Faculty Appointments, Promotions, & TenureUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center

School of Medicine

Richard O’Callaghan Faculty APT Committee, Chair

Created 1/11, Revised 5/11

Content Outline

• Change Rationale• Faculty Types• Appointments• Promotions:

o Associate & Professoro Normal and Off cycles

• Tenure:oSelf-NominationoTrack Changes• Possible Future Developments

Appointments, Promotions & Tenure :Why are there adjustments?

• Appointment processes have not been explicit

• Promotions were inadequately supported by documentation

• Tenured employment and related Institutions of Higher Learning policies have been changed

Information Importance

UMMC Faculty Forward survey results reveal that criteria and consistency for promotion was the number one concern

Hopefully, you can relay this information and thiswill help relieve the concerns

Policies and Procedures

• Faculty Types: Regular and Affiliate

• Track Types: Tenure & Non-Tenure Track

• Regular Faculty can be full or part time

Appointments: Regular Faculty

Initial appointments:

• Instructor or Assistant Professor appointments

require approval from the Chair and Dean or Dean’s Designee

•Associate or Professor Appointments require approval from the Faculty Appointments,

Promotions, and Tenure Committee (APT)

Regular Faculty (con’t)

Rank Appointments Approval Required

•Instructor Chair and Dean•Assistant Professor Chair and Dean

•Associate Professor APT, Chair, Dean and Executive Faculty

Committee

•Professor APT, Chair, Dean and Executive Faculty

Committee

•Secondary Chairs and Deanappointments

Appointment Process - Associate or Professor

• Chair submits “Faculty Appointment Pre-approval” form and candidate’s CV to Dean/designee’s office

• Dean/designee reviews request and determines suitability for submission to the Faculty APT Committee for pre-approval

• If suitable, Dean/designee sends request and CV to Faculty APT Committee Chair

• Faculty APT Committee Chair sends to Faculty APT membership for vote (majority rules)

• Executive Faculty Committee votes on the appointment

Promotion to Associate or

Professor

Promotion Requirements

Associate or Professor:

• 4 years as an Assistant Professor orAssociate Professor (rarely, less than 4 years)

• Chair must submit the promotion completed packet in “December” to gain APT approval

• Faculty approval obtained from:o APT o Executive Faculty Committeeo Dean

APT Committee Promotion Process

Submit the following items:

• Current CV

• Checklist page (signed by candidate and Chair)

• Portfolio (percent efforts are critical!!!!)

• Chair’s evaluation letter

• Departmental P & T Committee’s evaluation letter

• Names and addresses for external evaluation letters

CV Should be Current and Accurate

• Provides an opportunity for the candidate to describe academic experiences not detailed in the Portfolio

• Good to be inclusive and descriptive for items that are not common (e.g., service on a unique national committee or spokesperson for a

foundation)

• Lack of accuracy could be interpreted as being unprofessional

Updated CV:

Regular Faculty

UMMC mission emphasis areas:

•Education •Research•Service

A “primary” emphasis area is chosen with at least one “secondary” emphasis area.

Promotion Regulations and Criteria

• List:o Area of emphasis o Years of employment at each ranko Request for promotion and/or tenure

• Signed by candidate and Chair

• Listed at the bottom are all items needed for evaluation

Promotions Checklist Page (Exhibit A):

Promotion Regulations & Criteria (cont’d)

• List and describe accomplishments

• Divided into three sections:Research, Education, and Service

• Percent effort in each section must be listed accurately

• Every question must be answered, even if the answer is “none”

Portfolio (Exhibit B):

Evaluation Letters

Chair’s Letter:

• Includes evaluations of education and quality of service

•Reflects Chair’s perception of the candidate's value to the department or school

•A candidate’s unique function could be important

Evaluation Letters(cont’d)

Departmental P & T Committee’s Letter:

• The Departmental P & T Committee evaluation is a group decision and tends to go beyond personal interactions

• The letter can express mixed reviews giving both majority and minority opinions

Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee

• Department committee member recommendations:o a minimum of 5 senior faculty (professors or if

necessary advanced associate professors) o exceptions may be granted by the Dean’s office

• Committee composition is determined by dept. Chair

• If there are less than 5 senior faculty in a dept., the Chair should select dept. senior faculty plus senior faculty from other depts. to fill the 5 committee slots

Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee

• If a departmental committee member accepts an invitation to serve on the school Faculty Appointment, Promotions, and Tenure Committee, he/she can no longer vote on the departmental committee.

