Faculty at the University of Utah undergo regular reviews of their teaching, research, and service (as applicable).
Tenure-line Faculty
Reviews
Tenure-line faculty members undergo both formal and informal review processes. Learn more about the different types of reviews below.
RPT Deadlines vary based on the number of cases each college has in a particular year. Please see the above document to determine when your college's RPT cases are due to the Office for Faculty.
Interfolio is the repository for all formal RPT and TFR files
Formal RPT Review Checklist (updated September 2021)
Checklist of required materials for RPT reviews and where they should be uploaded in Interfolio
Formal RPT Vote Summary (updated September 2021)
Required for all formal RPT reviews – a combined summary of the votes at all levels of review
Tenure-track Probationary Period Worksheet (updated September 2021)
Required for all pre-tenure formal RPT reviews – a form to indicate the years of the probationary period as well as years in which formal/informal reviews take place
Include documentation/authorization of changes to extend or reduce probationary period
Evidence of Faculty Responsibility Form (new – September 2021)
Required for all formal RPT Reviews – a form to indicate that the faculty member has received no letters of reprimand or findings, decisions, or recommendations from University committees or officials arriving from relevant concerns. If there are letters of reprimand or other findings, decisions, or recommendations, those materials must be uploaded to the RPT file instead of this form.
Spring 2020 Course Evaluation Memo from SVP Reed
Required for all RPT cases where there are course evaluations from Spring 2020
Administration Steps for After President Letters Have Been Received
ePAF instructions for Admins once RPT Reviews have been completed
Interfolio is the repository for all formal RPT files, including New Hires with Tenure
New Hire with Tenure Review ChecklistChecklist of required materials for expedited Tenure reviews and where they should be uploaded in Interfolio
New Hire with Tenure Vote Summary SheetRequired for all expedited Tenure reviews – a combined summary of the votes at all levels of review. Reminder - votes are only on the question of Tenure.
External Reviewer Grid (updated September 2021)
Sample Waiver or Non-waiver Text – to be signed by candidate (updated September 2021)
Letters to external reviewers with review instructions (to be updated)
Sample External Review Letter-Hire with Tenure (to be updated)
RPT SAC Committee Training Instructions - CANVAS Access Instructions + Completion & Verification Instructions
RPT SAC Committee Training Video in CANVAS - RPT SAC members should complete this training prior to filling out the Report Form below (launched Summer 2022)
RPT SAC Committee Instructions - SAC Faculty Evaluation Report Instructions (updated August 2023)
RPT SAC Committee Report Form - SAC Faculty Evaluation Report Form (updated August 2023)
Sharing Faculty Review Materials with RPT SAC - Instructions for Dept Admins about sharing materials with RPT SAC members (updated August 2023)
Notification to RPT Candidate of Pre-tenure Formal Review (to be updated)
Notification to Faculty to Request Formal Review for Promotion to Full Professor (to be updated)
Notification to Shared-appointing Unit for Shared Faculty Undergoing a Formal Review (to be updated)
Cover Letter for Chair's Letter with Notification of Candidate's Right to Respond (to be updated)
Notification to Staff and Faculty Soliciting Written Comments for the Formal Review File (to be updated)
Current Retention, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT) Standards Documents ("RPT Guidelines") can be found here.
Current Tenured Faculty Review (TFR) Standards Documents ("TFR Guidelines") can be found here.
Information regarding revisions to current guidelines documents or the process to create new standards documents can be found here.
Retention, Promotion, & Tenure Reviews (RPT)
The Retention, Promotion, and Tenure processes take place at specified intervals and evaluate a tenure-line faculty member’s progress since hire. Retention reviews generally take place in the third or fourth year of the probationary period. Tenure reviews generally take place in the sixth or seventh year of the probationary period. The University does not require a particular number of years before an associate professor may be considered for promotion to Professor, but in general those reviews do not take place until at least the sixth year following promotion to Associate Professor. The college or department has specific guidelines regarding the procedures for each review. University Policy (6-303) directs the specific requirements for review.
Tenured Faculty Reviews (TFR)
Tenured Faculty Reviews take place every five years after tenure has been awarded to identify whether a faculty member is meeting the standards for a tenured faculty member in the department. These reviews, also known as “post-tenure reviews,” generally take place in the Spring semester. University Policy (6-321) and the department/college TFR guidelines describe the specific requirements for these reviews.
New Hire with Tenure Review (Expedited Tenure)
Tenure may be granted at the time of initial appointment of a faculty member (commonly known as 'hiring with tenure'). When a decision regarding tenure is considered contemporaneously with a decision regarding initial appointment, the procedures for the appointment and initial rank decisions are governed by Policy 6-302, the procedures for the tenure decision are as described in Policy 6-303 Section III-K, and the criteria and standards for tenure and rank are described in department/college RPT guidelines.
Endowed Chair Reviews
Faculty members who have the distinction of holding an Endowed Chair appointment must undergo periodic reviews for evaluation and reappointment. Reviews are governed by the specific Gift Agreement for the endowment, but typically follow the 5-year TFR cycle.
