Skip to main content

Tenure and Promotion Process

 

For complete details and specifics regarding the Tenure and Promotion Process at Winston- Salem State University, please consult the Faculty Handbook.  This is a quick overview for you to understand the process.

 

Tenure and Promotion Canvas Course

A self-paced course is available for you in Canvas that takes you through all of the steps listed below.  If you complete the course, you will have almost all of what you need in the Canvas Course, unified, labeled, and ready to create binder(s) in hard copy or electronically.

This course is offered by CITI and designed by Dr. Christina Placilla, Department Chair, Music.

Self-enroll to the Tenure and Promotion Canvas Course

Process Overview

The process of evaluating faculty for Tenure and/or Promotion has been agreed upon by the WSSU Board of Trustees, the WSSU administration, and the faculty. The guidelines have been set by both the university and departments. Once a faculty member is ready to apply for tenure and promotion, or must do so based upon their contractual requirements, faculty will submit three (3) three ring binders (3 inches thick) to make their case.

Please Note:  It is anticipated that sometime in the next five years, the process may become electronic/digital, and faculty will upload the materials to a platform such as Activity Insight. At this time (2018-19), the campus is still expecting hard copies of the tenure and promotion portfolios.

Timeline

The tenure and promotion timeline is emailed to faculty yearly by either the Office of the Provost or the Office of Faculty Affairs. A general timeframe of the process can be found in the Faculty Evaluation Manual, [p. 21]

Here are the steps and decisions that your portfolio will take during the process. Note, at each step and recommendation level, the faculty member should receive notification of the recommendation:

  • Faculty submits the tenure and promotion portfolio and application.
  • Senior Faculty and Chair OR Senior Faculty will meet to discuss the portfolio and whether they recommend promotion and/or tenure. In the case of faculty applying for Full Professor, only Full Professors may make a recommendation. Senior Faculty forward their recommendation to the next level.
  • In departments where the Senior Faculty and Chair met together, the next level of recommendation is the Dean. In departments where the Senior Faculty and Chair do not make a recommendation together, the Chair will consider the portfolio and the requirements, along with the recommendation of the Senior Faculty. The Chair will forward their recommendation to the next level
  • The next step for a faculty member's portfolio is the Dean's level. The Dean will consider the requirements, the portfolio, and recommendations from Senior Faculty and the Department Chair. They will write their own recommendation and forward it to the next level.
  • The University level committee for Tenure and Promotion will then consider the portfolio. Again, only Full Professors may review the portfolio of those applying for Full Professor. They will receive all previous recommendations and consider the application based upon the requirements and the evidence provided. They will write a recommendation and forward this to the Provost.
  • The Provost will receive all previous recommendations as well as the portfolio and write a letter to support or not support the application based upon the requirements and the evidence. This is forwarded to the Chancellor.
  • The Chancellor will read and review all previous recommendations and review the portfolio based upon the requirements and evidence. The Chancellor will decide to accept the recommendation of the Provost or not. This decision is forwarded to the Board of Trustees.
  • Finally, the Board of Trustees will receive all of the recommendations and decisions and make a decision to accept or not accept the decisions of the Provost and Chancellor Promotion and/or tenure.