Tenure 1

Each level of tenure review must clearly attest in writing as part of the forwarded dossier that all preceding procedures have been properly adhered to and any procedural irregularities were identified and rectified before the dossier was transmitted to the next level of review.

Step 1: Application for Tenure

Tenure consideration typically takes place in the sixth year of full-time employment as a tenure-track faculty member. Full-time employment is defined as a full load, as defined by the unit, for an academic year. The college dean will advise the candidate of the need to initiate the tenure process by April 1 of the academic year preceding the year in which the tenure review is scheduled to begin. Included in this notification will be a letter which outlines the following:

The candidate will respond in writing to indicate whether or not they wish to be considered for tenure. The college dean and the unit head must receive notification of the candidate’s decision by May 1 of the calendar year in which the tenure process is scheduled to begin. If the candidate does not respond, the presumption is that the candidate wishes to be considered for tenure. If the candidate indicates that they do not wish to be considered for tenure, there will be no tenure consideration, and the candidate will receive a terminal contract for the following year.

The candidate’s submission of their dossier to the unit head and the unit tenure committee is due October 1. Failure to submit by October 1 terminates tenure review. The candidate may not add any further information to the dossier after the dossier has been submitted to the unit head and the unit tenure committee except as provided below for responses to the reports of the unit tenure committee, college advisory committee (if one exists), the dean, or the provost, or in response to a request from the University Standing Appeals Committee on Tenure or any reviewing entity seeking clarification of material in the dossier. However, updates concerning the status of already submitted materials may be added with the approval of the unit tenure committee which may append appropriate comments. Due dates for units to submit tenure dossiers to the college are established by units and colleges as needed in order to meet the February 15 deadline for submission of all tenure dossiers to the Office of the Provost.

Step 2: Creation of the Dossier

In assessing the candidate’s achievement and promise of future professional development, it is critical to gather evidence that fully reflects the candidate’s performance relative to each of the tenure criteria. Up to the point of submission to the unit tenure committee, the candidate is responsible for compiling all information except the external reviews. A senior member of the unit will be assigned to assist the candidate with their submission. When compiling the candidate’s submission, the candidate will follow the Model Tenure and Promotion Dossier Guidelines prepared by the Provost and reviewed annually by the Faculty Senate Agenda Committee. External reviewers will be chosen by the unit committee. The candidate may suggest up to half the number of reviewers the committee will consider, in accordance with the unit’s policy. The candidate may also provide the names of up to three individuals whom the candidate would prefer not to be reviewers along with an explanation for this preference. The committee will make the final selection and the original sources of suggested referees will not be revealed beyond the committee. Unsolicited materials, whether submitted by the candidate or others, will not be reviewed by evaluators at any level or included in the dossier.

Step 3: Review by Unit and College Committees

At each successive step within the college, the candidate will be provided with detailed evaluations relative to the tenure criteria. The candidate will have ten calendar days to respond to each of these evaluations in writing, before the case can move to the next step. Because the college dean conducts an independent review of the dossier, he or she may not participate in the tenure discussions or vote at the unit or college committee level.

Any additions to the dossier after it leaves the unit, aside from confidential material, shall be made available to the candidate and the unit tenure committee.

Step 3a: Review by the Unit Tenure Committee

Within the college, the dossier will first be evaluated at the unit level according to the procedures established by each unit and college and provided to the candidate in Step 1. Using procedures approved by the faculty of the unit and by the provost, the unit tenure committee will seek out information relating to the candidate.

The unit tenure committee will include at least three tenured professors from the candidate’s unit elected by the tenured faculty of the unit. If a unit lacks sufficient tenured faculty members to form a tenure committee that conforms to these requirements, the dean and the provost, in consultation with the tenured members of the unit, will select supplemental committee members and notify the candidate.

Except in colleges where the unit is the college, the unit head will provide the tenure committee and the candidate with a written evaluation of the candidate relative to the tenure criteria early in the course of the committee’s evaluation. The candidate will have ten calendar days to respond in writing to the evaluation. The unit head is a voting member of the unit.

