All promotion and tenure files must include the following elements:
Promotion & Tenure Criteria
All academic units with tenure-related faculty have promotion and tenure criteria policies that have been approved by their dean and the Office of the Provost.
External Evaluation Letters
External letters play a very important role in promotion and/or tenure review. Written by disciplinary and professional leaders qualified to evaluate the candidate’s work, they provide independent assessments of the quality of the candidate’s scholarly achievements and creative activity. A minimum of five external letters are required for each case, making it advisable to arrange for at least six or seven.
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
A signed and dated comprehensive and current curriculum vitae that includes the candidate’s current research, scholarly and creative activities and accomplishments, including publications, appointments, presentations, and similar activities. The CV must distinguish between peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed work.
Candidate's Statement
A signed and dated 3 -6-page personal statement developed by the candidate evaluating their performance against the applicable criteria for tenure and promotion. The personal statement should expressly address the subjects of teaching; scholarship, research, and creative activity; and service contributions to the academic department, center or institute, school or college, university, profession, and the community. The statement should also include a discussion of contributions to institutional equity and inclusion. Faculty members should feel free to describe the impact of COVID-19 in their personal statements.
Find more information about the equity and inclusion component of the candidate's statement in promotion to full professor cases only.
Post-tenure Reviews
The results of post-tenure reviews must be included in the dossier for promotion to full professor.
Waiver Statement
A signed and dated document establishing the candidate’s chosen wavier status for the dossier. This statement must be completed prior to departmental contact with external reviewers.
Duties and Responsibilities
A copy of the unit’s TTF professional duties policy should be included in this section.
Conditions of Appointment
All cases involving the granting of indefinite tenure must include the most recent contract or notice of appointment, which clearly documents the time frame for the tenure review and the deadline for the tenure decision. A current contract or notice of appointment is not required for associate professors undergoing review for full professor.
If the candidate has joint or multiple appointments, a memorandum should have been completed at the time of hire or assignment specifying expectations for promotion and tenure review and identifying how the tenure and promotion process will be handled among the units. That memorandum should be included here.
It should also include any special agreements that might shape the candidate’s efforts and make them different from the typical pattern in the department or school/college.
Other documents which may be included are official memoranda of understanding that limit the range of activities on which promotion will be based, grant credit for prior service at other institutions, or extend the time frame for tenure.
Evaluation of Teaching
Teaching quality will be evaluated by unit heads and personnel committees according to the University of Oregon teaching standards. Teaching will meet expectations when it is professional, inclusive, engaged and research-informed, as described on the Provost’s University of Oregon Teaching Evaluation Standards page along with any additional standards adopted into unit policy. In addition, student feedback cannot be used as the sole standard for assessing teaching quality. Instead, evaluators will consider insights from supervisors, peers, and the faculty member themselves, in addition to student comments and other materials provided in the teaching portfolio.
Personnel committees and unit heads may use this optional template for the Evaluation of Teaching section of their tenure or promotion letters.
The Supplementary File
The supplementary file provides additional evidence relevant to the promotion and/or tenure review:
- Scholarship or creative practice portfolio (required when job duties require scholarship or creative practice)
- Teaching portfolio (required)
- Service portfolio (optional)
- Equity and inclusion portfolio (optional)
When materials contained in the supplementary file are submitted as hard copies, they will be returned to the candidate following final action on the promotion and/or tenure review.