Promotion & Tenure Committee Guidelines

Promotion & Tenure Committee Guidelines
Revised Fall 2023

Membership

  1. In accordance with the policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, the Promotion & Tenure Committee has been established to facilitate personnel deliberations on continuing appointments and promotions for the schools and library within Academic Affairs.
  2. Terms and membership for the P & T Committee are defined by the 2022 Faculty Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP) Policy as specified in the Implementation Letter (signed February 2022).
  3. The P & T Committee consists of seven elected faculty members (Professors/Librarians) who have received continuing appointment and promotion to Professor, with one member from each school and the Library and additional at-large members to bring the total to seven.
  4. Elected faculty serve staggered three-year terms. Faculty serving on the Promotion and Tenure Committee cannot simultaneously serve on any of the Dean’s/Library Director’s Advisory Committees.
  5. Faculty members holding academic rank of assistant professor/library or above will, within the first two weeks of the spring semester, nominate candidates and/or self-nominate for membership on the Promotion and Tenure Committee to the Provost. The Provost will evaluate each candidate based on eligibility, which is primarily but not limited to holding academic rank of Professor/Librarian and present the slate of individuals first to the UUP and then to the University Senate Business Committee who will run an election for confirmation vote by simple majority of the votes cast by eligible faculty members holding the rank of assistant professor/librarian or above. Tenured faculty holding an administrative title and/or who are part of the tenure and promotion review process are excluded from participating.
  6. All faculty elected to the Promotion and Tenure Committee must receive mandatory training (provided by the Provost, or Designee) in reviewing candidate materials. The training should occur in the semester prior to service.
  7. Those employees elected for membership on the Promotion & Tenure Committee will be notified by the Provost's Office via email as soon as practicable after receiving final and verified election results from the University Senate Business Committee. Election results will be published, announced to the University community, and posted publicly by the Provost's Office via email as soon as practicable following notice to the elected members.
  8. Any committee vacancy will be filled through appointment of an eligible tenured faculty member with appropriate rank by the Dean. Such appointments will continue only until the end of the academic year following the nearest election. At the nearest election, the remainder of the term will be filled through the election process to preserve the staggering of terms. Vacancy appointments will be published, announced to the University community, and posted publicly by the Provost’s Office via email.
  9. See the 2.3.2022 Implementation of Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP) Agreement for further election details.
  10. A Chair is to be elected by the Promotion & Tenure Committee at the first meeting of each academic year. The Provost will call the first meeting; Chair to arrange all others with support from the Provost’s Office.
  11. Meetings for AY to be timed/arranged in concert with Provost’s Office and the Academic Affairs master calendar for RPT.

Guidelines

Background

As mandated by SUNY Oneonta policy and materials promulgated by the Office of the Provost and the Academic Deans and in accordance with the policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, the P & T Committee is to facilitate personnel deliberations on continuing appointment and promotion for the academic schools and library within Academic Affairs.

These guidelines serve to clarify the role and practices of the P & T Committee as that body discharges this crucial function. P & T members also are referred to the Policies of the Board of Trustees for the ultimate overarching criteria related to personnel deliberations. Furthermore, nothing in these guidelines shall contradict or supersede the Policies of the Board of Trustees or campus policies articulated in writing by the campus President or Provost. Academic Affairs will maintain and update these guidelines as needed.

  1. Charge and Function
    1. The P & T Committee is charged with making positive or negative recommendations on continuing appointment and promotion applications. This is a vital responsibility not only for the candidates and departments involved but also for shaping the academic future of SUNY Oneonta and its students. Accordingly, the P & T Committee must function in the context of these guidelines.
    2. The Provost shall meet with the P & T Committee at least once early during the semester when the membership has been constituted or affirmed, and cases for consideration have been prepared. The Provost will review the group's charge and acceptable practices as articulated in these guidelines. The Provost will also inform the group of the names of the faculty whose cases will be coming before the P & T Committee so the group can plan its schedule. It should be noted that submission deadlines for Library personnel due not typically align with the deadlines for faculty in academic departments. Instead librarians’ deadlines are tied to their dates of hire. Similarly, promotion applications for tenured faculty and librarians do not necessarily follow an established cycle and thus are not always known in advance. Eligible candidates seeking promotion must, however, submit their materials by the published deadlines for each term.
    3. Annually, the P & T Committee will select a Chair from among its members. The Chair shall call meetings, foster timely deliberations, and draft written recommendations (subject to review and approval by the P & T Committee) reflective of the deliberations and conclusions reached by the group.
    4. The Provost will not sit with the P & T Committee during its confidential deliberations on continuing appointment and/or promotion files; nor will the Provost attempt to influence the deliberations of the P & T Committee. The only written materials resulting from these deliberations will be the P & T Committee’s formal written recommendations. Criteria and process related to these deliberations are specified below.

