No faculty member shall be granted tenure upon initial appointment except by positive action of the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the president. A faculty member hired to serve as president can be granted tenure upon initial appointment by positive action of the Board of Trustees.  In exceptional cases, a distinguished faculty member, dean, or provost may be awarded tenure upon her or his initial appointment.  In these cases, an expedited tenure review will be conducted prior to awarding tenure upon appointment.  In the case of a distinguished faculty member appointment, the provost will make a request to the president based on the recommendation of the dean for expedited tenure review after the dean has received a request and recommendation from the department chair/director.  In the case of a dean appointment, the provost will first make a request to the president for expedited tenure review and will notify the affected academic unit and/or the department/center/institute that will serve as the locus for tenure of her or his request to the president. 

The president will notify the provost, the dean, and the department chair/director of the affected academic unit and/or the department/center/institute that will serve as the locus for tenure of his or her decision on whether to proceed with an expedited tenure review.   In the case of a provost appointment, the president will notify the affected academic unit and/or the department/center/institute that will serve as the locus for tenure and the provost of his or her intention to recommend that the faculty appointee be awarded tenure upon initial appointment to the Board of Trustees. In all cases, the candidate’s application file will take the place of the traditional dossier which is described in Section 4.9.7B.  External peer reviews described in Section 4.9.7C(2) are not required for the expedited tenure review. 

The affected academic unit and/or the department/center/institute will have 5 business days from the date of notification from the president to complete an expedited tenure review following the procedures in Sections 4.9.7C(4-6), Sections 4.9.7D(1-3).  For a distinguished faculty member or dean appointment, the expedited tenure review process will be managed by the provost.  For a provost appointment, the expedited tenure review process will be managed by the president.  After reviewing the recommendations of the department tenure and promotion committee, department chair, academic unit tenure and promotion committee, and dean, the provost will review the candidate’s application and make a recommendation to the president except in the case of a provost appointment.  After receiving recommendations from the provost (except in the case of a provost appointment), department tenure and promotion committee, department chair, academic unit tenure and promotion committee, and dean, the president will make the final recommendation on tenure upon appointment to the Board of Trustees.  

If, after 5 business days, the president does not receive a complete set of recommendations from the provost, department tenure and promotion committee, department chair, academic unit tenure and promotion committee, and/or dean, the president will review the recommendations he or she has received and make the final recommendation on tenure upon appointment to the Board of Trustees. If the president decides that she or he is recommending that the faculty appointee be awarded tenure upon initial appointment to the Board of Trustees, the president will notify the dean of the affected academic unit and/or the department chair/director of his or her decision. 

The Board of Trustees will only grant tenure upon initial appointment if the proposed appointee

1.  holds tenure at another higher education institution and the Board determines that the president has documented that the proposed appointee cannot be successfully recruited to the university without being granted tenure upon initial appointment, and
   
   
2. will be appointed as an associate or full professor.

Credit toward completion of the probationary period may be permitted for previous full-time service at other universities provided that the prior service is relevant to the needs and criteria of the university. All credit for prior service shall be approved by the provost upon the recommendations of the department chair and dean.  Any credit for prior service that is approved must be confirmed in writing at the time of the initial appointment.

If a faculty member serving a probationary period is transferred to another academic unit or department, time spent in the first appointment will count toward the probationary period unless a request from the faculty member to begin a new probationary period is approved in writing by the president.

A faculty member in a tenure-track appointment may request a one-year extension to the probationary period only when such probationary period was originally negotiated for less than six years. Such extensions are allowed when a faculty member requires additional time to develop a dossier that adequately reflects the candidate's potential long-term contributions to the academic unit and/or department. Extensions will not be granted if the total probationary period exceeds six years.

A faculty member seeking an extension of the probationary period must submit a request, in writing, addressing the considerations described above to the department chair for consideration and recommendation. For units without departments, the request is to be submitted to the dean. The chair's recommendation is forwarded to the dean of the faculty member's academic unit for consideration and recommendation; thence to the provost for consideration and recommendation; and to the president for approval or denial. The president will notify the faculty member, in writing, of the decision to approve or deny the request for extension within one month of submission.

A faculty member may apply for a maximum of two (2) extensions in one-year increments so long as the total probationary period does not exceed six years. Requests for a second extension follow the same procedure and are subject to the same considerations as the original extension. Requests for extension will not be granted retroactively.

In general, the provost will not approve suspension of the probationary period for work that advances the faculty member’s record in teaching, research, or service. Probationary faculty should not be encouraged to engage in administrative work.

A faculty member in a tenure-track position may request a suspension of the probationary period, also known as "stopping the clock", during his/her probationary period when circumstances exist that interrupt his or her normal progress toward building a case for tenure. In such cases, the faculty member may request a suspension of the probationary period for one year. Reasons for requesting a suspension of the probationary period will typically be related to a personal or family situation requiring attention and commitment that consumes the time and energy normally used to address faculty duties and professional development. Examples may include, but are not limited to, childbirth or adoption, care of dependents, medical conditions or obligations, physical disasters or disruptions, or similar circumstances that require a fundamental alteration of one's professional life. The intent of this policy is to serve the best interests of the university without showing a preference for or against award of tenure to the faculty member.

A faculty member seeking to suspend the probationary period must submit his/her request, in writing, addressing the considerations described above. The request is to be submitted to the department chair for consideration and recommendation. For units without departments, the request is to be submitted to the dean. Requests based upon a faculty member's health, care for an immediate family member, and childbirth or adoption, must also be submitted to Human Resources for review and approval. The chair's recommendation is forwarded to the dean of the faculty member's academic unit for consideration and recommendation, thence to the provost for approval or denial. The provost will notify the faculty member, in writing, of the decision to approve or deny the request for suspension of the probationary period within one month of submission.

A faculty member may apply for a maximum of two (2) "stop the clock" periods. Requests for a second suspension of the probationary period will follow the same procedures as the first and subject to the same considerations. Requests to suspend the probationary period will not be granted retroactively.

Only full-time continuous service at the university is to be included in the probationary period. The period for an approved leave of absence will be excluded from the requisite probationary period unless the provost has specified in writing prior to approving the leave that it will be included. No more than one year of an approved leave may be included in the total probationary period. Leaves of absence will not be granted retroactively.