UT'S Tenure Process

Tenure status offers a form of job security that allows for free speech without fear of dismissal. The title no longer, however, comes with a promise of lifetime employment. The tenure process itself works like this: After six years of teaching, assistant professors must apply for tenure by submitting evidence detailing their publications, student and peer reviews of their teaching ability, and community service activities, among other qualifications. Following extensive reveiws in the candidate's department and college, the administration effectively decides the professor's future at the university. Those meeting the criteria are promoted, while those rejected are given one final year of employment; they may also file appeals and grievances.

The tenured-for-life status in academe is no longer a given, however. Tenured professors at UT must now undergo a review every six years, a policy that went into effect in September 1998, after the Texas Legislature threatened to mandate such a process unilaterally. As part of the review, professors are required to submit to the department chair or dean copies of student evaluations and various other accomplishments. The chair evaluates the material and then reports the results of the review in writing to the professor. According to the university handbook, the dean may also appoint a peer review committee "where appropriate." The committee then reports its findings to the professor, the department chair, the dean, and finally, the Provost. If a professor's job performance is deemed not up to snuff, he or she is given an opportunity to correct the shortcoming, depending on the nature or the severity of the deficiency. -- Amy Smith