• Although, he/she could serve in an ex officio manner without voting privileges

(con’t)

• Two names are needed for promotion to associate professor and three for professor

• Requests for evaluation letters are made by the Dean’s Office, not the candidate or Chair

• Letters should come from faculty of comparable medical centers

• Letters from senior faculty whenever possible

• Best references are from faculty of medical centers with whom the candidate has not trained or worked

Evaluation Letters (cont’d)

An important concept is that judgment is based on:

• Area of emphasis

• Percent effort in each area

So, please be careful with the percent effort as listed in the Portfolio

Judging Applications for Promotion

Reference Standards for Promotion (Exhibit C):

• A new document, approved in July 2010, listing accomplishments that are significant in each area

• Accomplishments are judged relative to the percent effort in each area

• High productivity in the area of emphasis and considerable productivity in (at least) one secondary area

Accomplishments Guideline:

Reference Standards for Promotion (cont’d)

• each emphasis area

• promotion to Associate versus to Professor

• faculty on the tenure track - - - - - - non-tenure track faculty are evaluated by same standards, but the quantity and quality of accomplishments can be lower

Standards are stated for:

Reference Standards and Percent Effort

Candidate needs to have multiple standards to be achieved proportional to the percent effort.

Example:

Education is area of emphasis (80% effort in education) Service has a 20% effort and Research is not performed (0% effort in research)

Candidate needs to meet most of the standards in education and some standards in service

Standards for Publications

• Publications are a major concern among faculty

• Publications are only one standard

The Standards define the number needed to acquire credit for having produced publications.

• In education, publications can be in education-related journals.

Publications

Associate Professor Emphasis in: Research – 15 (life time) with 5 as first or seniorEducation – 10 (life time) in educationService - 0 required

ProfessorEmphasis in: Research – 30 (life time) with 15 as first or seniorEducation – 20 (life time) in education 10 as first/last Service - 0 required

Tenure Track Publication Requirements:

Promotion Decisions

• Criteria state the accomplishments of significance

• APT Committee will note the number and quality of accomplishments in each area

• Judgment of accomplishments is relative to:o The candidate’s track (tenure or non-tenure)o The promotion being sought (to associate or professor)o The percent effort in each area being judged

Promotion Decisions(cont’d)

• No matter how well the criteria are defined, the final decision is one of judgment

•Every committee member votes independently and the votes are counted

•Any candidate with a split vote or a negative voteis discussed; typically, one member serves

as an advocate for promotion

•A second secret ballot vote is taken and, if needed, the candidate is discussed again and the process repeated.

.

Promotion Decisions

If there is a negative decision, the APT Committee invites the candidate’s Chair to meet with the APT Committee to discuss the decision

This discussion can be fruitful because:

• Chair can provide more positive information

• APT Committee can propose changes in the percent effort that would improve the candidate’s presentation (this has helped candidates)

(cont’d)

• The APT Committee’s final decisions are presented as a motion to the Executive Faculty Committee.

