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College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

About

College of Liberal Arts
and Social Sciences
The University of Houston
402 Agnes Arnold Hall
Houston, TX 77204-3000
Phone: 713-743-4002
Fax: 713-743-2990

College Governance

Guidelines for P & T (CLASS Bylaws -amended April 2018)

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In the case of evaluations for Promotion and Tenure, CLASS guidelines and policies are subject to those promulgated at the university level. Guidelines provided by the Office of the Provost form the basis of all Promotion and Tenure decisions. While a college may choose to implement more rigorous standards than those detailed in the university-level promotion and tenure guidelines, a college may not implement policies that result implicitly or explicitly in the application of less rigorous standards than detailed in the in the university-level promotion and tenure guidelines. It is the obligation of the chair of the department to make all new tenured or tenure-track faculty members aware in writing of not only the university-level promotion beyond tenure guidelines but also any college or departmental level policies or procedures that may impact their tenure and/or promotion.

Section XVI. Annual Reviews and Pre-Tenure Reviews of Assistant Professors

  • Every faculty member at the rank of Assistant Professor will be reviewed annually by the department chair/director or appropriate administrator according to departmental procedures. The chair/director will provide the faculty member with a written summary of the review.
  • A full pre-tenure review normally occurs in the tenure-track or assistant professor’s third year. Eligible faculty in the department will conduct a comprehensive review of his or her record for the purpose of assessing progress toward tenure of
    1. research, scholarship, or creative work;
    2. teaching; and
    3. service to the university, community, and/or profession.

Section XVII. Procedures and Criteria for Promotion to Associate Instructional, Clinical or Research Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

  • All College and Department policies and procedures must comply with the Provost’s annual Promotion Guidelines.
  • Mandatory review for promotion will take place no later than the sixth year of an assistant professor’s appointment, unless the candidate received an extension of the probationary period under the provisions of the University of Houston Faculty Handbook.
  • Each department shall develop and make available to faculty members, upon their appointments, written criteria for promotion consistent with University and College policies.
  • Candidates for promotion to Associate Instructional, Clinical or Research Professor are responsible for the timely submission of promotion materials consistent with the criteria of the Department, the College and the University. Additionally, department chairs/directors shall solicit review letters of the candidate’s materials. To the extent allowed by law, reviews are to be treated as confidential and are intended to be read only by the reviewing committees and university administrators or faculty involved in the review process. Candidates will not be shown nor have access to review letters as part of the promotion process
  • Successful candidates for promotion to Associate Professor shall demonstrate excellence in two of the three pillars
    1. teaching,
    2. scholarship, creative work or performance or
    3. service to the university, community, and/or profession as appropriate to the particular discipline.
  • The candidate may request that all three pillars be considered.
  • Only associate and full professors in the department may vote on the promotion to Associate Instructional, Clinical or Research Professor. All deliberations are conducted in confidence.
  • The department committee shall provide a written report evaluating the candidate’s teaching, scholarship, creative work or performance, and service, including a recommendation based on the majority of votes cast. The department chair/director shall provide an independent written report with his or her recommendations and assessment of the candidate’s record. Copies of these reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the external reviewers. These reports will be submitted to the College Tenure and Promotion Committee for review as part of the candidate’s portfolio.
  • The College Promotion and Tenure Committee shall review the candidate’s promotion materials, review letters, the department’s recommendation, and the department chair/directors’s report and shall make written recommendations to the Dean, based on the majority of votes cast, regarding promotion. The College Promotion and Tenure Committee must have at least a NTT faculty member of higher rank to be on the committee. The Dean shall make an independent evaluation of the candidate’s portfolio and provide a written report and recommendation. The reports of the college Committee and the Dean will be included in the portfolio, and the entirety will be submitted to the Provost’s Office for review at the University level. A copy of the Committee’s and the Dean’s reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the reviewers.

