Promotion and Tenure Guidelines

This document sets forth the criteria and procedures to be used in recommending promotion and tenure for the faculty of the College of Business. Faculty are expected to contribute significantly to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the various disciplines within the College. Accordingly, all promotion and tenure recommendations by the College shall be based upon an evaluation of each faculty member's accomplishments with respect to the related functions of teaching, research and service as identified in this document and in related unit documents. These guidelines concern only promotion and tenure within academic positions, and are applied without reference to proportions of time devoted to any administrative position held by a faculty member.

1. Areas of Evaluation
   
   
   
   1. Effective Teaching. Effective teaching, both undergraduate and graduate, is impor­tant to the College. Evidence of effective teaching may include, but is not limited to, student, alumni and peer evaluations; publication of college textbooks; development of cases or other educational materials; supervision of doctoral dissertations; receipt of teaching awards; and teaching innovations. Each unit is responsible for gathering data in support of teaching effectiveness. Data from questionnaires should be buttressed by interpretation and comparative data. Simple numerical summaries of evaluations are not sufficient to judge teaching ability. Faculty members whose records consistently reflect poor teaching will not be recommended for promotion or tenure. (For greater specificity, refer to University of Missouri Executive Order 6A, Policy and Procedures for Promotion and Tenure, September 1992.)
      
      
   2. Quality Research. Effective teaching is a necessary but insufficient criterion; quality research is expected also of all faculty in the College. The most convincing evidence of quality research is publication of scholarly manuscripts in quality refereed journals. Other indicators of quality research may be inferred from frequent citations by other scholars, scholarly books, and from publications in proceedings and professional journals. Presentation of papers at professional meetings, attainment of research grants and participation in research workshops may also indicate contributions to quality research. Although faculty committees on promotion and tenure have the primary responsibility for evaluating the quality of the work of a candidate for tenure or promotion, it is within the responsibility of the unit head, dean, provost, chancel­lor, and president to gather confirming evidence of scholarly competence by seeking the com­ments of other scholars within and outside the University.
      
      
   3. Professional Service. Each faculty member of the College is expected to contribute effectively in the area of professional service. Student advisement, supervision of student organizations, participation in extension programs and professional presentations to the Missouri public are illustrations. Active roles on departmental, school, college, campus and university committees are other examples. Administrative positions within the University reflect professional service. Active participation in regional and national professional organizations (e.g., committee membership and election to office), membership on editorial review boards and/or serving as editor of scholarly or professional publications are also evidence of professional service. Consulting gives the College additional visibility, and represents another example of professional service. Although consulting is encouraged by the University for purposes of personal and professional development to the extent of one day per week and may be viewed positively by the College in support of tenure or promotion, consult­ing shall not substitute for any of the other criteria required for tenure or promotion.
      
      
2. Specific Criteria

The basic standard for evaluation is a satisfactory level of achievement in each of the three areas of teaching, research and service. A higher than satisfactory level of achievement will be expected in either teaching or research. The College level expectations, as described in the above three sections, shall apply to all units, but shall provide flexibility and permit greater restrictiveness for individual units. Specific performance standards for each of the areas and relative weightings may vary among units within the College. Nonetheless, each unit's criteria and procedures shall meet or exceed the minimum College guidelines, as described in this document.

Achievement of satisfactory standards in no way guarantees either tenure or promotion. On occasion, for example, satisfactory teaching, research and service contributions could be overridden either by unacceptable organizational citizenship (e.g., lacking in professional conduct, personal integrity or professional collegiality) or by critical organizational require­ments (e.g., new or additional teaching expertise or a shift in unit research needs or priorities).

The specific criteria to be used, the relative weighting to be made and the procedures to be followed shall be clearly established by the appropriate administrative unit prior to evalua­tions and recommendations. Information concerning criteria, weighting, and procedures for promotion and tenure review shall be provided in writing to all faculty members when they begin their tenure-track appointments in the College.

Guidelines established by the College or any unit within the College also must be consistent with the University "Academic Tenure Regulations" contained in the MU Faculiy Handbook.

1. Tenure at Any Rank. Granting of tenure is the most important recommendation made by the College with respect to a faculty member. Although promotion and tenure often occur at the same time, the decisions are separate. In tenure decisions, greater emphasis will be placed upon expectations for continued satisfactory performance or greater achievement. The same expectations for granting tenure will apply to all faculty members regardless of their rank or their academic experience at the time of their initial appointment at MU.

Recommendations by the unit Promotion and Tenure Committee to grant tenure upon initial appointment to the faculty will be reviewed by the College Promotion and Tenure Committee.

2. Non-Tenure of Instructors and Assistant Professors. Neither instructors nor assistant professors are granted tenure in the College. Instructors may be promoted to assistant profes­sor only upon attaining credentials required for initial appointment as an assistant professor.

In the event that either an untenured instructor or an assistant professor in a tenure track position will not be recommended for reappointment, notice will be given not later than the end of the sixth year of service in rank including credit for service at other institutions, if any. Credit for prior service will be counted only when authorized at the time of initial regular appointment to the faculty.

