PSLA Promotion, Tenure and Reappointment

Title PSLA Promotion, Tenure and Reappointment (“PTR”) / Promotion and Reappointment (“PR”)
Policy Owner Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (PSLA)
Applies to All faculty members in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture
Unit Applicability College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources
Effective Date January 1, 2023
For More Information Contact Department Head
Contact Information Sydney Everhart, everhart@uconn.edu
Official Website/ Venue Link https://psla.uconn.edu/ptr-guidelines

 

POLICY STATEMENT

The Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (PSLA) shall follow university policy and procedures governing Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment (PTR). The information in this document describes general procedures evaluation of faculty, which follows two distinct tracks further detailed below in Part 1 for evaluation of permanent non-tenure-track faculty that collectively includes clinical, in-residence and extension (CIRE) faculty and permanent lecturers, and Part 2 for tenure-track faculty. The departmental Promotion, Tenure and Reappointment (PTR) Advisory Committee reviews the faculty PTR or PR file and evaluates performance and accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, extension work and service. The PTR Advisory Committee advises the department head by making a formal recommendation by vote and through a written evaluation report.

Promotion, Tenure and Reappointment (PTR) Advisory Committee

Duties and responsibilities. The Promotion, Tenure and Reappointment (PTR) Committee advises the department head on issues related to promotion, tenure and reappointment. The committee reviews and provides written recommendations to the department head on promotion, tenure or reappointment of candidates that submit their PTR or PR package. They may also provide recommendations for outside letters of review upon request.

Membership. The department PTR Advisory Committee is comprised of three members, from which at least two will be tenured faculty members, excluding the department head, and the third may be a permanent non-tenure track faculty member who has been promoted to ‘associate’ or higher in their job series (e.g., associate professor in residence or associate extension educator). Members are elected by majority vote of all voting faculty members in PSLA, excluding the department head.  Elected members serve a three-year term with possibility of re-election. In cases when there is a candidate being evaluated for promotion to full and all committee members are at associate rank, an additional PSLA faculty member with rank as full will be asked to join as an ad-hoc member in the evaluation. Similarly, in cases when there is a faculty member specializing in landscape architecture as a candidate for promotion and no PTR members have expertise in landscape architecture, a faculty member holding rank equal to that being sought will be asked to join as an ad-hoc member in the evaluation.

EVALUATION PROCEDURES/FORMS

Part 1. Reappointment, Multi-Year Appointment, and Promotion for Clinical, In-Residence, & Extension (CIRE) Faculty Members & Lecturers

After the probationary period of one year, CIRE faculty and lecturers are eligible for annual appointments up to a maximum of five (5) one-year appointments (Table 1). Beginning with the seventh year (i.e., upon the completion of an initial successful probationary year plus five one-year appointments) CIRE faculty may advance to receiving three- or five-year contracts (see AAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 13).  The Promotion and Reappointment (PR) process shall be used for promotions of all permanent non-tenure-track faculty, including CIRE faculty and permanent lecturers, and all instances in which a CIRE faculty or lecturer is eligible for their first and subsequent multiyear appointment.  

 

TABLE 1. Overview of annual CIRE faculty / lecturer review prior to first multi-year appointment.
Review Type Level of Review
Initial Annual

Reappointment Review

 • Department and College only

• First year of the appointment is a probationary year.

• CIRE form required
Subsequent Annual

Reappointment Review

 • Department and College only

• After a successful probationary year, faculty become eligible for additional annual appointments, up to a maximum of five one-year appointments.

• CIRE form required
Multiyear Appointment

Review

 • Department and College only

• Beginning in the 7th year, faculty become eligible for multiyear appointments of between three and five years in duration

• At departmental discretion, may be done earlier than the 7th year

• CIRE form required for first multiyear
Promotion • Department, College, and Provost review, approval by BOT

• No mandatory timeline for promotion

• CIRE form required

 

Steps for a faculty member going through PR process:

Dossier Preparation. The faculty member assembles materials and submits them as a dossier. Faculty must check the latest instructions from the Provost’s Office regarding any use of Interfolio for dossier submission.  The dossier typically includes: CIRE form, curriculum vitae, teaching information, research information, engagement and service information exhibits. More information on using Interfolio and training resources can be found here: https://provost.uconn.edu/faculty-and-staff-resources/interfolio-uconn/

Evaluation for Promotion. For promotion, faculty member, departmental PTR Advisory Committee, and department head recommend external reviewers to evaluate the faculty member’s contributions to the discipline and solicit evaluations. Selection of external reviewers must avoid any instance of conflict of interest between reviewer and faculty member.  A minimum of four external letters of recommendation are required. Candidates for promotion must submit their list of external reviewers by June 1 of the year they wish to be considered for promotion. See Appendix 1 for a typical timeline and due dates.

Candidates are encouraged to solicit preliminary feedback on their dossier by submitting a dossier to the PTR Advisory Committee prior to June 1 of the year they wish to be considered for the PR process. Faculty are allowed to continue to update the dossier until August 23, at which point the final dossier is due to the department head. It is recommended candidates submit their dossier two weeks early to facilitate review by the departmental PTR Advisory Committee.

Subsequent steps in PR process. The departmental PTR Advisory Committee evaluates the file, votes on the request and provides a written assessment to the department head. The department head provides an independent evaluation of the candidate’s case, comparing and contrasting with the advice of the PTR Advisory Committee, and, in the case for promotion, the external letters (Examples to Consider cited in PTR form). The department head is responsible for sending the full dossier to the dean and may provide a copy of Section 8 to the candidate, including letters of evaluation from the PTR Advisory Committee and department head. The CAHNR Dean’s Advisory Committee on PTR reviews the file and votes on the case, providing a written assessment to the dean who does an independent summary and recommendation.

