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Tenure and Promotions FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ was originally created in 2003 with a view to coordinating responses across the University Secretariat, the representatives of the university and the faculty association to questions arising from the implementation of the then new Tenure and Promotions Policy, Criteria and Procedures. In response to feedback from Faculty Tenure and Promotions committees, the Senate Committee on Tenure and Promotions has updated and added to the FAQs.

This document is intended to be advisory and is designed to assist units in implementing the Tenure and Promotions Policy, Criteria and Procedures which is the authoritative document.

Section 1: General

Candidates may ask members of their File Preparation Committee, members of the Adjudicating Committee, the department chair, designated members of the decanal administration, YUFA, or Faculty Relations or the University Secretariat.

File Preparation Committees and Adjudicating Committees may wish to consult with the Faculty-level T&P committee and/or its secretary, or ask YUFA, Faculty Relations or the University Secretariat.

The Policy states that the Adjudicating Committee must communicate its recommendation to the candidate on November 1 of the year in which the file comes forward (normally Candidacy 2).  To meet this deadline, file preparation should begin in the winter of the previous year (normally Candidacy 1).  A suggested timeline can be found in the T&P Toolkit.

Normally, the schedule commencing the next July 1 applies: for example, a probationary member of faculty appointed on January 1 would move through pre-candidacy and candidacy as if he/she had been appointed on July 1 of the same year.

There are now two effective dates for promotion to Full Professor: January 1 and July 1. For promotion to be effective on January 1 of a given year, the file must reach the Adjudicating Committee by May 15 of the previous year to be considered between June and September and move to review by October 1. For promotion to be effective on July 1 of a given year, the file must reach the Adjudicating Committee by January 15 to be considered between January and March and move to review by March 15. [See suggested Timeline (PDF) for Promotion Files.]

Section F.2.2. of the Policy notes that a candidate has ”the right to appear in person, with or without a representative, before any adjudicating or reviewing body in the tenure and promotion process, for the purpose of making a statement or providing clarification with respect to substantive or procedural matters concerning his or her file.”  This means that a candidate may appear before their Adjudicating Committee, the Review Committee and/or (where applicable) the Senate Tenure and Promotions Appeal Committee to provide such clarification or statement.

If a candidate wishes to provide clarification with respect to his or her tenure and/or promotion file at the last stage of consideration, President Lenton has also agreed that a candidate for tenure and/or promotion may request a meeting with her after the file has left the Review Committee stage (or Senate Tenure and Promotion Appeals Committee stage, where an appeal is allowed) and prior to her decision on the candidate’s file. A future president may choose a different procedure.

Section 1: General
Section 2: Unit Standards
Section 3: File Preparation
Section 4: Adjudicating Committees
Section 5: Roles and Responsibilities