Step 3b: Review by the College Advisory Committee (if any)

When a college advisory committee has been established, the dossier, including the report of the unit tenure committee, shall be forwarded to the college advisory committee. The advisory committee shall operate according to explicitly defined procedures that have been approved by the college faculty, and that have been provided to both the candidate and the unit tenure committee. Any member of the advisory committee from the candidate’s unit may not participate in any advisory committee discussion regarding that candidate and must abstain from voting. The vote of the advisory committee and a report of its considerations shall be added to the dossier and forwarded to the dean of the college. The advisory committee, on its own initiative, or at the request of the candidate, may rule that a case has not been properly processed by the unit tenure committee and, at its discretion, may send the case back for reconsideration by the unit tenure committee.

Step 4: Dean’s Review

The college dean will review the dossier, which shall include the report of the advisory committee, if any, and will prepare a detailed written evaluation relative to each tenure criterion. This will include a recommendation for or against tenure. The dean will forward a copy of his or her evaluation to the candidate who will have ten calendar days to respond in writing to the evaluation. A copy of the dean’s evaluation will also be forwarded to the unit tenure committee for information only. The dean will add his or her evaluation and any candidate response to the dossier, which then is forwarded to the provost.

Step 5: Review by the Provost

The provost, after reviewing the dossier and its accompanying recommendations and in consultation with the president, will decide whether or not to recommend the candidate for tenure. In all cases in which there is a positive recommendation for tenure, the provost will communicate the decision, in writing, to the dean and the candidate. In any case in which the provost has decided to make a negative tenure recommendation, the provost will communicate it to the candidate only, in writing, including the grounds for the negative recommendation.

If the candidate does not, within ten working days of the date of the provost’s written communication and as prescribed below, request reconsideration by the provost or appeal the provost’s decision, the provost will communicate the negative recommendation, for information only, to the dean and the unit tenure committee.

