PROMOTION AND TENURE FORMS

Table of Contents:

• Purpose:
• General Information:
• Exhibit and Instructions:
• Promotion and Tenure Recommendation Set:
• Form Requirements:
  • Access GURU Forms:
    • Web-based Documents:
    • Converting Web-based documents to PDF Documents:
  • Exceptions:
    • Combining PDF Documents:
• Number of Copies and Ultimate Distribution:
• Where to Send Completed Forms:
• Contact Information:
• Cross References:

Purpose:

These forms are used for (1) recommending or not recommending continuance on the tenure track; (2) awarding tenure to the ranks of professor, librarian, associate professor, associate librarian and assistant professor; and (3) for promotion to the ranks of professor, librarian, senior scientist, associate professor, associate librarian, and senior research associate.

General Information:

• Recommendations for promotion and tenure shall be submitted to the Office of Human Resources in accordance with a time schedule distributed each year.


• Refer to Policy AC23 Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations, and ACG17 - Requests for Reduction of Prior Tenure Credit. Details on preparing the dossier are given in the Administrative Guidelines for Policy AC23 Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations, distributed annually by the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.

Exhibit and Instructions:

To view document exhibits, click on appropriate link below:

Promotion and Tenure Form Exhibit

Biographical Data for Promotion and Tenure Exhibit

Log of External Letters Exhibit

Promotion and Tenure Recommendation Set:

Form Requirements:

No form may be used that substitutes for an approved official University form without prior review and approval by the steward of the form/central office, as facilitated by the Office of Systems and Procedures (designated representative of the Corporate Controller). Policy FN17 - Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility (GURU) requires that all form templates must be vetted and approved prior to being published on the GURU website and all such documents having gone through said established approval process must be password protected.

Access GURU Forms:

GURU PDF forms are designed for use with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro. Each browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, etc) has a built-in PDF viewer making it the default PDF viewer without asking users. These built-in viewers do not necessarily support all features required for PDF forms. Similarly, many calculations are not supported by other stand-alone PDF readers (for examples, Nuance). It has been brought to the attention of the Office of Systems and Procedures that PDF forms do not function appropriately when accessed using Firefox and/or Microsoft Edge. In order to access any of the forms on GURU and have the fill-and-print functionality work properly, the end-user must access the GURU website using Google Chrome.

The latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free. Contact your IT support staff person for downloading assistance, if/as needed. If Adobe Acrobat Pro better suits your needs, contact your IT support staff person for purchasing and installation assistance.

Web-based Documents:

Clicking the form download icon on any of the form instruction pages on GURU will open a web-based version of the form. While it appears to have fill-and-print fields available, not all functionality may be available for use (i.e. digital ID fields). With some exceptions (see below), it will be necessary to convert these web-based documents to PDF documents (see Converting to PDF documents section).

Converting Web-Based Document to PDF Document:

In order to have a version with all PDF capabilities enabled, click the Fill & Sign in Acrobat icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. This icon must be clicked before entering any information. Clicking this icon opens an actual PDF version of the document. Complete this version and save the document in a location where you will be able to locate it.

If, upon opening the PDF in Google Chrome, the Fill & Sign in Acrobat icon does not appear in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, it will be necessary to enable Adobe Acrobat extension. Please visit Enable Adobe Acrobat extension for Google Chrome for instructions to enable Adobe Acrobat extension.

Exceptions:

Combining PDF Documents:

There may be times when it is necessary to combine multiple pdf documents into a single document for submission. In those instances, complete the following steps:

• Click on the appropriate form in GURU
• Complete the fill-and-print boxes on the web-based form
• Click the printer icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen
• Change Destination to Microsoft Print to PDF using the drop-down arrow
• Click Print at the bottom of that panel
• Add your last and first names to the end of the file name in the box at the bottom of the pop-up window (i.e. promotion-and-tenure-form-smith-mary or promotion-and-tenure-form-smith-joe) and be sure to select a location where you will be able to relocate the document
• Click Save

Repeat this process for each document that will be combined:

• Now, open one of the completed pdf documents and on the far right select combine files
• Click Add Files and select the files to be combined
• Click Combine
• Save the new document

If you encounter any difficulties with this process, contact the GURU support staff by submitting a Technical Support Form request or by calling the tech support line at 814-863-8592.

Number of Copies and Ultimate Distribution:

• If a person is being considered for a tenure decision AND a promotion decision simultaneously, then only one dossier (one set of dossier dividers) needs to be prepared with two cover signatory pages.


• The applicable copies (original) are sent to the University Promotion and Tenure Review Committee via the Office Human Resources.


• Ultimate retention of the original dossiers resides with the Office of Human Resources, where they are retained until termination, resignation, or retirement.

Where to Send Completed Forms:

Original documents are sent to the University Promotion and Tenure Review Committee via the Office of Human Resources in accordance with a time schedule distributed each year.

Contact Information:

For questions, additional details, or to request changes to these forms, contact of Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.

Cross References:

• Policy AC23 - Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations
• Policy Guideline ACG17 - Requests for Reduction of Prior Tenure Credit
• Policy AD35 - University Archives and Records Management
• Policy FN17 - Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility

(07-01-2021)