Tenure-Related Appointments

Many officers of instruction on regular appointments are considered to be serving on a probationary basis with the possibility that they may be considered for tenure. However, not all officers of instruction are eligible to be considered for tenure. The offer of appointment and appointment contract will specify if the position is considered to be "tenure-related." Only faculty members with regular appointments at half-time or more (.50 full-time equivalent or FTE) at the ranks of instructor, senior instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor can be considered for tenure. Faculty members appointed as lecturers are not eligible, and there are a number of instructor positions within the University that have been designated as non-tenure related.

Before being considered for tenure, eligible faculty members normally serve six consecutive probationary years during which they are expected to accumulate an excellent record of teaching, research or artistic performance, and professional and university service. During the sixth year, a case for promotion is submitted to the university's promotion and tenure process, and before the end of the sixth year, the faculty member is notified either that he or she has been promoted and tenured or that his or her appointment will expire at the end of the seventh year of appointment, according to the timely notice policy. Under State Board Administrative Rules, the maximum duration of the probationary period is seven years. The rules do allow some exceptions to be made.

Faculty members who have served on the faculties at other institutions may have some of that service taken into consideration on appointment at the University of Oregon, and an earlier date for tenure consideration may be set. Any expedited schedule must be agreed to by both the provost and the new faculty member at the time of appointment.

An additional probationary year may be approved for faculty members experiencing pregnancy, childbirth, or the adoption of a child. Members of the faculty interested in such an extension should contact the provost. In other exceptional circumstances, the six-year limit for the tenure decision may be exceeded, but a written agreement to this effect between the faculty member and the provost is required.

The University's failure to make a timely promotion-and-tenure decision or to give appropriate timely notice does not automatically confer indefinite tenure. However, the University must be diligent in complying with the schedules set by the state board's rules, and the policy of timely notice continues to apply so that faculty members not offered tenure must be given adequate notice of termination.

The maximum probationary period for regular part-time faculty members who are employed at 50 percent of full-time equivalent (.50 FTE) or more, is also seven years, with the tenure decision to be made before the end of the sixth year of service. In this case, however, the time is calculated in terms of FTE years rather than calendar years. Tenure, if granted, is for the FTE as stated in the initial contract or as negotiated. Faculty members whose regular appointments are at less than .50 FTE do not accumulate probationary time toward tenure.

A department or school may propose that a faculty member be considered for tenure before the sixth year of service, when that appears to be in the best interest of the institution. In this situation, the case is considered "early" and does not change the length of the probationary period.

Only service rendered as an officer of instruction counts toward tenure. Prior service in the administrative or research ranks does not count.

Only service paid for out of the University's general funds counts as probationary time. If part or all of a faculty member's salary is paid by an external agency as a result of participation in sponsored research or grant-funded activity, the tenure clock does not advance for the amount of time represented by that outside salary payment.