2014-15 Review of Full-Time Non-Tenured Research Faculty

September 2014

M E M O R A N D U M

TO:            Full-Time Non-Tenured Research Faculty in the Arts & Sciences

FROM:       David Madigan, Executive Vice President for Arts & Sciences

RE:            2014-15 Review of Full-Time Non-Tenured Research Faculty

                  The Arts and Sciences has in place a comprehensive system for review of its full-time, non-tenured faculty in the professorial ranks.  Reviews are conducted in the first, third, fifth and seventh years of service.  Through constructive, informative and timely evaluations, senior faculty advance the professional development of their junior colleagues to ensure the presence of faculty of the highest quality and distinction.  Each case is evaluated on its own merits, and the review process, and recommendations that emerge from the reviews, are intended to be treated with the utmost seriousness by departments.

Statutory Terms of Non-Tenured Appointment

                  By University Statute, all initial appointments to a non-tenured rank are for one year only.  Subsequent appointments may be for a term of one, two, or three years.  The statutory limit on all full-time, non-tenured appointments is eight consecutive years of counted service. [1]  Reappointment beyond this date requires the granting of tenure.  Under Arts and Sciences policy, associate professors without tenure may not hold appointment at that rank for more than five years of counted service. [2]

                  The University may choose not to renew an appointment beyond its stated term because of budgetary considerations, changes in staffing needs, or less than optimal performance on the part of the officer.  In such cases, the University must give written notice to the candidate according to the following schedule:

(1)     not later than March 1 before the end of the first year of service (March 1, 2015); [3]

(2)     not later than December 15 before the end of the second year of service (December 15, 2014);

(3)     at least twelve months before the end of all subsequent periods of service (May 31, 2015).

Procedures for Review

                  The review of full-time, non-tenured faculty [4] should be as thorough and searching as possible.  Faculty members scheduled for review should be invited to submit a current curriculum vitae and other evidence of their professional accomplishments.  The department should supplement these materials with other readily available evidence related to the individual’s record of teaching, scholarship, and university service.  Except in unusual circumstances, the department should not solicit outside evaluations of a faculty member’s work.  Please consult Margaret Edsall, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs before conducting the review.

                  After reviewing the faculty member’s work, the department must decide whether or not to recommend reappointment for an additional term of service.  This decision should be based on three considerations:

(1)     effectiveness as a teacher of undergraduate and graduate students;

(2)     accomplishments and potential as a scholar, scientist, or artist;

(3)     service to the department and the University.

                  The department will recommend the maximum allowable term of reappointment for those whose performance is judged to be excellent, and non-renewal for those whose performance is considered unsatisfactory.

                  The procedures for reviews are as follows. For simplicity, the year stipulated refers to the number of years of counted service.                

1.  Confirming Reviews (First Year)

                  The first year of service at Columbia for all full-time non-tenured faculty, regardless of rank, serves as a probationary period and a decision must be made as to whether or not to extend the statutory initial appointment.  Reviews of full-time, non-tenured faculty in their first year of service are essentially confirming reviews.  Those who successfully complete the probationary period may be extended through the fourth year.  Those who do not should be notified in writing by March 1, 2015 that their appointment will not be renewed beyond June 30, 2015.   The chair should notify the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences of the department’s decision by copy of the letter to the candidate no later than March 1, 2015. 3 

2.  Developmental Review (Third Year)

                  Those in their third year of counted service must be reviewed this year for a decision on renewal beyond June 30, 2016.  The department should use this review to place a strong emphasis on the professional development of the faculty member, identifying areas of progress and noting especially those requiring attention. Developmental reviews follow established departmental procedures.  These generally include evaluation of the candidate by a subcommittee of at least three tenured faculty prior to departmental deliberation.  Following departmental review, the chair should submit a letter by April 15, 2015, transmitting the department’s recommendation to the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences.  In instances where the department is requesting renewal of the appointment, the letter should address the individual’s effectiveness as a teacher, accomplishments and potential as a scholar, and service to the department.  A copy of his/her curriculum vitae, a full statement of teaching and current research plans and reports of any departmental committees must be included.  The Executive Vice President will inform the department chair as to whether this request has been approved and the department must then notify the faculty member in writing about the outcome of the review with a copy to the Executive Vice President.

3.  Critical Review (Fifth Year)

                  Those in their fifth year of counted service must be reviewed for possible reappointment beyond June 30, 2016.  Any assistant professor who will have completed at least four years and no more than six years of counted service by the end of 2014-15 is eligible for a critical review, which includes consideration for promotion to non-tenured associate professor.

                  The fifth-year review for reappointment and promotion to associate professor is considered a critical review.  Promotion and renewal will be offered only to those who exhibit the exceptional qualities appropriate to a prospective candidate for tenure and the demonstrable likelihood of scholarly achievement necessary for tenure at Columbia or an institution of comparable stature.  This promotion and renewal is intended as recognition of exceptional gifts and prospective tenurability, but is not in itself a guarantee of tenure.  It is also not intended as a consolation prize, and departmental recommendations for promotion must be developed with the utmost conscientiousness. 

Departments have three options after carrying out a Fifth Year Review:

Option (1): Recommendation for renewal through the up or out date and promotion to non-tenured Associate Professor when presented with candidates for whom there is a demonstrable likelihood of tenure at Columbia or an institution of comparable stature.

