Tenure Reviews

1.) Tenure reviews are reviews conducted by the FRC to evaluate whether a candidate should be recommended for tenure. Tenure-track faculty desiring to become tenured must initiate a tenure review by informing the chief academic officer and Faculty Review Committee chairperson in the year prior to the requested review.

Timing of Tenure Reviews
Ordinarily, tenure-track faculty members become eligible for tenure review the first semester of their sixth year of service. (See "Requirements to be Recommended for Tenure" number three). Under unusual circumstances, a faculty member may seek tenure review before the sixth year. Tenure-track faculty are not required to seek tenure review in their sixth year but barring significant life changes such as birth, death in the family, or serious illness they must apply no later than the first semester of their seventh year. Those not receiving tenure must, if they continue at Greenville University, reapply within two years of their first tenure review.

2.) Candidates on the tenure-track who are eligible to request a tenure review are responsible for formally initiating that review.

All tenure review rankings are conducted in the fall semester and submitted by chief academic officer by the FRC by November 15. Faculty being reviewed will receive their review letters from the FRC by December 1.

Requirements to be Recommended for Tenure
The Faculty Review Committee recommends to the chief academic officer and the president those faculty members who, in their best judgment, should receive tenure. To be recommended for tenure the faculty member must meet the following criteria:

1. Status as a full-time Greenville University teaching faculty member in a tenure-track position holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor. Administrative staff are not eligible for tenure.

2. Normally, achievement of a terminal degree appropriate to the discipline in which the faculty member is appointed.

3. Five years of active service at Greenville University, including three years of full-time classroom teaching are required for tenure. Upon the candidate’s request, the tenure review occurs during the first semester of the sixth year. It is understood that a faculty member coming in with tenure at another college or university may, at the discretion of the chief academic officer, be given earlier eligibility for tenure.

4. Personal witness of vital Christian faith and evidence of a lifestyle consistent with Greenville University expectations.

5. Ratings of at least Commendable in the areas of teaching and professional development and goals, and a rating of at least Satisfactory in one other area: scholarship, governance, or service.

3.) The Tenure Interview Process
Approximately two weeks prior to the FRC tenure review, the FRC will make every effort to provide notice to the faculty member and their respective department chair or direct supervisor regarding the date and time that they will be interviewed. If a department chair is seeking tenure, the direct supervisor and the Chief Academic Officer must be informed. The faculty member and the department chair or the direct supervisor, must both attend this meeting of the FRC, as both will be interviewed.  

During the meeting, the department chair or the direct supervisor, will first be interviewed alone by the FRC. The faculty member seeking tenure will then be interviewed along with the department chair or direct supervisor. Finally, the faculty member will be interviewed separately by the committee. 

When the interviews are complete, the faculty member along with the department chair or direct supervisor will be dismissed and the FRC will determine its recommendation with respect to the faculty member's tenure. 

4.) Deadlines

May 1 of the academic year preceding the review is the latest date that faculty members requesting tenure review in the following academic year can inform the chief academic officer of their intent to be reviewed. These requests must come in writing to the chief academic officer, department chair/direct supervisor and the current chair of the FRC should be copied.

 Deadline Date for Submission of Professional Portfolio:

September 1 of the academic year in which the tenure review is conducted is the deadline date for submission of the professional portfolio. All faculty undergoing tenure review are responsible for ensuring that their professional portfolio is current, complete, and submitted in the learning management system by September 1.

Response for Failure to Submit the Professional Portfolio by the Deadline: 

Tenure-track faculty members who are required to have a tenure review as they have met the eligibility requirements and have requested a tenure review by the May 1 deadline the academic year preceding their tenure review, but who miss the September 1 deadline (the academic year of their tenure review) for the submission of their professional portfolio, will be ineligible for tenure review that year, except in the event of extenuating circumstances. A letter documenting the faculty member's failure to submit the completed professional portfolio will be written by the FRC and placed int he faculty member's permanent file. 

Date that the FRC Must Give the Chief Academic Officer its Recommendations for Tenure, Rank Change, and Sabbaticals:

November 15

The FRC must make all recommendations for tenure, rank change, and sabbaticals to the chief academic offer by November 15. 

Date that the FRC Sends Formal Letter of Evaluation for Tenure Rank and Change 

The FRC will also send a formal letter of evaluation for tenure and rank change to the faculty member, the chief academic officer, and their department chair or direct supervisor. The FRC intends to send this letter by December 1st to the aforementioned individuals. 

Date that the Faculty Member Will be Notified of the President's Decision Regarding the Awarding of Tenure:

Faculty requesting tenure will be notified by the president by December 15; the date that contracts are issued for the next year.

Outcomes of Tenure Reviews
When a tenure review is completed, the FRC will make a recommendation for or against tenure to the chief academic officer in writing. This letter will include a thorough rationale for the recommendation, along with the evaluation. Faculty members being reviewed will also receive a letter informing them of the decision the Committee made with regard to tenure along with the evaluations and ratings that were used to make the decision. This letter will be placed in the faculty member’s permanent file and should be placed in the faculty member’s Professional Portfolio.

The FRC recommends for or against tenure. The chief academic officer then makes a recommendation for or against tenure to the president, who makes the final decision.

Once a faculty member is granted tenure, the following annual process is used for professional development:

Provision for Appeal
If a faculty member who is eligible for tenure is denied, he or she has the right of appeal. The faculty member may first choose to pursue the appeals process for faculty reviews. After or instead of pursuing the appeals process for faculty reviews, an appeal may be made in writing to the president. The faculty member may then send a copy of the appeal to the chair of the board of trustees who will determine whether to consider the appeal.  In the event that FRC recommends tenure, and the President denies tenure, the appeal may be made to the Board Chair within 60 days.

Either the formal appeal or pursuit of the appeals process for faculty reviews must be initiated within 30 days of notification of the decision appealed. If the appeals process for faculty reviews is pursued and does not lead to a resolution acceptable to the faculty member, the formal appeal must be submitted in writing to the president within 15 days. If the president denies the appeal the faculty member has 15 days to appeal to the chair of the board of trustees. Appeals considered by the president and chair of the board should be answered in a timely fashion. One possible outcome of the appeal process is a conditional grant in which the faculty member agrees to a remediation plan, which is designed by the Dean of the faculty member, chief academic officer, the faculty member, and an assigned Evocative Coach. This plan will articulate specific support and training that will be provided and a time frame for re-evaluation by the FRC. A remediation plan will be developed within 30 days of an appeal being granted conditionally.