Criteria and Procedures for Appointment and Promotion of
Full-time Non-Tenure Track Faculty
The non-tenure track recognizes the value and potential for significant contributions
of full-time faculty who do not hold tenure track positions. A faculty member may be
appointed or promoted in the non-tenure track. (Rules and Regulations of the Board of
Regents of The University of Texas System, RULES 30102 and 31001).
Academic Titles - Persons appointed to full-time non-tenure track positions for the
primary purpose of patient care and other service activities or to full-time or part-time
positions for the primary purpose of research activities shall be given one of the
following titles, even though the individuals may be assigned teaching responsibilities in
accordance with Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents of The University of
Texas System, RULE 31001:
(1) Professor of _______________________________
(title of specialty)
(2) Associate Professor of _______________________
(title of specialty)
(3) Assistant Professor of _______________________
(title of specialty)
(4) Instructor of _______________________________
(title of specialty)
All appointment letters, personnel forms, budgets, and other official documents for
individuals appointed to positions under this section shall state in parentheses following
the name and title of the individual either "(non-tenure track clinical appointment)" or
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"(non-tenure track research appointment)", as appropriate, and that service in such
positions shall not be credited toward calculation of any maximum probationary period.
In this document Professors of, Associate Professors of, Assistant Professors of, and
Instructors of _______________ (non-tenure track teaching appointment) will be
hereafter known as “Teaching Faculty.” Professors of, Associate Professors of, Assistant
Professors of, and Instructors of _________________ (non-tenure track research
appointment) will be hereafter known as “Research Faculty.” Professors of, Associate
Professors of, Assistant Professors of, and Instructors of _____________ (non-tenure
track clinical appointment) will be hereafter known as “Clinical Faculty.”
Appointment
Probationary period – Individuals appointed to a non-tenure track position
described herein must first satisfactorily complete a probationary period of one
year before becoming eligible for a one-, two-, or three-year reappointment.
Duration of reappointment – Upon successful completion of the probationary
period, non-tenure faculty members may be reappointed for up to three academic
years. Regardless of the reappointment period, the department chair will review
the faculty member annually unless reappointment is sought simultaneously with
promotion to Associate Professor or Professor, in which case the department chair
will have the duty of recommending reappointment while the Appointment,
Promotion and Tenure (“APT”) Committee will have the duty of making
recommendations for promotion. If the faculty member wishes to remain at their
then-current rank or be promoted no higher than Assistant Professor,
reappointment shall be at the discretion of the department chair, upon approval by
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the President. Upon favorable review, the faculty member may be reappointed for
up to three years from the reappointment date. This provides 1-3 years for term
appointments, the duration of which is recommended by the department chair and
approved by the Dean and President.
Notification of renewal – Pursuant to RULE 31002 of the Rules and Regulations of
the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System, tenured faculty and nontenured faculty who are to be reappointed shall be provided with a Memorandum
of Appointment at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the academic year.
Appointment of Instructor or Assistant Professor – Appointment to the non-tenure
track at the rank of Instructor or Assistant Professor shall be at the discretion of the
department chair, upon approval by the Dean. Initial appointments shall be offered
to individuals who have appropriate formal training for their expected role and
demonstrate promise of developing an academic career.
Appointment at higher ranks – The department chair will seek approval by the
Dean and recommendations by the APT Committee.
Reappointment – Under these guidelines, the department chair shall review
reappointments annually. Renewal of appointment will be based on the
individual's productivity, value to the department or institution, and number of such
non-tenure appointments in a department. Promotion to Associate Professor or
Professor requires a favorable review and recommendation from the APT
Committee.
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Reviews – The faculty member's completed dossier includes
(1) the supervisor's letter of support,
(2) the faculty member's summary statement and curriculum vitae, and
(3) other supporting materials.
External review letters secured by the department chair are not required, but
faculty members may submit these as evidence of requisite performance. Each of
these items will be evaluated by the APT Committee. Both the quality and quantity
of the candidate's work submitted for review will be considered. The summaries
provided by the department chair and the candidate provide the basis for the
evaluation. Together, the dossier yields both qualitative and quantitative data
about a faculty member's level of productivity. For appointment or promotion at
each level that requires review by the APT Committee, faculty are expected to
have demonstrated:
(1) Competence at the level of Assistant Professor
(2) Excellence at the level of Associate Professor
(3) Leadership at the level of Professor
A. Teaching Faculty (Professor of, Associate Professor of, Assistant Professor of,
Instructor of _____________________ [non-tenured track teaching
appointment])
Appointment – Individuals appointed as “Teaching Faculty” are expected to either
be recognized for teaching before coming to UTMB or demonstrate outstanding
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development during the one-year probationary period and demonstrate evidence
of dissemination of teaching expertise.
Promotion – Promotion of Teaching Faculty requires excellence in teaching and
demonstrated scholarly productivity or service associated with teaching and
learning. Excellence as a Teaching Faculty and/or discipline-specific expert is
demonstrated by evidence of the faculty member’s reputation. Promotion to
Associate Professor requires a regional or national reputation for excellence in
education and participation in regional or national educational and scholarly
organizations. Promotion to Professor requires a national or international
reputation for excellence in education and participation in national or international
educational and scholarly organizations. An independent research program is not
required.
