Tenure-Track Faculty Ranks

Professor

Appointment or promotion to the rank of professor confers permanent tenure.

Associate Professor

Appointment to the rank of associate professor can be for a probationary period of five years. Under very special circumstances, an initial appointment with permanent tenure may be made. Promotion to the rank of associate professor from the rank of assistant professor confers permanent tenure.

Section 2.b (2) of the Tenure Regulations, state- with the written approval of the immediate supervisor of the department chair obtained in advance of the initiation of formal appointment procedures, an initial appointment to the rank of associate professor with permanent tenure may be initiated and made effective upon subsequent approval of the appointment by the regularly prescribed procedures for initiation, review and final approval.

Assistant Professor

Appointment to the rank of assistant professor, or promotion to the rank of assistant professor from the rank of instructor, is for a probationary term of four years. Reappointment is for a term of three years. A second reappointment at this rank confers tenure. Reappointment at the rank of assistant professor following expiration of the second probationary term should be made only in clearly exceptional circumstances.

Instructor (With Special Provisions)

This rank is appropriate for persons for whom there is reasonable expectation that in the normal course of events he or she will progress to the rank of assistant professor. The appointment is for a probationary term of one year, renewable for three additional successive one-year terms, a total of four years. No reappointment beyond four years is allowed.

An appointment or reappointment at the rank of instructor may be made with the special condition that automatically upon conferral of a specified academic degree the instructor shall be reappointed at the rank of assistant professor. Section 2.b.(3) of the Tenure Regulations, states that promotion at any time from the rank of instructor to that of assistant professor constitutes an initial appointment at the latter rank. In such cases the appointment to assistant professor shall be retroactive to the effective date of instructor or to July 1 or January 1 immediately preceding the conferral of the degree whichever is nearest in point of time.