• The negative decisions are emphasized to offer an opportunity for discussion

• The Executive Faculty Committee’s decisions are presented to the Dean who makes a final decision • There is an appeal process involving the Council of

Deans

Promotion Decisions (cont’d)

Acquiring Tenure

Acquiring Tenure (Exhibit D):Tenure is:

•based on multiple accomplishments that are significant for the Medical School or Medical Center•a special form of employment that recognizes accomplishments and assures a level of pay based on rank. Currently, this is:

• Assistant Professor = $70,000• Associate Professor = $75,000• Professor = $90,000

•a statement of recognition, appreciation, and a status symbol

Tenure Timetable

Hired Jul 1 Jul 1 Jul 1 Jul 1

01 02 03

Jul 1

04 05 06 07

Jul 1 Jul 1 Jun 30End Date

= Initial grace period

= Terminal contract; End Date: June 30th

= Tenure review in:year 05 ( ) and/or year 06 ( ) MUST be reviewed in year 06

Tenure Eligibility

• Current faculty must be employed for ≥ 5 years

• Must be at a “professorial” rank when tenure clock starts

• An exception can be granted by IHL, at the time of hire, if the Dean requests:

o awarding of tenure upon initial hiring

• Another exception can be granted by the Dean allowing up to 5 years credit toward tenure eligibility within the tenure track

Standard Submission Requesting Tenure

In year 05 or 06, the Chair can nominate the candidate for tenure.

When submitting, include:•Checklist page (signed by both candidate & Chair)•Portfolio•Candidate’s up-dated CV•List of people who will send letters of evaluation•Letter from Chair•Letter from Departmental P & T Committee•Attachment D (Form )

Tenure Forms (Required)

• Required for Promotion:o The CV, o Checklist, o Portfolio, o Chair’s lettero Department P & T letter

•Two additional documents:o“a list of four to six external referees”o Attachment (form) D

Form D is required by the IHL and is an assurance the Chair has discussed this tenure request with key faculty

Criteria for Acquiring Tenure

• Tenure is based on qualitative accomplishments

• The “Criteria for Acquiring Tenure” document lists main accomplishments divided by:

o Basic Research, Education, Service and Other

o Clinical Research, Education, Service and Other

“Other” to include accomplishments missed in document

Accomplishments can be in any category

All significant accomplishments for SOM or Medical Center contribute to a candidate's positive evaluation

Criteria for Acquiring Tenure (cont’d)

• For each mission area (Research, Education and Service), the evaluation is made relative to the percent effort in that area

• Tenure requires activities in all three mission areas

• “How many papers do I need to publish?” This is an invalid question because the question is not referenced to a percent effort:

a. listing the percent effort on the Portfoliob. being inclusive in completing the Portfolio

APT Committee Procedures

• After reviewing documents, members vote independently on each candidate

• Only candidates without all “positive votes” are discussed

• After discussion, a secret ballot is held; if needed, the process is repeated

Candidates with Final Negative Vote

• If a candidate has a final negative vote, the APT Committee will offer to meet with his/her Chair

• After meeting with Chair, further discussion and a final vote are held. The final vote goes to the Executive Faculty Committee for approval

• The Dean offers a UMMC final ruling

• For a candidate with a positive vote, the final ruling comes from the IHL Board

APT Deliberations

Special Features:

•No terminal contracts will be determined in 2010 because faculty hired in 2005 will have their Year 06 yet to go

•No external letters of evaluation are needed for 2010

New Policies

Track Change Policy

• There is a new policy listed on Faculty Affairs website

• Tenure track faculty: o Can be moved to a non-tenure track sloto Requires a form signed by the Chair and Deano No change in salary amount or source

• Return to a tenure track slot is possible:o If there has been a change in the person’s roleo A second form signed by the Chair and Dean is

required

What the Future Holds

Self-nomination Process:

• Avoids possible personality conflicts• Requires special promotion package, including

early deadline and multiple external letters of evaluation

• Process is approved, but not yet activated

Committee Structure:• No administrators (no chairs or “deans”)• Appoint only tenured professors

• Process is approved, but not yet activated

What the Future May Hold

A “APT Rules” Sub-Committee of the Executive

Faculty Committee:

•Standing committee (3 members?)•Charged with creating/editing documents•Not yet approved

Something New (we hope)

• Dean’s Office will attempt to scan all documents into the computer

• APT members will review all packets

• Members vote independently without knowledge of other votes (not new)

Questions