Section XVIII. Procedures and Criteria for Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

  • All College and Department policies and procedures must comply with the Provost’s annual Promotion and Tenure Guidelines.
  • Mandatory review for tenure and promotion will take place no later than the sixth year of a tenure-track assistant professor’s appointment, unless the candidate received an extension of the probationary period under the provisions of the University of Houston Faculty Handbook.
  • Each department shall develop and make available to faculty members, upon their appointments, written criteria for tenure and promotion consistent with University and College policies.
  • Successful candidates for tenure and/or promotion to Associate Professor, are responsible for the timely submission of tenure and/or promotion materials consistent with the criteria of the Department, the College and the University
  • Additionally, for the cases of Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor department chairs shall solicit four to six external reviews of the candidate’s materials from well-qualified senior scholars. To the extent allowed by law, external reviews are to be treated as confidential and are intended to be read only by the reviewing committees and university administrators or faculty involved in the review process.
  • In the case of promotion without tenure, department chairs shall solicit 2-3 external reviews of the candidates materials from well-qualified senior scholars. To the extent allowed by law, external reviews are to be treated as confidential and are intended to be read only by the reviewing committees and university administrators or faculty involved in the review process.
  • Department chairs’ evaluation for tenure shall be based on the candidate’s serious and significant contributions in research, scholarship, or creative work; the promise or achievement of a national or international reputation in his or her field; and the expectation of continued excellence in these areas throughout the candidate’s career.
  • Department chairs’ evaluation for promotion without tenure shall be based on the candidate’s serious and significant contributions in the three pillars of the academy: excellence in instruction, and service to the university, profession or community, and research, scholarship or creative work.
  • Only tenured faculty in the department may vote on the granting of tenure.
  • All faculty of associate or full rank can vote on promotion to Associate Professor without tenure.
  • All deliberations are conducted in confidence.The department committee shall provide a written report evaluating the candidate’s research, scholarship or creative work, teaching, and service, including a recommendation based on the majority of votes cast.
  • The department chair shall provide an independent written report with his or her recommendations and assessment of the candidate’s record. Copies of these reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the external reviewers. These reports will be submitted to the College Tenure and Promotion Committee for review as part of the candidate’s portfolio.
  • The College Promotion and Tenure Committee shall review the candidate’s tenure and promotion materials, external review letters, the department’s recommendation, and the department chair’s report and shall make written recommendations to the Dean, based on the majority of votes cast, regarding promotion and/or tenure as well as the continuance of faculty members in the College according to University procedures, departmental criteria, and College standards. The Dean shall make an independent evaluation of the candidate’s portfolio and provide a written report and recommendation. The reports of the college Committee and the Dean will be included in the portfolio, and the entirety will be submitted to the Provost’s Office for review at the University level. A copy of the Committee’s and the Dean’s reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the external reviewers.

Section XIX. Procedures and Criteria for Promotion to Full Instructional, Clinical or Research Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

  • All College and Department policies and procedures must comply with the Provost’s annual Promotion Guidelines.
  • Each department shall develop and make available to faculty members, upon their appointments, written criteria for promotion consistent with University and College policies.
  • Candidates for promotion to Full Instructional, Clinical or Research Professor are responsible for the timely submission of promotion materials consistent with the criteria of the Department, the College and the University. Additionally, department chairs/directors shall solicit review letters of the candidate’s materials. To the extent allowed by law, reviews are to be treated as confidential and are intended to be read only by the reviewing committees and university administrators or faculty involved in the review process. Candidates will not be shown nor have access to review letters as part of the promotion process
  • Successful candidates for promotion to Full Instructional, Clinical and Research Professor shall demonstrate continued excellence in two of the three pillars
    1. teaching,
    2. scholarship, creative work or performance, or
    3. service to the university, community, and/or profession as appropriate to the particular discipline.
  • The candidate may request that all three pillars be considered.
  • Only full professors in the department may vote on the promotion to Full Instructional, Clinical or Research Professor. All deliberations are conducted in confidence.
  • The department committee shall provide a written report evaluating the candidate’s teaching, scholarship, creative work or performance, and service, including a recommendation based on the majority of votes cast. The department chair/director shall provide an independent written report with his or her recommendations and assessment of the candidate’s record. Copies of these reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the external reviewers. These reports will be submitted to the College Promotion and Tenure Committee for review as part of the candidate’s portfolio.
  • The College Promotion and Tenure Committee shall review the candidate’s promotion materials, review letters, the department’s recommendation, and the department chair/directors’s report and shall make written recommendations to the Dean, based on the majority of votes cast, regarding promotion. The Promotion and Tenure Committee must have a least a Full NTT faculty member to evaluate the candidates for promotion to Instructional, Clinical or Research Full Professor. If the college does not have a Full NTT faculty member to serve on the P & T Committee, CLASS will ask a Full NTT Professor from another college to serve on the committee. The Dean shall make an independent evaluation of the candidate’s portfolio and provide a written report and recommendation. The reports of the college Committee and the Dean will be included in the portfolio, and the entirety will be submitted to the Provost’s Office for review at the University level. A copy of the Committee’s and the Dean’s reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the reviewers.