Option (2): Recommendation for termination after six years when presented with candidates who have not met the criteria of demonstrable likelihood of scholarly achievement necessary for tenure at Columbia or an institution of comparable stature.

Option (3): Recommendation for renewal through the end of the seventh year, with the candidate remaining at the status of Assistant Professor.  A candidate renewed for two years under this could still be entered later for the tenure process if the department judges that there has been such an improvement in the candidate’s work that it now meets the criteria of demonstrable likelihood of scholarly achievement necessary for tenure at Columbia or an institution of comparable stature. 

The following materials must be included in the department’s case for renewal and promotion to non-tenured associate professor and forwarded to the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences by February 15, 2015:

1)   A statement from the candidate: The department chair should ask the candidate to submit a complete, up-to-date curriculum vitae, as well as a full statement of teaching and current research plans.  The curriculum vitae should indicate whether publications listed as “forthcoming” have been accepted and when they are expected to be published.  Entries for full-length books listed as “contracted” should also reveal whether readers’ reports exist, what portion of the work has actually been submitted to the press contracting it, and what the timetable is for completion.

2)   A review committee report:  Where department size permits, the evaluation of candidates for promotion to non-tenured associate professor, should be conducted by a committee of at least three tenured faculty.  The committee should submit a written report to the department, and the chair should include this report among the materials forwarded to the Executive Vice President with the departmental recommendation.  The report should address the candidate’s teaching and service as well as her or his standing as a scholar, scientist or artist.  There should be a detailed analysis of teaching performance, including a discussion of courses taught, involvement in the undergraduate curricula and departmental central teaching requirements, enrollments, student and peer evaluations, advising, and  thesis supervision.

      A departmental recommendation for renewal and promotion to the rank of non-tenured associate professor should not be made unless the department believes, and can demonstrate, that the candidate’s teaching and scholarship are likely to merit promotion to tenure at Columbia or an institution of comparable stature by the time a recommendation for tenure would be made here.  Recommendation for renewal and promotion to non-tenured associate professor allows more scope for the recognition of promise and potential than an actual recommendation to tenure.  It is a statement of tenurability, not a promise of tenure, and this circumstance should be made clear to the candidate as well as to the department.

      A departmental vote not to recommend promotion and reappointment is a decision, which is conveyed to the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences by the department chair.

3)   A letter of transmittal from the chair:  The department chair must submit a letter stating the case for promotion in full terms, incorporating the substance of the discussion of the tenured faculty, the details of the vote, and an explanation of the grounds given for any negative votes.  No report on the status of the review may be given to a candidate prior to the Executive Vice President’s decision and response.

      The promotion case must comment at length upon the candidate’s prospective tenurability, at Columbia University or an institution of comparable stature, based on a full and complete evaluation of his or her work as a scholar and teacher.  It must also address where the candidate fits within the overall context of the department.

      The chair should provide guidance in the letter of transmittal regarding the normal scholarly standards for tenurability within the particular disciplines or fields.  For example, are journal articles alone sufficient in providing the basis for tenurability?  Or is the normal assumption for tenure consideration the completion and acceptance of one or more book length projects?  Or are there other kinds of scholarly work that constitute the basis for tenurability within the candidate’s discipline?

      In those cases where the department chooses to reappoint the candidate without granting promotion, the chair’s letter of transmittal should similarly provide guidance regarding the normal scholarly standards for tenurability within the discipline or fields, clearly stating the department’s reasons, in detail and in the light of the prevailing standards in the discipline, for making this recommendation.

            Departmental recommendations for the fifth year review are reviewed by the Promotion and Tenure Committee (PTC).  In considering fifth year reviews, the Promotion and Tenure Committee does not replicate or preempt a tenure review panel’s functions in any case brought before it and will not read a candidate’s publications, interview witnesses and solicit evaluations from outside the University.  The responsibility will rest with the department to present a convincing case to the Promotion and Tenure Committee on the content and merit of the candidate’s work, on the effectiveness of the candidate’s teaching, and on the value of the candidate’s departmental and university service.

            The Promotion and Tenure Committee acts as an advisory committee to the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences, and after reviewing the department’s case, makes its recommendation to the Executive Vice President.

            The Office of the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences will notify the departments of the outcome of the review process.  Departments are required to inform those assistant professors in writing immediately of the outcome of their review and to forward a copy of this correspondence to the Office of the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences.  In addition, the department chair or his/her designee will meet with the candidate to summarize progress to date, offer guidance regarding areas requiring attention over the next few years, and provide a preliminary assessment of the likelihood of a recommendation for tenure by the department. 

Enclosures:

Appendix A1/A2  –  Sample Review and Reappointment Schedule for Full-time, Non-Tenured Research Faculty with and without leaves

Appendix A1

Sample Review and Reappointment Schedule without leaves for

Full-time, Non-Tenured Research Faculty

(Hired July 1, 2014 as assistant professor)                

Appendix A2

Sample Review and Reappointment Schedule with leaves for

Full-time, Non-Tenured Research Faculty

(Hired July 1, 2014 as assistant professor)                

* Further changes to up-or-out-date occur only for Parental Workload Relief Leaves or medical leaves of two months or more.