3. Promotion to Associate Professor. For promotion to associate professor, a faculty member shall have contributed satisfactorily to each of the areas of teaching, research and service, with a higher standard of performance achieved in either teaching or research. More significant contributions as judged by a faculty member's peers, for example, publication of articles in quality refereed journals, will be given greater weight than a proliferation of lesser contributions. Evidence of professional growth is especially significant, and the probability that the faculty member will maintain or increase his/her professional contributions to the College and the discipline is critical.

Promotion of an assistant professor to the rank of associate professor ordinarily occurs simultaneously with the granting of tenure. Normally, assistant professors will have served a maximum of six years under regular appointment before promotion and tenure are granted. Where there is strong evidence of extraordinary accomplishment, recommendation for promotion and tenure may occur prior to the sixth year. A faculty member recommended for promotion and tenure prior to the sixth year should be aware of University policy that ordi­narily requires the maximum six years of service including authorized credit for service at other institutions, if any.

4. Promotion to Professor. For promotion to full professor, a. faculty member shall have an established, well-regarded national and/or international reputation as a scholar. This reputation may result from superior performance in either research or teaching. Normally, however, it is anticipated that one's reputation will be linked to his/her research program. Regardless of the person's area of national and/or international recognition, performance in all three areas of teaching, research, and service shall be deemed satisfactory. Unless there is strong evidence of extraordinary accomplishment, associate professors shall have served at least four years in rank including authorized credit for service at other institutions, if any. Normally, a non-tenured associate professor who is recommended for promotion to full professor would also be recommended for tenure.
   
   
5. Tenure Granted to Associate and Full Professors. When a faculty member's initial appointment is that of associate professor without tenure and in the event recommendation for reappointment will not be made, notice will be given not later than the end of the fourth year of service including authorized credit for service at other institutions, if any. If a faculty mem­ber's initial appointment is to be full professor and the appointment is made without tenure, notice of tenure or termination shall be given no later than the end of the third year of service including authorized credit for service at other institutions, if any.

3. Promotion and Tenure Procedures

The establishment of College level guidelines and procedures pertaining to recommen­dations for promotion and tenure is a prerogative of the faculty of the College. Specific procedures approved by the College of Business faculty are as follows:

1. Every faculty member who is not a tenured full professor is subject to an annual promotion/tenure review, and shall be provided with written results of that review at the unit level.
   
   
2. Each recommendation for either promotion or tenure shall be accompanied by at least five outside letters of evaluation. At least three reviewers shall be selected by the unit, and up to three may be selected by the candidate. No co-authors, former teachers or dissertation committee members may provide letters of evaluation. Requests to reviewers shall emphasize research, but may include anything else appropriate, except that reviewers shall not be asked whether or not the candidate would be eligible for promotion or tenure at the reviewer's institution. All letters of evaluation received shall be included in the candidate's packet of supporting documentation, and shall be made available to the unit committee prior to their deliberations.
   
   
3. All tenured faculty at the same rank or higher may submit letters of comment to the unit promotion and tenure committee regarding a candidate being considered.
   
   
4. The candidate shall be informed of the Promotion and Tenure Committee results, at both unit and College levels, including the vote tally of each Committee, and the essential rationale for each vote tally. In the case of negative votes by any person, persons or commit­tees in the evaluation chain, subsequent committees and the candidate shall be provided explanations for those negative votes. All other Committee deliberations should be confiden­tial.
   
   
5. Any case of disapproval may be appealed by the affected candidate. The appeal process should be initiated at the first level of disapproval, and continued through each step of the promotion and/or tenure process. For example, if the candidate is disapproved first by the unit Promotion and Tenure Committee, the candidate should first appeal to the unit Promotion and Tenure Committee; similarly, if the candidate is approved at the unit level but subsequently disapproved by the unit head, by the College Promotion and Tenure Committee or by the dean of the College, the candidate should appeal first to either the unit head, the College Promotion and Tenure Committee or to the dean of the College, wherever the first disapproval occurred. In each instance, the candidate may or may not continue his/her appeal through each step of the process up to the Campus Promotion and Tenure Committee and the chancellor.
   
   
6. A candidate may also appeal in the case of a positive action.
   
   
7. To initiate an appeal, a candidate shall send a written request to his/her unit head. The unit head shall take the necessary steps to begin the appeal within one week of receiving the written request. At each level, the appeal shall consist of a personal meeting between the candidate and the committee or individual (i.e., unit head or dean) involved in the appeal. The candidate shall have the opportunity to state his/her case and introduce relevant new evidence, especially pertaining to any reported weakness. If a committee is involved, another vote shall be taken. Then the recommendation of the committee or individual evaluator shall be revised or confirmed, with the outcome communicated in writing to the candidate. Any written docu­ment(s) submitted as part of the appeal process shall become part of the candidate's dossier.
   
   
8. Both the provost and the College dean may require specific schedules and formats. All supporting documentation and specific timing within the College shall coincide with campus specifications, and all units shall comply with similar College requirements.
   
   
9. Amendments to these Guidelines shall be approved by a majority vote of the College faculty.
   
   
10. All College of Business promotion and tenure criteria and procedures are intended to be consistent with the campus "Academic Tenure Regulations" contained in the MU Faculty Handbook.

These Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure were adopted by the College of Business and Public Administration faculty on May 5, 1995. The Guidelines were revised in November, 2000 to reflect the change in the college's name. Amendments have been adopted and incorporated into this document on the following dates: (none)