Reappointment, Promotion & Tenure

Outstanding faculty members are an essential element of a great university. Faculty are subject to rigorous review processes during their life as a faculty member on this campus. These processes are guided largely by departmental bylaws and criteria; however, there are overarching campus policies and procedures to which all units must adhere.

Comprehensive Review for Reappointment, Promotion & Tenure (CRPT) for Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty

Faculty initially appointed to the regular professorial rank (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor) are usually reviewed during the last year of the reappointment period. Regent Laws and Policies and 鶹ѰSystem policies provide important reappointment, tenure, and promotion policy information.

Policy 5.D, Policies of the Regents:

鶹ѰSystem Administrative Policy Statements:

Frequently Asked Questions: CRPT for Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty

  • Comprehensive Review: After three years of service, during the fourth year
  • Tenure Review: After six years of service, during the seventh year
  • Promotion to Full: Post-tenure, when the candidate has “1. a record that, taken as a whole, may be judged to be excellent; 2. a record of significant contribution to graduate and undergraduate education, unless individual or departmental circumstances can be shown to require a stronger emphasis, or singular focus, on one or the other; and 3. a record since receiving tenure or promotion to Associate Professor that indicates substantial, significant, and continued growth, development, and accomplishment in teaching (or librarianship), scholarly/creative work, and leadership and service.” 1

1鶹ѰSystem Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 1022.

  • Review department bylaws (i.e., CRPT guidelines)
  • Review college/school guidelines for CRPT
  • Review 鶹ѰBoulder policies
  • Review 鶹ѰSystem policies (“administrative policy statement”) and Board of Regents laws and policies
  • In the semester prior to the review, meet with chair/dean to discuss unit process and plan for the first level of review
  • Know academic unit and office of faculty affairs deadlines
  • Review the currentVCAC Dossier Checklist for Reappointment, Tenureand Promotion, which includes a description of each item in the dossier.
  • Put together candidate’s portion of dossier:
    • CV
    • Statements on scholarly and creative work, teaching or librarianship, leadership and service
    • Multiple Measures of Teaching(at least 3)
    • Scholarly/creative work samples (typically 3; e.g. publications, artwork, videos, recordings, multimedia, etc.)
    • Provide suggestions for external reviewers to chair/PUEC (for tenure/promotion; at least 6 needed, total)

The "Levels of Review:"

  • First level: Academic unit
    • As applicable—department/program, college/school, dean’s advisory committee, dean
  • Second level: Boulder campus
    • The Vice Chancellor's Advisory Committee (VCAC)
    • Provost
    • Chancellor
  • Third level: 鶹ѰSystem (for tenure only)
    • President
    • Board of Regents
  • A key body for peer review and faculty governance. More specifically:
    • The role of the VCAC includes reviewing hire with tenure, comprehensive review, tenure, and promotion cases forwarded to it by the deans of the multiple colleges and schools. Its deliberations result in a vote, which is reported in the form of a recommendation to the provost.
  • Membership: Approximately 16 full professors representing many academic units across campus; serve 3-year terms, members selected by Provost (usually in consultation with deans and Boulder Faculty Assembly).
  • VCAC members are selected in large part based upon their national reputation in their discipline, and because of their broad understanding of the standards and practices of public research universities.
  • Provost isan ex officiomember.
  • Chaired by neutral, non-voting member (i.e., Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs).
  • VCAC usually meets weekly during the spring term.
  • Similar processes
  • Tenure and Promotion reviews include external reviewers as well
  • Candidates need to demonstrate that they have met the standards for research/scholarship/creative work, teaching/librarianship, and service/leadership: i.e., the standards for “excellence” in either scholarly and creative work or teaching; at least “meritorious” in the other, and “meritorious” in leadership and service.
  • Comprehensive ReviewTenure ReviewPromotion to Full Professor Review
    Mandatory TimingDuring year 4During year 7Not mandatory
    StandardOn track torward tenure"Excellent" in Scholarly and Creative Work or Teaching/Librarianship, "Meritorious" in the other 2 categoriesExcellent as a whole
    DossierNo external letters neededMinimum of 6 external lettersMinimum

The Boulder campus’ practice is to provide a raise to faculty members awarded tenure or promoted to full professor, contingent upon available funds.
(In AY 2023-24, the amounts were $6,963 after the award of tenure and $11,248 after promotion to full professor.)

