In matters of evaluation, including retention, tenure and promotion, the role of the faculty is critical. Each department shall establish a standing Rank, Tenure and Promotion (RTP) Committee for considerations of reappointment, tenure, and promotion for faculty members within the department.

3.5.1. Departmental RTP Committee

1. Membership

The full membership of a departmental RTP Committee shall consist of all tenured faculty members within the academic department, except for the department head, and, if necessary, non-departmental tenured faculty members selected to the committee as provided under Section 3.5.2. below. Tenured faculty members on leave are eligible to sit on the RTP Committee but are not required to do so. Tenured faculty members on leave who are members of the committee have the right to vote in absentia on any matters before the committee. The membership of the departmental RTP Committee shall consist of at least three members.

2. Selection of Non-Departmental Members

If there are not three tenured faculty members within the academic department, the committee’s membership will be augmented by tenured faculty members from academic departments of similar or related disciplines, generally within the same college, and/or if necessary, from academic departments of non-similar or non-related disciplines. For each vacancy on a departmental RTP Committee that must be filled in order to meet the three- person membership requirement, the department head shall prepare a list of at least two nominees, giving consideration to each nominee’s expertise and familiarity with the nature of the discipline. The non-departmental committee members will then be elected by majority vote of all tenured and tenure-track faculty members within the academic department.

3. Procedures

The department head is responsible for calling an organizational meeting of the complete RTP Committee each academic year and for providing the committee with a record of EDO reports for each faculty member being considered for reappointment, tenure, or promotion in that year. The committee will elect a chair at the first called meeting. The departmental RTP Committee shall meet for deliberation and voting on matters before it. The committee’s recommendations shall be by majority vote of its members.

In principle, no member of the faculty or administrative chain involved in making recommendations for reappointment, tenure, or promotion should make recommendations on any individual case at more than one level of the review process. Accordingly, no administrator who makes recommendations should serve on a departmental RTP Committee, nor should any such administrator be present during any meeting or deliberations of the committee unless invited by a positive vote of the committee. In particular, the department head shall not be present at any meeting or during any deliberations of the departmental RTP Committee. A faculty member serving on both the departmental RTP Committee and the college-wide Tenure and Promotion Review Committee may vote on a tenure and/or promotion recommendation at only one level of the tenure and promotion review process, either at the departmental RTP Committee level or at the college-wide Tenure and Promotion Review Committee level.

For a promotion recommendation, only those members of the committee already at or higher than the rank to which promotion is being considered are eligible to consider and vote on the promotion recommendation. All promotion recommendations must be considered and voted on by at least three eligible faculty members on the committee. If the committee does not have three departmental members eligible to vote on a promotion recommendation, additional eligible non-departmental members must be selected to the committee in order to meet the three-person requirement pursuant to the process outlined in Section 3.5.2. above. Members of the committee who are eligible to consider and vote on a promotion recommendation are prohibited from consulting with departmental faculty members who are at a rank lower than the rank to which promotion is being considered. For reappointment, tenure, and promotion decisions, the committee will sit as a whole.

3.5.2. College-Wide Tenure and Promotion Review Committee

Each college shall determine and publish in its bylaws the composition, selection of membership, and procedures of the college-wide committee (or independent review committee) established for the review of tenure and promotion recommendations within the college. For a promotion recommendation reviewed by the committee, only those members of the committee already at or higher than the rank to which promotion is being considered are eligible to consider and vote on the promotion recommendation. The recommendations of the committee shall be advisory to the dean of the college.