Minutes of a Regular Meeting, June 22-23, 2004 - Digital Collections

REGENTS’ POLICY MANUALSECTION 2—ACADEMICSabsence without pay counted as part of the probationary period must entail appropriate evaluation ofprofessional activities carried out during the leave.At the written request of the faculty member and with the approval of the academic unit, dean, and SeniorVice President and Provost, a tenure-track faculty member may be granted an extension of theprobationary period because of circumstances such as family or personal crises or pregnancy.(i) During the probationary period, a faculty member will be provided by the chair/director of theacademic unit with both an annual, written evaluation of performance during the past calendar year and aprogress towards tenure letter that reviews the faculty member’s entire probationary period at theUniversity.Such annual evaluation from the most recent spring evaluation cycle shall be provided prior to theapplicable notification deadline for reappointment, with a copy sent to the dean.(j) A faculty member at any rank who submits a tenure dossier and is denied tenure shall be retained onthe faculty until the end of the academic year following that in which there was notification of the denial,unless there are reasons to the contrary.(k) Faculty members accorded tenure will normally commence their tenured appointments in theacademic year immediately following the action of the Board of Regents.Criteria for the Tenure DecisionThe choices that the University makes in granting tenure are crucial to its endeavors toward academicexcellence. A decision to grant tenure must reflect an assessment of high professional competence andperformance measured against national standards. Tenure should never be regarded as a routine award.The tenure decision shall be based on a thorough evaluation of the candidate’s total contribution to themission of the University. While specific responsibilities of faculty members may vary because of specialassignments or because of the particular mission of an academic unit, all evaluations for tenure shalladdress the manner in which each candidate has performed in:(1) Teaching(2) Research and Creative/Scholarly Activity(3) Professional and University Service and Public OutreachAbove all else, it is essential to any recommendation that tenure be granted that the faculty member hasclearly demonstrated scholarly attainment, primarily but not exclusively through teaching and researchand creative/scholarly activity.Each academic unit, with the participation and approval of the dean and the Senior Vice President andProvost, shall establish and publish specific criteria for evaluating faculty performance in that unit, solong as those criteria are in accord with this policy. These criteria may be changed by the faculty of theunit from time to time with the approval of the dean and the Senior Vice President and Provost. TheSenior Vice President and Provost’s approval of the revised criteria shall indicate a date on which theybecome effective. The revised criteria shall apply to all faculty in the unit appointed to the tenure-trackafter the effective date. Untenured faculty in the tenure-track on the effective date shall be subject to therevised criteria in instances where the changes affect only the process by which the unit ascertains thequality of individual faculty performance. When the revisions involve changes in the quality of facultyTHE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 39