Step 5a: Tenure Appeal Procedure
  1. For tenure cases, in lieu of the Faculty Grievance Procedure and definitions of this Faculty Handbook, the University Standing Appeals Committee on Tenure, “the Appeals Committee,” has been established. The University Standing Appeals Committee on Tenure will consider appeals from the provost’s decision and is charged with the authority to remand with explanation a tenure dossier to any appropriate level of review (unit, college, dean or provost) for reconsideration if it determines that at that level of review there were instances of unaddressed or improperly addressed procedural irregularities, non- consideration of pertinent information, failure to consider information in the dossier in a fair and objective manner, discrimination, or violations of academic freedom. Any formal claim of discriminatory acts prohibited by law or by university policy shall not be considered by the University Standing Appeals Committee on Tenure. Such claim shall be submitted by the candidate through the Office of University Equity and Compliance which shall investigate and issue findings according to its procedures. A candidate should consult with the Office of University Equity and Compliance at any time that they become aware of prohibited discrimination. In order to minimize the potential impact of the discriminatory act(s) on those making recommendation regarding the candidate’s tenure application, it is incumbent on a candidate to raise any allegation of prohibited discrimination with the Office of University Equity and Compliance as soon as a candidate believes that a discriminatory act may have occurred. During the tenure process, if a candidate brings such a claim to the attention of a committee or an administrator, but not to the Office of University Equity and Compliance, the administrator or committee must forward the claim of discrimination to the Office of University Equity and Compliance, which shall follow its normal investigative procedures. The Director of the Office of University Equity and Compliance, or their representative, shall notify the provost in writing within five working days of receiving a complaint of discrimination from any tenure candidate. The Office of University Equity and Compliance may request the provost to exercise the provost’s powers to stay further consideration of the tenure case until the Office of University Equity and Compliance procedure is complete.
    1. Any candidate who receives a negative tenure recommendation from the provost will have ten working days from the date which appears on the provost’s written recommendation to submit to the provost, in writing, any additional pertinent information regarding their tenure candidacy which they wish the provost to consider, or to request that the provost reconsider the negative recommendation. If, after reconsidering the negative decision, the provost still intends to proceed with a negative recommendation, the provost shall notify the candidate of this intent, in writing. If the candidate wishes to appeal the provost’s decision, the candidate must, within ten working days of the date of this communication, notify the provost, in writing, that they wish to appeal and state the grounds for that appeal. The provost shall then forward to the University Standing Appeals Committee on Tenure the appeal request, the negative recommendation, the candidate’s dossier, and any additional information submitted by the candidate with the statement of grounds for appeal. If, however, the provost reverses the negative decision, notification of the positive tenure recommendation shall immediately be forwarded to the president, with a copy to the dean and the candidate.
    2. A recommendation which is under appeal shall not be transmitted until the provost has received the determination of the University Standing Appeals Committee on Tenure.
    3. The University Standing Appeals Committee on Tenure shall be composed of thirteen tenured members of the university faculty. Each college and the School of Law shall elect one representative to the committee; the remainder of the members shall be appointed by the Senate Agenda Committee in consultation with the provost. Members shall serve two-year terms on a staggered basis. Each year the committee shall choose its chairperson. To facilitate its considerations, the committee may establish subcommittees to prepare cases and recommendations for the full committee’s final consideration. Any member of the University Standing Appeals Committee for Tenure who has already voted on a candidate’s tenure application at the department or college level, or who served as the candidate’s advocate before any tenure or advisory committee, may not be present for or participate in any Appeals Committee discussion of the case and is required to abstain from any vote taken by the Appeals Committee on that candidate. Committee members are expected to be present whenever the full committee discusses a case. Any member who has not been present for a significant portion of the substantive discussion may not be present or participate in the vote on the final recommendation on that case. The quorum requirement for a meeting to discuss a case is seven members of those eligible to vote.
      1. n considering an appeal, the Appeals Committee shall review the entire record of the tenure case and may or may not seek and obtain additional information related to the appeal. The Appeals Committee may not engage in comparisons with specific tenure candidates at Northeastern University or elsewhere.
      2. The candidate and the provost shall each be afforded the opportunity to meet with the committee, before it completes its review, to present their views on the issues underlying the appeal. When appearing before the committee, the candidate may bring another Northeastern University faculty member as a nonparticipating observer.
      3. The Appeals Committee may reach an independent recommendation as to whether or not tenure ought to be granted, and shall transmit this recommendation, with a statement or rationale, to the Provost, with a copy to the candidate and, for information only, to the unit tenure committee
      4. The Appeals Committee will make a report each year to the Senate Agenda Committee containing statistics concerning the cases with which it dealt, and any comments that might lead to improvement of the process.
      Step 6: Review by the President and Board of Trustees

      The president will bring forward to the Board of Trustees those candidates recommended for tenure. The Board of Trustees will vote on the recommendation of the president and the provost and will notify the candidate and the dean of its action.

      Should the candidate or others become concerned that there may have been a form of prohibited discrimination or a violation of Northeastern University’s Affirmative Action Guidelines they must contact the Director of the Office of University Equity and Compliance immediately. Note that federal and state agencies typically require that a formal, written complaint be filed within a limited time following the occurrence of the alleged discrimination. To keep the option of external remedy available, a grievant may choose to file with a government agency and request that the complaint not be activated until the University’s Affirmative Action Procedure has been concluded

      1. Original tenure procedures promulgated by President, September 1961, based upon AAUP “1940 Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure.” Revised by Faculty Senate March 12, 1979; amended May 29, June 2 and 7, 1980; approved by Board of Trustees December 17, 1980. Revised by Faculty Senate on April 14, 2003 and again on April 22, 2009; approved by the Board of Trustees May 8, 2009. Revised by the Faculty Senate and approved on April 30, 2014; approved by the Board of Trustees on June 6, 2014. Revised by the Faculty Senate and approved on February 19, 2020; approved by the Board of Trustees on March 19, 2020

      2. Approved by the Faculty Senate 2/15/17; approved by the Board of Trustees 4/14/17

      3. Approved by the Faculty Senate 4/20/14; Approved by the Board of Trustees 4/13/14