Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty

Tenured and tenure-track faculty typically engage in teaching, scholarly/creative work, and leadership and service, and where relevant, other activities relative to their specific units (e.g., clinical activity, librarianship).

Once tenured, a faculty member holds a continuous appointment until retirement or resignation unless tenure is revoked under provisions of regent law or policy.

Only the Board of Regents may award tenure and only the Board of Regents may revoke tenure.

The process leading to the award of tenure is an evaluation of a faculty member's cumulative performance and is a process that is separate and distinct from the annual performance evaluation.

As further detailed in regent policy 5.D, a recommendation on tenure shall be made after a defined probationary period and tenure-track faculty shall be evaluated in a comprehensive manner at least once during the probationary period. 

Reappointment Review

The comprehensive review for reappointment is a critical appraisal point that typically occurs in the fourth year of full-time service. The comprehensive review process evaluates the faculty member's entire record since appointment and includes the use of external evaluators. Its purpose is to assist the faculty member and the department or program to identify strengths and weaknesses in sufficient time to allow for improvement before the evaluation for tenure and promotion to associate professor.

Non-reappointment is possible as the result of the comprehensive review. If the faculty member is not reappointed, they will have a terminal year before the appointment ends. More typical is reappointment with specific advice about aspects of performance that need improvement. 

Tenure Review (usually Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor Review)

Normally, faculty are reviewed for tenure in the seventh year of appointment. A faculty member may apply to be granted tenure in less than seven years, or the tenure probationary period may be extended for family medical leave, parental leave, or other reasons.

At the Denver Campus, the review for promotion from assistant professor to associate professor is conducted in the tenure review.

Occasionally, highly experienced people are hired as associate professors, tenure-track. The standards for tenure for associate professors on the tenure-track are the same as for assistant professors.

In accordance with the Laws of the Regents, tenure may be awarded only for demonstrated meritorious performance in teaching, scholarly/creative work, and leadership and service, and demonstrated excellence in either teaching or scholarly/creative work. 

Hire with Tenure

In some situations, the tenure review process will be initiated upon hire or the hire is contingent upon tenure being granted. This typically happens when a candidate is currently a tenured associate professor or professor at a comparable institution, or has a record that clearly meets the Campus’ standards for tenure at the time of their initial appointment at CU Denver.  

Promotion to Professor Review

Promotion to full professor requires a record that, taken as a whole, may be judged to be excellent; a record of significant contribution to both graduate and undergraduate education, unless individual or departmental circumstances require a stronger emphasis or singular focus on one or the other; and a record, since receiving tenure and 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.

RTP Documents

These documents provide guidance for faculty candidates for reappointment, tenure and promotion as well as those in the schools/colleges/library who submit the dossiers to the Provost's Office:

• Strategies for Success 2024
  
  
• Dossier Submission Guidelines for Dean's Offices 2024-25
  
  
• CLAS Dossier Submission Guidelines 2024-25
  
  
• Sample Summary of Courses Taught and FCQs
  
  
• Standard CV Format
  
  
• Dossier Checklist-Denver RTP 2024-25

• Dossier Checklist-Hire with Tenure 2024-25
  
  
• Faculty Pandemic Impact Statement Guidelines 2024-25
  
  
• Naming Conventions for Dossier Components 2024-25
  
  
• Letter Writing Requirements for Dossiers 2024-25
  
  
• CLAS Letter Writing Requirements for Dossiers 2024-25
  

• Signature Form (UCD-7) 2024-25

• External Reviewer Sample Letters 2024-25
  
  
• Vote Recording Tables 2024-25
  
  
• CLAS Vote Recording Tables 2024-25