Action by the Provost

No.  8-20   Rev.  01-19-05      Date  5-13-81 (formerly 8-33)     



POLICY

A. Candidates for Advancement in Rank

The provost shall review the file of all candidates for advancement in rank for whom there is a discrepancy among the recommendations of any of the department Ranking Tenure Evaluation Committee, the college Ranking Tenure Evaluation Committee and the dean. At their sole discretion they may review other candidates either in response to petition or on their own initiative. The recommendation of the dean becomes the final recommendation if the provost chooses not to make their own recommendation. For those candidates they review, the provost shall forward a copy of the recommendation for advancement in rank to the candidate along with a summary statement of supporting findings and reasons. The names of faculty members receiving positive recommendations concerning advancement in rank shall be forwarded to the president who shall be responsible for presenting them to the Board of Trustees. The recommendation of the provost shall be considered final unless one of the following situations occurs:

1. The faculty member alleges that rights to due process were abridged and/or the recommendation is arbitrary and capricious and represents an infringement upon either constitutional rights or those faculty rights discussed in PPMs 9-1 through 9-9. In this case, the faculty member has the right to request a hearing before the Faculty Board of Review as discussed in PPM 1-13, Article VI, Subsection 4.2.

2. The president overturns the recommendation.

B. Candidates in the Final Probationary Year of Tenure

As with advancement in rank, the provost shall review those candidates for which there is a discrepancy in the recommendations and may selectively review others. In those cases where the provost reviews, the provost shall forward a copy of the recommendations for the awarding or denying of tenure to the faculty member concerned as the recommendation is made, along with a summary statement of supporting findings and reasons.  In making tenure reviews, the provost shall review and evaluate the candidate's materials based on the tenure documents of the candidate's college.  Recommendations for the granting of tenure shall be forwarded to the president who shall be responsible for presenting them to the Board of Trustees. The recommendations of the provost shall be considered final unless one of the following situations occurs:

1. The candidate alleges that rights to due process have been abridged (as discussed in PPM 9-17) and has exercised the right to request a hearing before the Faculty Board of Review as outlined in PPM 1-13, Article VI, Subsection 4.2.

2. The president overturns the recommendation.

When the Board of Trustees has acted, the faculty member will be appropriately informed by the provost.

C. Faculty Board of Review

After completing their review of candidates but before forwarding the results to the president, the provost shall inform candidates of their rights with regard to a hearing before the Faculty Board of Review.

D. Candidates in Other Probationary Years of Tenure

In the third or other specially requested interim years' evaluations, the provost will only be made aware of the candidates' status of progress toward achieving tenure but shall not act unless the provost grants a petition for review by the candidate or undertakes such review on their own initiative.