In evaluating Teaching Faculty, primary consideration should be given to the
following list of teaching parameters. Within at least 3 of the parameters, faculty
should reflect both quantity and quality indicative of:
(1) Competence at the level of Assistant Professor
(2) Excellence at the level of Associate Professor
(3) Leadership at the level of Professor
based on
a. Student evaluation of teaching
b. Peer evaluation of teaching
c. Citations of candidate's work by peers.
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d. Teaching support such as training, teaching, academic or professional
grants approved and funded.
e. Participation in faculty governance and committee work in support of
education or the scholarship of teaching.
f. Publications and other dissemination activities associated with teaching
and learning in general or in discipline-specific teaching and learning.
B. Clinical Faculty (Professor of, Associate Professor of, Assistant Professor of,
Instructor of ________________ [non-tenured track clinical appointment])
Appointment – Individuals appointed as “Clinical Faculty” are expected to either be
recognized for clinical expertise before coming to UTMB or demonstrate
outstanding development during the one-year probationary period and should
demonstrate evidence of dissemination of clinical expertise.
Promotion – Promotion of Clinical Faculty requires excellence in patient care or
other clinical activity, as demonstrated by the faculty member’s reputation. Clinical
Faculty are expected to foster communication of new knowledge in an effective
and scholarly way to students, colleagues and other professional groups, and to
facilitate generation of new knowledge by their collegial relationships with other
faculty.
Promotion to Associate Professor requires a regional or national reputation for
clinical excellence and innovation, scholarly activity as evidence by publications
and/or research activities and service in support of clinical excellence. Promotion
to Professor requires a national or international reputation for clinical excellence
and innovation.
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In evaluating Clinical Faculty, primary consideration shall be given to the following
list of parameters. Within at least 3 of the parameters, faculty should reflect both
quantity and quality indicative of:
(1) Competence at the level of Assistant Professor
(2) Excellence at the level of Associate Professor
(3) Leadership at the level of Professor
based on
a. Clinical care as judged by candidates' qualified peers.
b. Extent and quality of clinical activities.
c. Management of health care teams or delivery of health care to groups of
patients.
d. Participation in the affairs of the hospital or clinic.
e. Provision of services to the University.
f. Dissemination of information, new clinical techniques and procedures.
Consideration may also be given to:
a. Contributions to the literature dealing with clinical insights, such as
improved methods of diagnosis and/or treatment, development of more
effective health care delivery systems, methods for evaluating practitioner
performance, measurement of the quality of health care, and innovations in
or assessments of clinical teaching methods.
b. Recognition by students, staff, and/or peers for clinical teaching abilities.
c. Service on university, community agency, or state committees.
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C. Research Faculty (Professor of, Associate Professor of, Assistant Professor
of, Instructor of _____________________ [non-tenured track research
appointment])
Appointment – Individuals appointed as “Research Faculty” are expected to have a
clear line of research and to have published in peer-reviewed journals before
coming to UTMB or demonstrate outstanding development in this area during the
one-year probationary period.
Promotion – Promotion of Research Faculty requires excellence in investigative
studies and scholarly activity as demonstrated by the faculty member’s reputation.
Research Faculty are expected to establish an independent research program and
also work in a highly collaborative environment. Teaching and clinical service may
also be considered in support of the expectation of Research Faculty. Promotion
to Associate Professor requires a regional or national reputation and participation
in regional or national scientific organizations. Promotion to Professor requires a
national or international reputation and participation in national or international
scientific organizations.
In evaluating Research Faculty, primary consideration should be given to the
following list of parameters. Within at least 3 of the parameters, faculty should
reflect both quantity and quality indicative of:
(1) Competence at the level of Assistant Professor
(2) Excellence at the level of Associate Professor
(3) Leadership at the level of Professor
based on
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a. Assessment of the significance and quality of original contributions to the
literature or to national or international health care knowledge.
b. Assessment of the quality of the journals or other forums in which
contributions are demonstrated.
c. Citations of candidate's work by peers.
d. Research support and grant requests submitted, approved, and funded.
e. Collaboration with other faculty members in support of scholarly activities.
f. Teaching and clinical service may also used in support of research
excellence, particularly research-related activities..
D. Moving from non-tenure track to tenure track
Faculty who seek to move from a non-tenure track position to a tenure-track position at
the Associate or Full Professor rank will be evaluated by the APT criteria established for
those ranks. Once appointed to the tenure track, a faculty member may move back to
the non-tenure track. However, after this second move between tracks, no further
changes in track appointment can occur. Additionally, faculty members may not move
to the non-tenure track in their penultimate year on tenure track. No time accrued on
the non-tenure track can be applied to time on tenure track.
E. Additional Regents’ Rules that shall apply to faculty appointed, reappointed or
promoted under these guidelines.
In addition to the Regents’ Rules stipulated above, the following subsections from the
Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System,
Series 30000 regarding Personnel shall also apply to persons appointed, reappointed or
promoted under these guidelines.
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RULE 31007 – re: Duration of probationary service;
RULE 31007 – re: All appointments are subject to approval by the Board;
RULE 31008 – re: Termination of a Faculty Member;
RULE 30103 – re: Faculty standards of conduct;
RULE 31002 – re: Notice for Non-renewal of Non-tenured faculty;
RULE 31003 – re: Abandonment of Academic Positions and Programs;
RULE 31003 – re: Procedures for Financial Exigency; and
All other subsections not specifically applying to tenured faculty.
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