The CAHNR Dean’s Advisory Committee on PTR evaluates all non-tenure track faculty members who have titles for which there are distinct promotions levels (e.g. Assistant, Associate, Full Professor, Sr. Extension) that parallel tenure-track one in the third year of appointment (i.e. at the start of the third or fourth year – CAHNR PTR policies conflict on this). Subsequent to this review, non-tenure track faculty members will be reviewed at the start of the sixth year of appointment and every three years thereafter and for promotion, which need not coincide with the three-year reappointment cycle. See CAHNR PTR Policy and CAHNR Policy PM10-2 Review of PTR Documents by Advisory Committee.

 

Part 2. Promotion, tenure and reappointment cycle for tenure-track and tenured faculty

Steps for faculty member going through PTR process:

The faculty member assembles materials and submits them according to the Provost’s guidelines, which may include the use of Interfolio. Faculty must check the latest instructions from the Provost’s Office regarding any use of Interfolio for dossier submission.  The dossier typically includes PTR Form, curriculum vitae, teaching information, research information, engagement and service information exhibits. More information on using Interfolio and training resources can be found here: https://provost.uconn.edu/faculty-and-staff-resources/interfolio-uconn/

The faculty member seeking promotion, members of the departmental PTR Advisory Committee, and department head are asked to recommend external reviewers to evaluate the faculty member’s contributions. Selection of external reviewers must avoid any instance of conflict of interest between reviewer and faculty member. The final list of reviewers combines names from the departmental lists and from the candidate’s list. A minimum of five external reviews are required.

Candidates for PTR have to submit their list of external reviewers by June 1 of the year they wish to be considered for promotion and/or tenure. See Appendix 1 for a typical timeline and due dates for PTR review. Candidates can solicit preliminary feedback on their dossier by submitting a complete dossier to the PTR Advisory Committee and/or department head by June 1 of the year they wish to be considered for the PTR process. Faculty candidates are also encouraged to submit their final PTR dossier 2 weeks earlier than the Provost’s August final deadline to facilitate review by the departmental PTR Advisory Committee.

 

TABLE 2. Overview of tenure-track faculty member review prior to tenure.
Year and Action Level of Review
Year 1 (hire): Annual Reappointment Department and College only, reviewed by Board of Trustees (BOT)
Year 2: Annual Reappointment Department and College only, reviewed by BOT
Year 3: Annual Reappointment Department and College only, reviewed by BOT
Year 4: Pre-Tenure (Midpoint) Review Department, College, and Provost Office to weigh whether the faculty member is on track for tenure and promotion, reviewed by BOT
Year 5: Annual Reappointment Department and College only, reviewed by BOT
Year 6: Dossier Due for Tenure Review Department, College and Provost Office, promotion and tenure actions approved by BOT
Year 7: Tenure Effective

 

Subsequent steps in PTR process:

The departmental PTR Advisory Committee evaluates the file, votes on the request and provides a written assessment to the department head. The department head provides an independent evaluation of the candidate’s case, comparing and contrasting with the advice of the PTR Advisory Committee, and, in the case for tenure and promotion to associate or professor, the external letters (Examples to Consider cited in PTR form). The department head is responsible for sending the full dossier to the dean and provides a copy of Section 7 to the candidate, including letters of evaluation from the PTR Advisory Committee and department head. The CAHNR Dean’s Advisory Committee on PTR reviews the file and votes on the case, providing a written assessment to the dean who does an independent summary and recommendation.

The CAHNR Dean’s Advisory Committee on PTR reviews all tenure-track faculty members in the third year of appointment (i.e. at the start of the third or fourth year – CAHNR PTR policies conflicting on this) and each subsequent year through the decision regarding tenure and promotion. This committee also reviews tenured faculty for subsequent promotions (e.g., from Associate to Full) at the time of their submission. See CAHNR PTR Policy, CAHNR Policy Memo PM10-2 Review of PTR Documents by Advisory Committee, and CAHNR College By-Laws.

The dean sends the dossier to the provost. The provost PTR review committee, which is comprised of four Vice Provosts, considers all cases and develops recommendations.

 

REFERENCES

Related information can be found in the additional department, college, and university policies.

Provost’s Office Page on PTR:  https://provost.uconn.edu/faculty-and-staff-resources/promotion-tenure-reappointment/  Faculty will find here the PTR and CIRE forms to use, links to Interfolio for dossier submission and other resources such as the UConn by-laws in reference to PTR and the collective bargaining agreement between the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and UConn. Important links from the form and website include.  Additional documents and references are available on the Provost’s Office SharePoint site also linked from that page.  A few key documents are linked below for ease of reference.

PSLA Policies:

  • PSLA Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness Beyond SET
  • PSLA Departmental Administrative Positions

CAHNR Policies:  https://cahnr.uconn.edu/intranet/policies/

  • CAHNR PTR Policy
  • CAHNR PM10-2 Review of PTR Documents by Advisory Committee
  • CAHNR PM12-1 Mentoring Junior Faculty
  • CAHNR PM12-3 Faculty Evaluation Procedures
  • CAHNR PM14-1 Assessing Extension Programming and Faculty
  • CAHNR PM16-1 Faculty Workload
  • CAHNR College By-Laws (see https://media.cahnr.uconn.edu/docs/intranet/college-by-laws.pdf)

UConn Policies / Guidelines: https://policy.uconn.edu/faculty/

Video Recordings of Workshops / Meetings on PTR:

https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/uconn-cmr/recording/6acbe27b926a103a9f5f00505681bdcb/playback

 

POLICY HISTORY

Created on: 11/23/2022 and Approved by majority faculty vote on 12/31/2022.

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX 1. Example of PTR/PR process timeline for AY22-23 from Provost’s website