Faculty Association	October 1, 1998 Approved on 12/07/98

To be voted on at the October 1998 meeting of the Association.
Will go into effect for candidates seeking promotion and/or tenure in Fall 2000.

5.4 Promotion and Tenure Policies and Procedures (Reference: BOR/UFF Agreement, Articles 14 and 15, and Faculty Association Item FA97-21)

Promotion and tenure awards are the University's major means for recognizing and protecting professional excellence in the academic disciplines.

In order to insure that academic excellence is consistently and regularly recognized, this document sets forth uniform promotion and tenure policies and procedures. They are designed to:

1. maximize peer judgment within each academic discipline;

2. provide a uniform, consistent method for arriving at promotion and tenure decisions;

3. provide a clear statement of the standards by which the University awards promotion and tenure.

This document is intended to be consistent with and a supplement to the provisions of the BOR/UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement and other relevant statutes, rules, and regulations.

5.4 (1) Promotion Eligibility And Minimum Requirements

5.4 (1.1) Promotion Eligibility

1. Instructor to Assistant Professor: 1 year

2. Assistant Professor to Associate Professor:  3 years

3. Associate Professor to Professor: 4 years

Evaluations of a candidate for promotion to any rank must give primary consideration to the candidate's performance of assigned duties and responsibilities. Those assignments should be made with full knowledge of the promotion and tenure guidelines set forth in this document.

Administrators who seek promotion must do so on the basis of their teaching, scholarship, and service contributions, rather than on the basis of their administrative duties.

Qualified candidates must not be denied promotion on financial grounds.

5.4 (1.2) Minimum Qualifications for Promotion to Assistant Professor

To be promoted from Instructor to Assistant Professor, a candidate must be demonstrably competent in teaching and must have shown some scholarly promise.

5.4 (1.3) Minimum Qualifications for Promotion to Associate Professor

To be promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor a candidate must be : a) excellent in teaching, excellent in scholarship provide evidence of an agenda of inquiry that has resulted in published scholarly or creative works, and demonstrate continuing meaningful contributions in service; or b) excellent in teaching, excellent in service, and demonstrate continuing competence in scholarship.

5.4 (1.4) Minimum Qualifications for Promotion to Professor

5.4 (2) Tenure Eligibility and Minimum Requirements
5.4 (2.1) Tenure Eligibility

The University President may grant up to two years' credit for prior service to faculty members hired at the Assistant Professor rank, up to three years' credit for faculty members hired at the Associate Professor rank, and up to four years credit for faculty members hired at the Professor rank. [F.A.C. Chapter 6C-5.940 1 (f)] Tenure may be granted at the time of initial appointment subject to approval by the Board of Regents. Prior to making an offer of tenure as a condition of employment, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will receive letters approving the tenured appointment from the department and college in which the candidate will be tenured.

Individuals with the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor are eligible for tenure. Tenure shall be in a department or other appropriate unit. Faculty members serving in appointed administrative positions may receive and retain tenure in the faculty classification but not in the administrative position.

An individual will normally be considered for tenure during the fifth year in which he/she holds a tenure-earning position at UNF, or in which he/she accumulates 5 years of credit for tenure. Where individuals are credited with tenure-earning service at the time of initial appointment, all or a portion of such credit may be withdrawn once by the individual prior to formal application for tenure. [BOR/UFF Agreement, 15.2 (d)] At the option of the individual, he/she may request in writing consideration during the sixth such year in a tenure-earning position. If the University has agreed in writing to this request, then consideration is deferred to the sixth year. [BOR/UFF Agreement 15.2 (a) (2)] In case of denial of tenure, the individual will be given a one academic year terminal contract. By the end of six (6) years of service at the University, an individual eligible for tenure must either be awarded tenure by the Board or given notice that further employment will not be offered, [BOR/UFF Agreement, 15.2 (e)] beyond the one academic year terminal contract.

Evaluations of a candidate for tenure must give primary consideration to the candidate's performance of assigned duties and responsibilities. Those assignments should be made with full knowledge of the promotion and tenure guidelines set forth in this document.

In the case of administrative employees who may be eligible for tenure consideration, the following teaching conditions shall be met: 33.3 semester credit hours of regularly scheduled classes if the member's rank is below Professor or 20 semester hours of regularly scheduled classes if the member's rank is Professor.

Administrators who seek tenure must do so on the basis of their teaching, scholarship, and service contributions, rather than on the basis of their administrative duties.

5.4 (2.2) Minimum Qualifications for Tenure

The decision to award tenure is the most significant decision that the University will make in regard to a faculty member. To be awarded tenure a candidate, during the course of his or her tenure-earning interval, must demonstrate be excellent in teaching, continuing competent scholarship must provide evidence of an agenda of inquiry that has resulted in published scholarly or creative works, and must demonstrate continuing meaningful contributions in service, and must exhibit the willingness and ability to make contributions to his/her academic unit through working together with his/her peers in a professional manner during the course of his or her tenure-earning interval.

5.4 (3) Teaching, Scholarship and Service Evaluation Categories for Tenure and Promotion

5.4 (3.1) Teaching

1. the presentation of the University's curriculum in lecture, seminar, laboratory, studio, practicum, or independent study courses;

2. the development of new courses, degree programs, and other efforts to improve and enhance the University's curriculum;

3. academic and career advisement, if part of the candidate's assigned duties

4. also to be considered are evaluations of the candidate's teaching by students and academic colleagues through University sanctioned methods such as survey instruments, questionnaires, and in-class visitations, observations and interviews; and

5. in addition, administrators and committees shall consider any other relevant information in the dossier concerning teaching ability and accomplishments, such as awards or other formal recognition for outstanding teaching, grants or financial aid obtained for innovation and experimentation in teaching, and so forth.

5.4 (3.2) Scholarship

1. published scholarly or creative works (or works completed and accepted for publication), within or directly related to the candidate's academic discipline:
   1. a scholarly book;
   2. a monograph, edition, creative work, textbook, bibliography, or translation of a full-length work;
   3. an edited collection of articles, readings, stories, etc.; and/or
   4. a refereed article or short creative work in a journal, magazine, or anthology;

2. the presentation of refereed scholarly papers within or related to the candidate's academic discipline;

3. the presentation of invited papers within or related to the candidate's academic discipline;

4. grants or fellowships received in support of creative or scholarly work, or teaching or curriculum improvement;

5. book reviews. non-refereed articles, and non-refereed papers, within the discipline;

6. completed artistic performances. creations, and exhibitions; and

7. work in progress.

5.4 (3.3) Service

This category includes service to the candidate's department, college and to the University at large, on elected or appointed committees; or through organizing and expediting meetings, conferences, workshops, and symposia; or otherwise.

Professional Service

This category includes contributions to scholarly organizations dedicated to the development and support of the candidate's academic discipline. Professional service activities include the following:

1. elected officer in local, state, and national discipline-oriented organizations;

2. service other than officership to such organizations;

3. all activities other than teaching and scholarship which directly support the candidate's academic discipline; and

4. service to public schools.

Community Service

This category includes those community activities to which the candidate makes a contribution by virtue of professional expertise. The only community service activities relevant to tenure or promotion candidacy are those related to the faculty member's professional expertise. Such activities include the following:

1. membership and active participation in elected or appointed public, civic, or community groups, boards, agencies and commissions dealing with issues related to the candidate's professional expertise;

2. membership and active participation in voluntary public, civic, or community groups, boards, agencies, and commissions dealing with issues related to the candidate's professional expertise; and

3. any other community activities in which the University is represented by virtue of the candidate's professional expertise.

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Modified: Friday, September 25, 1998

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