Tenure Clock

REG 05.20.31

Employment - EPA
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Authority: Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

History: First Issued: Fall 2002. Last Revised: June 3, 2008. Additional History Information.

Additional References:
Request for Tenure Clock Extension Form
Notification of Birth, Adoption, or Placement of a Foster Child Form
Process Description on Provost's Promotion and Tenure Website
RPT Review Timeline Information

Contact Info: Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (919-515-9770)

1. INTRODUCTION

Board of Trustees' Policy, Academic Tenure Policy (Section 5.1.b) provides for an extension of the time during which the institutional decision must be made regarding reappointment, promotion, and tenure. The Academic Tenure Policy authorizes the chancellor or chancellor's designee to extend the term of appointment of an untenured, tenure track faculty only in documented cases of compelling circumstances which are determined to have the potential to significantly delay the progress of development of the faculty member's program. The chancellor has delegated this authority to the provost (NCSU POL 01.20.1 Delegation of Authority). This Tenure Clock Regulation (REG 05.20.31) sets forth examples of circumstances that will qualify for extension and is governed by the Academic Tenure Policy.

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1. Tenure Clock Extension: Change in end date of contract that results in the required review time for reappointment, promotion and conferral of tenure to be one year later. The end date is specified in the appointment letter, reappointment letter, prior approved tenure clock extension notification. End date information can also be found in MyPack Portal.

2.2. Mandatory Year: Academic year that candidate must be reviewed for reappointment, promotion, and tenure, as determined by the end date of the contract. See the "RPT Review Timeline Information" for a schedule of mandatory years and end dates.

2.3. Early Promotion and Conferral of Tenure: Early promotions and conferral of tenure are those cases for which the action is recommended at a time earlier than the required mandatory review. An explanation for the early action must be provided, in the department head's written recommendation, and in the dean's written recommendation. Having been the subject of a review for an early promotion or conferral of tenure decision will not be considered prejudicial relative to any subsequent mandatory review.

3. PRINCIPLES

3.1. Extensions are intended to accommodate faculty and the institution in those cases in which compelling circumstances have the potential to significantly delay the development of the faculty member's program on the normal schedule dictated by the original appointment term. Standards for tenure and promotion review remain the same, whether or not an extension is granted. Examples of compelling circumstances are:

3.1.1. Qualifying conditions under Family Medical Leave (FML) which include care for a child, spouse, parent with a serious health condition, a personal serious health condition, care for an adopted or foster child, birth or care for a newborn, and care for a family member injured while on active duty for the Armed Services.

3.1.2. Major disruption of key services and support beyond the reasonable control of the faculty member.

3.1.3. Major program redirection beyond the reasonable control of the faculty member.

3.2. Applications for extensions should be made before the start of the departmental RPT review process for the mandatory year. Applications after that date are considered exceptional. A faculty member is responsible for checking with the department head to ascertain when the faculty member's departmental RPT review process begins.

3.3. Automatic extensions as described in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 will be for one year. A maximum of two automatic extensions will be granted, such that the notification regarding conferral of tenure shall not be postponed beyond the eighth year of service following the start of the assistant professor's first appointment. Other extensions as described in Section 4.3 will normally be for one year; extensions for more than one year are considered exceptional.

3.4. In the case of a tenure clock extension, the faculty member will have the option to be reviewed in either the mandatory year or the year prior. Both years will be considered normal review years; i.e., not "early" (Section 2.3).

3.4.1. If the faculty member wants to be reviewed in the year prior, the faculty member must inform the department head before the start of the departmental RPT process for that year. A faculty member should check with their department head to ascertain when their departmental review process begins.

4. PROCEDURES

4.1. In instances where faculty have a new child in the family, they may request tenure clock extension within one year following the birth, adoption, or placement of a foster child by submitting the Notification of a Birth, Adoption, or Placement of a Foster Child form. Approval is automatically granted. Requests after this one-year window are not automatic but will be considered using the process described in Section 4.3. A maximum of two automatic extensions of one year each will be granted, while all other extensions will be considered using the process described in Section 4.3.

4.2. Approved family medical leave of 60 calendar days or longer will automatically extend the tenure clock. A maximum of two automatic extensions of one year each will be granted, while all other extensions will be considered using the process described in Section 4.3.

4.3. In all other cases, the following procedures will apply:

4.3.1. The request for extension may be initiated by the faculty member, the department head, or the dean.

4.3.2. Based on consultation with the faculty member and the department head, the dean will determine whether to request an extension.

4.3.3. Extension requests shall be submitted to the Provost using the Request for Tenure Clock Extension Form and shall contain the following elements:

4.3.3.1. Description of the current contract (start date, end date, department, rank).

4.3.3.2. Description of extension requested.

4.3.3.3. Description of the compelling circumstances that justify the extension requested.

4.3.3.4. Affirmation of the concurrence of the faculty member, department head, and dean.

4.4. Approval or denial of the tenure clock extension will be provided in writing by the Office of the Provost.

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