Deliberations and Written Recommendations

  1. Fair and equitable performance evaluations are essential to faculty peer review. Thus, the P & T Committee will adhere to the following guidelines concerning its formal deliberations and ultimate written recommendations for all cases under its purview.
  2. P & T Committee members must review thoroughly all materials and supporting documentation as defined by the five criteria for review found in Board of Trustees policy, Article XII.A.4; the Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion (Full-Time Faculty) page on the SUNY Oneonta website; and the approved specific departmental guidelines that the candidate includes in the submitted dossier.
  3. P & T Committee members who have participated in a department personnel committee, or who are closely associated with the applicant (e.g., a department colleague with whom they work closely), should make themselves available for questions related to department policy, the context of scholarship and intellectual or creative activity as valued within the department or program, etc. Members who have weighed in on an applicant’s dossier on a previous (department) step must recuse themselves from voting but may engage in clarifying discussion of the candidate’s file. An exception may be made for Milne Library staff serving on the P & T Committee since it is nearly impossible to avoid committee overlap.
  4. P & T Committee members will not save any personal review notes of any continuing appointment or promotion application material, and certainly not on any computer, personal or state owned. All paper notes and drafts relevant to discussions or letters are to be shredded at the end of the review period, after letters are finalized.
  5. Although face-to-face deliberations are preferred, members may meet in a digital environment that is supported by the campus (currently TEAMS) at the chair’s discretion, but members will not use email or other electronic platforms for deliberations or transmission of personnel issues. Verbal deliberation only occurs during meetings led by the chair.
  6. Cases must be reviewed solely relying on the files submitted by the candidate/department. P & T Committee members will not solicit additional information or conduct investigations of any kind to supplement the official materials submitted in Faculty Success.
  7. P & T Committee members will not consider factors external to the materials submitted as part of their deliberations or criteria. Personal or other anecdotal knowledge of the individual must not be considered by P & T Committee members.
  8. The P & T Committee will not consider late materials from candidates or departments. The quality of materials submitted will be a factor in the deliberations. Seriously incomplete materials will be considered as a significant negative factor.
  9. Upon completion of review and discussion of the dossiers, the P & T Committee will take a formal vote on each candidate. For candidates under the pre-2022 RPT requirements, possible votes by individual P & T Committee members include recommendation for tenure and promotion; recommendation against tenure; recommendation for tenure without promotion; and abstention. For candidates under the new RPT Agreement (2022-), possible votes by individual P & T Committee members include recommendation for tenure and promotion; recommendation against tenure; and abstention. For the P & T Committee to endorse tenure and/or promotion (as appropriate to the candidate’s request and the criteria), the candidate must receive a majority vote of the full non-recused P & T Committee membership. In the case of a tie vote, the P & T Committee will record the case as a tie vote, write a letter indicating this outcome and withholding recommendation to the Provost.
  10. The P & T Committee Chair will either prepare a written recommendation on behalf of the group or assign members letters to draft. Letters will reflect the substance of the group’s deliberations, whether a clear consensus or divided result. All members of the P & T Committee will have an opportunity to see and approve the letter before it is finalized.
  11. Names of P & T Committee members can (but need not) be specified on the letter. Nor is the membership required to sign the letter except in the case of a tie vote or if stipulated by the Provost. P & T Committee members should be aware that P & T Committee membership lists are public information if candidates or other campus individuals inquire about the membership.
  12. Upon finalization, the P & T Committee’s letter of recommendation is made available to the Provost, candidate, and candidate’s department chair through the approved campus process (e.g., through an approved digital workflow system). The P & T Committee recommendation then becomes part of the tenure/promotion dossier and will move forward with the candidate’s materials and other letters of recommendation to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
  13. The P & T Committee will not reconsider a dossier once it provides a final recommendation. This includes situations where P & T Committee recommendations are disputed for any reason(s) by the candidate(s) and/or department(s). The original recommendation stands.

P & T Committee Recommendation Letter Template

DATE: XXXXX (use date due in SharePoint for all letters)

SUBJECT: Tenure and/or Promotion recommendation for <applicant name>

<carefully worded intro paragraph, e.g., In reviewing the tenure and/or promotion materials for <name>, the members of the P & T Committee found <insert carefully chosen noun(s)> in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service with qualifications and professional development infused throughout.> [Include comments on suggested professional development in each area as appropriate.]

<paragraph on teaching>

<paragraph on scholarship>

<paragraph on service>

<modulated conclusion, e.g., In light of these considerations, a majority [or all] of the P & T Committee members are pleased to recommend that Dr. XXX be granted tenure and/or promotion….> [For Faculty under the new RPT Agreement, tenure and promotion recommendations cannot be split. For Faculty under the pre-Fall 2022 Agreement, recommendations can be split]

OR

In light of these considerations, the P & T Committee vote for Tenure or Promotion was tied.

Signature lines for all members.

cc: <applicant name, no degree specified>
<applicant’s department chair>
Promotion & Tenure Council Members

Back to top