About
Mid-Probationary Review of Tenure-Track Faculty
All tenure-track faculty in the College of Natural Sciences must undergo a comprehensive review midway through their probationary period in order to assess if the faculty member is on a reasonable trajectory toward promotion and tenure. Reviews will address the faculty member's accomplishments in the areas of research and scholarly activity, teaching, and service, as well as discuss areas for improvement.
Third Year Review of Professional-Track Faculty
Third Year Reviews assess a professional-track faculty member's primary area of specialization (i.e., teaching, research, or service) as well as their additional contributions to the academic enterprise. The review also discusses areas for improvement.
CNS now requires the following professional track faculty titles to undergo a third year comprehensive review during their 5th, 6th or 7th semester in rank.
- Assistant Professor of Instruction
- Assistant Professor of Practice
- Clinical Assistant Professor
- Research Assistant Professor
Process
Step 1: Notify Faculty
Departments may choose to conduct the review in a candidate's 5th, 6th, or, in the case of a faculty member whose appointment started in mid-year, 7th semester in rank. The faculty member must be notified of intent to review at least four months in advance of the review.
Example 1: A faculty member is hired August 18, 2020, so their promotion clock begins on September 1, 2020. In this scenario, Fall 2020 is both their first semester at UT and their first semester counted towards their promotion clock. Therefore, their mid-probationary or third-year review should be conducted in either Fall 2022 (5th semester) or Spring 2023 (6th semester), since 2022-23 is their third year in rank.
Example 2: A faculty member is hired January 16th, 2020, so their promotion clock begins on September 1, 2020. In this scenario, Spring 2020 is their first semester at UT, but Fall 2020 is their first semester counted towards their promotion clock. Therefore, their mid-probationary or third-year review should be conducted in either Spring 2022 (5th semester), Fall 2022 (6th semester), or Spring 2023 (7th semester), since 2022-23 is their third year in rank.
Step 2: Establish Review Committee
The Department Chair is responsible for establishing a review committee to conduct the review. The review committee must consist of faculty who are of a higher rank than the individual undergoing the review.
Step 3: Evaluation Report
The review committee is responsible for writing an evaluation report documenting the faculty member's contributions to research, teaching, and service (for tenure-track faculty) or their overall contributions to the academic enterprise (for professional-track faculty) during the evaluation period (preceding three years), and must assign an overall review rating of either exceeds, meets, does not meet, or unsatisfactory. Reports are typically no longer than two pages and must include a brief description of the process that was employed, including how the review committee was constituted, what materials were reviewed and the conclusions that were reached, including any recommendations in problem areas.
Step 4: Submittal
Once the review committee completes the evaluation report, it should be submitted to the Department Chair for their review and comments. The Department Chair is responsible for meeting with the faculty member to discuss the evaluation results as well as present the faculty member with an opportunity to provide a written response, if needed.
The report and any written responses should be submitted by the Department Chair to the Dean's Office no later than January 16th (for reviews conducted in the Fall semester) or June 1st (for reviews conducted in the Spring semester). Please ensure the evaluation report is signed by all members of the review committee as well as the faculty member undergoing review before it's submitted to the Dean's office.
Required Materials
Tenure-Track Faculty
Mid-Probationary Review (Tenure-Track Faculty)
- Current CV
- Research and Scholarly Activity
- FARs for the previous years in rank
- All publications since arriving at UT
- Grant support at UT
- Graduate student supervision
- Service - Evidence of department, college, university, or professional service.
- Teaching - Please refer to the Teaching Assessment Templates for more information.
- 1 external evaluation
- 1 peer assessment
- At least 1 reflective teaching observations (conducted by the candidate) of colleague's teaching
Professional-Track Faculty
Third Year Review (Professional-Track Faculty)
- Current CV
- Primary Area of Specialization
- If teaching is primary, then required materials include:
- 1 external evaluation
- 1 peer assessment
- At least 1 reflective teaching observations (conducted by the candidate) of colleague's teaching
- Please refer to the Teaching Assessment Templates for more information.
- If research is primary, then required materials include:
- FARs for the previous years in rank
- All publications since arriving at UT
- Grant support at UT
- Graduate student supervision
- If service is primary, then required materials include:
- Evidence of department, college, university, or professional service.
- If teaching is primary, then required materials include:
- Statement on Contributions to the Academic Enterprise
- These additional contributions might be made at the intersection of one or more of the areas of specialization and cannot repeat accomplishments or performance already documented in the primary area of specialization. For example, if teaching is a faculty member's primary area or specialization, excellence in terms of contributions, performance and trajectory in organized teaching might be the focus for that primary area. The faculty member might then highlight their contributions and leadership in curriculum development and undergraduate student advising and mentoring as their additional contributions to the academic enterprise.
Timeline
Deadlines for Submitting the Mid-Probationary/Third Year Review
A written report on the mid-probationary review, along with any responses provided by candidate, must be submitted to the Dean's Office before the end of the candidate's third year in rank.
For faculty undergoing review in the Fall semester (September 1st - January 15th), reports are due by January 16th.
For faculty undergoing review in the Spring semester (January 16th - May 31st), reports are due by June 1st.
Questions or concerns: Contact CNS Faculty Affairs
