Eligibility
Expedited tenure review is an option to streamline the university's tenure decisions for new faculty who were already tenured at their previous institution. It is potentially available to faculty members who have been tenured full professors at their previous institution, and also to faculty members who are associate professors in rank for at least three years when coming to the University of Oregon as associate professors.
Expedited tenure review entails only review of tenure (it is not a promotion review). Associate professors from other institutions who seek to be hired at UO as full professors must go through the normal tenure process (although they may be able to do that at an accelerated pace).
The expedited tenure review process uses (as much as possible) material contained in the job application of the faculty member to be considered for tenure. See also the what's the review period guidance.
Policy
Expedited tenure review is governed by the expedited tenure policy.
Process
Executive Hires with Expedited Review
For executive hires with faculty appointments requiring expedited tenure review, coordinate directly with the VPAA on the process of gathering and reviewing dossier materials.
Department/Unit: Initial Review
The process of expedited review starts with the candidate's tenure home (referred to here as the "department"). See the Expedited Review Dept/Unit and School/College Checklist.
The department reviews the candidate's CV and other material that may be available to them from the job application process. The faculty votes on whether to use the expedited review process for that faculty member at the rank they will have (full or associate professor). If they do not approve expedited review, the case will undergo the regular (possibly accelerated) tenure review process. The department fills out the Expedited Review Dept/Unit Vote Report.
Dean: Review and Referral
The candidate's CV and other material that may be available from the job application process and the Expedited Review Dept/Unit Vote Report are then forwarded to the dean, who approves the expedited review or, instead, refers the case for a regular tenure review. The dean’s decision should be emailed to the vice provost for academic affairs (vpaa@uoregon.edu). If the dean refers the case for a regular tenure review, the process is the same as a normal tenure case. If the dean approves an expedited review, the department gathers materials for the dossier (see below) and forwards the dossier to the vice provost for academic affairs.
Dossier Creation
The department can use the Expedited Dept & College Checklist for guidance through the process. Items for the dossier to be reviewed by the VPAA and Expedited Tenure Review Committee:
- Dossier cover page (Expedited Review Dossier Cover Sheet for Departments/Units)
- Expedited Review Dept/Unit Vote Report, and documentation of the dean's support for using the expedited process. This report will include:
- The department faculty vote
- The department decision whether to review the file again for final approval (see below)
- Names of appropriate potential external reviewers for the External Tenure Review Committee to solicit
- A brief quantitative assessment of the candidate's work and impact, if available and applicable for the candidate's field's norms (e.g., citation counts, h-index)
- A brief statement of expected duties at UO: Make special note of any conditions of employment that depart from the typical balance of teaching, research, and service responsibilities for tenured faculty members in the department.
- The candidate's signed and dated CV and either a brief candidate's statement or the candidate's letter of application;
- A signed and dated waiver letter (see our sample waiver letters) indicating the candidate's chosen waiver status for the expedited tenure review;
- A sample of relevant research materials chosen by the candidate to represent the candidate's scholarship;
- Teaching evaluations from the previous institution (for positions with FTE dedicated to teaching responsibilities);
- Expedited tenure cases must have at least five external reviewers. Three of these external reviewers may be letters from the candidate's application process. These are included in the dossier compiled by the department or dean’s office. The other two (or more) external reviews are solicited by the Expedited Tenure Review Committee using the names of potential external reviewers supplied by the department.
Expedited Tenure Review Committee (ETRC)
The ETRC is a subcommittee of the UO Faculty Personnel Committee (FPC).
As mentioned above, the ETRC obtains a minimum of two external reviewers selected from a list of potential reviewers supplied by the hiring department and not including any reviewers listed among the candidate's application references. These external reviewers should be provided the following materials:
- The candidate's signed, dated CV and candidate statement or letter of application;
- A sample of relevant research materials chosen by the candidate to represent the candidate's scholarship;
- The signed and dated waiver letter.
External reviewers will be contacted in writing via email with the template provided to the ETRC.
The review may be submitted via email or conducted by phone call, Zoom, or other direct means of communication by one or more members of the ETRC. If direct communication is utilized, the review must be documented in writing or captured in audio/video format so that it can be included in the documentary record and be made available to the Provost.
After the ETRC has solicited the external review letters and the remaining dossier materials are complete, the ETRC evaluates the file and writes their report. The ETRC deliberates and decides whether the case should be processed as a regular tenure review case or if it can go through as an expedited tenure review case. The ETRC sends the full dossier to the department for final approval (if requested at the outset).
Department/Unit: Final Approval
The full dossier is sent back to the department for final approval (unless this final approval check is waived at the outset). The eligible department faculty members should vote within five business days to either recommend tenure or recommend a standard tenure review. The department sends its vote to the VPAA (vpaa@uoregon.edu).
Provost: Final Decision
If the case is proceeding as an expedited review with the department's and ETRC's endorsement, the VPAA sends the dossier to the Provost for a final decision.
Reporting
The UO FPC will include information about the number of all expedited tenure cases considered over the course of the year in its annual report to the University of Oregon Senate.