Reappointment of Specialized Teaching and Clinical Faculty

Faculty initially appointed to the rank of Assistant Teaching Professor or Associate Teaching Professorare usually reviewed during the last year of the reappointment period. The criteria for evaluation are defined by the terms of the initial contract. Processes and criteria for the reappointment of faculty who specialize in teaching or clinical education are set by individual schools and colleges, in alignment with University of Colorado policies. Regent Laws and Policies, 鶹ѰSystem policies, and campus Academic Affairs policies provide important reappointment and promotion policy information.

Article 5.C, Laws of the Regents:

Policy 5.C, Policies of the Regents:

鶹ѰSystem Administrative Policy Statements:

Campus Academic Affairs Policies:

Frequently Asked Questions: Reappointment of Specialized Teaching and Clinical Faculty

Faculty initially appointed at the “Assistant” or “Associate” ranks are usually reviewed during the last year of the reappointment period. The criteria for evaluation are defined by the terms of the initial contract. A typical merit formula for teaching faculty may be 85% teaching or clinical education and 15% leadership and service, but individual workload assignments may vary considerably both within and between units.

Specialized teaching and clinical faculty are evaluated according to primary unit criteria that defines "meritorious" and "excellent" performance. Teaching and clinical faculty with typical merit formulas are generally expected to demonstrate excellence in teaching or clinical education, and meritorious performance in leadership and service.

Reappointment of specialized faculty are based on the instructional needs of the unit they are serving, as well as the individual faculty member's performance. Performance shall be based on components identified by the primary unit in its "Primary Unit Criteria" document for the evaluation of teaching or clinical education. At least three distinct measures of teaching/clinical effectiveness and performance shall be used. If allowed by unit bylaws or consistent practice, evaluation of teaching and clinical facultyappointments may be conducted by the chair/director, or their designee.

  • Primary Unit Evaluation Committee:This group from within the primary unit is elected or appointed as specified in the unit's bylaws. In small units, the evaluation committee and the primary unit may be one and the same. The evaluation committee is responsible for assisting the candidate in assembling their dossier, soliciting opinions from outside review when appropriate, and providing a written or oral summary of the candidate's dossier to the primary unit faculty. In some units, the evaluation committee makes a recommendation or reports a vote. In other units, the role of the evaluation committee is limited to compiling and summarizing the dossier. The written report of the evaluation committee becomes part of the dossier.
  • Primary Unit:The primary unit is composed of the faculty members of a department, division, program, school, or college authorized to vote on matters of appointment, reappointment and promotion. Only members of higher rank are authorized to vote on faculty personnel cases. The primary unit is charged with evaluating the record as represented within the dossier and make a recommendation to the next level of review. The vote of the primary unit and any accompanying summary or explanation also becomes part of the dossier.
  • Report of the Chair:In some units, the department chair or unit head provides a written explanation of the primary unit vote and offers their opinion of the merits of the case.In other units, the chair's report is simply a written communication to the dean reporting the vote and discussion of the primary unit. This report becomes part of the dossier.
  • Dean Decision:The dean, after considering the recommendation of the primary unit and the contents of the dossier, makes an affirmative or negative decision and submits that recommendation (in the form of the reappointment offer letter) to the vice provost and associate vice chancellor for faculty affairs for review. Deans may employ a faculty advisory or personnel committee to assist them in evaluation of the candidate.The provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs is the final approving authority in cases of specialized teaching and clinical faculty reappointment.

Additional CRPT Information & Guidelines

The contents of the dossier differ slightly from unit to unit based upon the nature of the discipline and the traditions of the unit. At a minimum, all dossiers must contain the materials called for in a checklist issued annually by the VCAC.

Dossiers for comprehensive review, tenure, or promotion must include multiple measures of teaching.

At CU, the probationary period for a pre-tenure faculty member starting theircareer without credit for prior professorial experience is seven academic years. The "tenure clock" is the commonly used campus metaphor for the meter that counts down this probationary period.

sets forth the procedures for external evaluators for comprehensive review, tenure, and promotion; generally, election of external evaluators shall be undertaken by the department in consultation with the candidate.

In most cases, probationary faculty are considered for tenure and promotion at the same time. For faculty starting their appointment at 鶹ѰBoulder without credit for prior academic experience, the mandatory promotion and tenure review occurs during the seventh year of appointment, and in successful cases, promotion to associate professor and award of tenure occur during the summer afterthe seventh year.

In the tenure process, the first, essential decision is made at the level of the primary unit, where both expertise in the particular field and knowledge of the individual candidate is most intense.

Faculty who are not recommended for reappointment, tenure, or promotion by the Chancellor have the right to appeal the decision to the University President.