|
Faculty Regulations
14. Appointment With Tenure
|
| |
| a. In General |
| |
| A faculty
member granted tenure may continue in the
rank to which s/he has been appointed with
tenure or at a higher rank until retirement,
unless the University finds it necessary,
after due process, to invoke its right to
terminate the association at an earlier date.
Termination must be based upon proof
of adequate cause for dismissal which will
be related directly and substantially to the
fitness or performance of the faculty member
in his/her professional capacity as a teacher,
researcher, or creative member of his/her
professional field. |
| |
| If, for reasons of financial exigency of a program in which a
tenured faculty member is teaching the termination
of a tenured appointment is proposed, such
termination shall be considered only as a
last resort after every effort has been made
to meet the need in some other way and to
find for the faculty member a suitable assignment
in the University. |
| |
| b. Eligibility for Tenure |
| |
| Tenure is
not acquired merely by successive reappointment
over a specified period of time. The granting
of tenure is a positive judgment based on
the process set forth in Section 9 of this
Manual.
For a positive tenure decision, a faculty
member must have demonstrated high quality
in both teaching and scholarship. There must
also be evidence of the ability to continue
significant growth in these areas and continue
to make positive contributions to the University
community such as institutional service to
the Washington College of Law community. |
| |
| i. Minimum Rank |
| |
| To be eligible
for an appointment with tenure, a faculty
member must have attained the rank of assistant
professor or higher. Normally, the requirements
for a positive tenure decision would be equivalent
to the qualifications for the rank of Associate
Professor or higher. |
| |
| ii.
Years of Service: Full‑Time Faculty
|
| |
| To be eligible
for tenure, a full‑time faculty member
must have six years of full‑time teaching
service at the rank of instructor or above,
at least four of which must be completed at
American University, consistent with the waiver
of prior service provisions described in iii. |
| |
| A faculty
member with a new appointment who has been
previously tenured or who was eligible to
be considered for tenure at another institution
may, in exceptional cases, be appointed with
tenure after following appropriate University
procedures as described in section 9. |
| |
| iii. Waiver of Prior Service |
| |
| At the time
of an initial tenure track appointment, a
faculty member may be granted credit by the
University for prior service.
All years of prior service at American
University may be waived. If the service was
at another institution, up to two years of
prior service may be credited towards tenure
accrual. |
| |
| Until the
faculty member submits his/her first “File
for Action” for reappointment to the
University, a faculty member may waive such
credit towards tenure, subject to notification
through the established faculty action process. The waiver must be in writing and filed with
the dean of academic affairs. Thereafter,
time credited toward tenure may not be waived,
even at the request of the faculty member,
except in the most unusual of circumstances. |
| |
| c. Leaves and Accrued Time for Tenure |
| |
| Certain types
of leave do not count as accrued time for
tenure. Eligibility
for these leaves is described in section 15. |
| |
| Leave Without
Pay : A leave without pay is not
included either in accrual of service for
sabbatical eligibility or as part of pre‑tenure
service, unless there is advance written agreement
to the contrary by the dean of academic affairs,
in consultation with the individuals and committees
ordinarily involved in recommending faculty
personnel decisions.
Normally, if a leave without pay is
granted in the sixth year of pre-tenure service,
the tenure review will go forward and the
time accrues towards tenure. Periods of partial leave without salary stop
the tenure clock on a proportional basis.
These arrangements and the conditions
related to it must have the prior written
approval of the dean of academic affairs. |
| |
| Research
Leave: A Research Leave normally carries with it accrual
of eligibility for tenure and promotions in
rank, but not for sabbaticals.
Faculty members have the right to waive
this accrual, if they specify this waiver
as part of their application for Research
Leave. Normally,
if the Research Leave is granted in the sixth
year of pre-tenure service, the tenure review will go forward and
the time accrues towards tenure. |
| |
| Parental
Delay: A faculty member who is the primary care-giver
for a newly born or
newly-adopted child may postpone
tenure consideration for up to one year
even if no leave from the university has
been taken. |
| |
| The maximum
number of years of delay will be two years
and this will include all other types of leaves. |
| |
| d. Accumulation
of Service Toward Tenure: Faculty Members
with Less Than |
| |
| Full-Time
Teaching Duties |
| |
| The faculty
of American University includes some members
who are designated as full‑time but
who teach less than a full load of courses
while engaging in full‑time scholarly
work and teaching.
Provided that they carry a minimum
teaching load of five credit hours per academic
year and participate actively in the governance
of the Washington College of Law or of the
University, such faculty members will accumulate
credit toward tenure as if they were teaching
a full load. |
| |
| A rate of
not less than one‑half of the regular
rate of accrual of credit toward tenure for
full‑time faculty members who are engaged
partly in administrative, counseling, or other
functions, or who do not work full‑time
in scholarship and teaching will apply, provided
that the rate is agreed upon in writing at
the commencement of such contractual period. No credit toward tenure shall be granted while
a faculty member is on leave without pay. |
| |
| e. Prohibition Against a Concurrent Tenured
or Full-Time Appointment at Another Higher
Education Institution |
|