Section XX. Procedures and Criteria for Promotion to Full Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

  • All College and Department policies and procedures must comply with the Provost’s annual Promotion and Tenure Guidelines.
  • Each department shall develop and make available to faculty written criteria for promotion to Full Professor consistent with University and College policies.
  • Candidates for promotion to Full Professor are responsible for the timely submission of promotion materials consistent with the criteria of the department, the College and the University. Additionally, for tenured candidates department chairs shall solicit four to six external reviews of the candidate’s materials from well-qualified senior scholars. To the extent allowed by law, external reviews are to be treated as confidential and are intended to be read only by the reviewing committees and university administrators or faculty involved in the review process.
  • Successful candidates for promotion to Full Professor shall demonstrate continued excellence in (a) research, scholarship, and/or creative work, (b) teaching, and (c) service to the university, community, and/or profession appropriate to the particular discipline. The promotion to full professor shall be based on the candidate’s serious and significant contributions in scholarship, creative work, or performance; the achievement of a national or international reputation in his or her field; and the expectation of continued excellence in these areas throughout the candidate’s career.
  • Only full professors in the department may vote on the candidate’s promotion to Full Professor. All deliberations are conducted in confidence. In the event that there are fewer than three full professors eligible to undertake the committee review in a department, additional full professors will be named by the Dean to the departmental committee in consultation with the chair of the department. The department committee shall provide a written report evaluating the candidate’s scholarship, creative work or performance, teaching, and service, including a recommendation based on the majority of votes cast. The department chair also shall provide an independent written recommendation and report with his or her assessment of the candidate’s record. Copies of these reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the external reviewers. These reports will be submitted to the College Promotion and Tenure Committee for review as part of the candidate’s portfolio.
  • In a department where the chair does not hold the rank of full professor, the Dean shall appoint a full professor from the department, or from another department if there are no full professors in the department at issue, to oversee the department’s deliberations regarding a candidate’s promotion to Full Professor and to provide an independent written recommendation and report with his or her assessment of the candidate’s record.
  • The College Promotion and Tenure Committee shall review the candidate’s promotion materials, external review letters, the department’s recommendation, and the department chair/director’s report and shall make written recommendations to the Dean, based on the majority of votes cast, regarding promotion to Full Professor. The Dean shall make an independent evaluation of the candidate’s portfolio and provide a written report and recommendation. The reports of the college Committee and the Dean will be included in the portfolio, and the entirety will be submitted to the Provost’s Office for review at the University level. A copy of the Committee’s and Dean’s reports shall be made available to the candidate; the reports should not reveal the identity of the external reviewers.

Section XXI. Reconsideration of Promotion Decision

  • In cases of a negative recommendation, candidates for promotion to Associate Professor or for promotion to Full Professor are entitled to a reconsideration of the decisions of the department, the department chair/director, the College Promotion and Tenure Committee, and the Dean. Reconsiderations are limited to errors of fact and procedure.
  • Each department shall establish procedures for reconsideration. Departmental reconsiderations normally occur before the deadline for portfolio submission to the College.
  • A candidate requesting a reconsideration of the College Promotion and Tenure Committee’s decision must submit a written notification of this request to the Committee chair within five working days of receiving the Committee’s report. No later than five days thereafter, the candidate must provide to the Committee any new evidence or evidence to rebut statements made. When the candidate meets with the Committee, the candidate may invite the chair/director of his or her department or another faculty colleague to provide information to the Committee.
  • A candidate requesting a reconsideration of the Dean’s decision must submit a written notification of this request to the Dean within five working days of receiving the Dean’s report. No later than five working days thereafter, the candidate must provide any new evidence or evidence to rebut statements made. When the candidate meets with the Dean, the candidate may invite the chair/director of his or her department chair/director or another faculty colleague to provide information to the Dean.

Departmental Guidelines