate provost for faculty affairs.