Informal Tenure-line Reviews
Informal reviews of all faculty members take place in every year in which a formal review does not take place. Pre-tenure faculty members have more thorough informal reviews in order to evaluate and provide advice regarding progress towards tenure. Pre-tenure informal review procedures are described in department/college RPT guidelines.
Career-line, Adjunct, & Visiting Faculty (CAV)
Reviews & Reappointments
Career-line, Adjunct, or Visiting Faculty members undergo both formal and informal review processes. More thorough formal reviews take place when an initial appointment term is coming to a close (in preparation for a potential reappointment), or when an adjunct or career-line faculty member desires a promotion in rank.
Departments/Colleges are encouraged, but not required to use Interfolio when conducting Career-line Reappointment/Promotion Reviews.
For specific college/department CAV Review Guidelines, click here.
Reappointment (or reappointment with promotion) votes take place after a formal CAV Review has occurred. To report the reappointment/promotion votes to the Office for Faculty, please see the information below:
- CAV Signature Cover Page Template 2022-23
- CAV Spreadsheet Instructions for 2022-23
- Example CAV Spreadsheet 2022-23 - (Prior to Vote Status)
- Example CAV Spreadsheet 2022-23 - (After Vote Status)
Once a review for reappointment has taken place and the votes have been been collected, the department should notify the faculty member of the results of the review and whether they have been reappointed.
- For sample templates for Reappointment Notifications as well as Employment Contracts, please click here (revised Spring 2024).
Academic units that are not otherwise authorized to make appointments of faculty, but that meet specific criteria may be designated as a Qualified Interdisciplinary Teaching Program (QITP).
The current Qualified Interdisciplinary Teaching Programs are:
- The LEAP Program
- The Honors College (formerly known as the Honors Program)
- The Entertainment and Arts and Engineering Program
- The Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program
QITPs, in conjunction with the University Interdisciplinary Teaching Program, have the limited authority to make appointments and review faculty in the category of Lecturer.
Each QITP has a statement of rules describing procedures, criteria, and standards for initial appointment, reappointment, promotion, and periodic evaluations of Lecturers (and non-faculty instructional personnel as defined in Policy 6-310) who perform teaching activities in the program.
Current standards documents for the QITPs can be found here.
Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR)
Each year, faculty report their academic activity in FAR. This information is used for annual reviews, salary increase allocations, accreditation reporting, and can also be used to generate biosketches, CVs, and university profiles.
Our current FAR software was developed in 2005 and has been maintained for over 15 years. We recently partnered with Digital Sciences to upgrade the software to Symplectic Elements, which is used by over 150 research organizations world-wide. The new software is a highly configurable system centered around automated data capture from internal and external sources. It provides great visualization tools to showcase academic achievements of faculty.
We are currently working with Associate Deans from all Schools and Colleges to identify the needs for every unit. If you want to ensure certain needs are met, please feel free to reach out to your Associate Dean, or fill out the following form: Feedback Form for Legacy FAR System
Implementation and customization of the software is currently in-process. Key to this project has been connecting university data feeds and importing historical FAR data in order to minimize data input work for faculty. This has taken up the majority of the timeline, but we are pleased to report that we are approaching our end goal. Because of the work that still needs to be done, however, University-wide rollout of Elements will be moved to Summer 2024. This means that most colleges will use the legacy FAR system during Spring 2024 for their annual faculty reviews. The College of Fine Arts and the College of Health have graciously agreed to beta-test the new system for their annual reviews this Spring. We appreciate their willingness to work closely with us through this process. All other colleges will continue to use the legacy FAR system until the University-wide rollout.
If there are aspects of the current FAR system that you want to make sure are changed for the new system, please use the following form: Feedback Form for Legacy FAR System
We are currently in the process of finalizing Elements for a campus-wide roll-out. Below, please find links to some helpful videos and how-to's regarding the new Elements system.
Faculty Review ePAFs
Once a faculty review has been completed where there is a promotion in rank or if tenure has been awarded, an ePAF will need to be submitted to change the faculty member's information within PeopleSoft.
Click here for more information and resources about all types of Faculty ePAFs
Career-line/Adjunct/Visiting Faculty Reviews (CAV)
Review processes for Career-line, Adjunct, and Visiting Faculty members include:
- minimum-level annual reviews for all CAV faculty members
- more thorough reviews of long-serving faculty, which must occur at least every five years
University Policy (6-310) and the department/college CAV Review Guidelines describe the specific requirements for these reviews.
CAV reviews typically take place prior to March in each academic year. More thorough formal reviews take place when an appointment term is coming to a close (in preparation for a potential reappointment), or when an adjunct or career-line faculty member desires a promotion in rank.
Career-line/Adjunct/Visiting Faculty Reappointments (CAV)
If the appointment is renewable, a Career-line or Adjunct, or Visiting* faculty member may be reappointed at the end of their appointment term after a successful review and vote by the department faculty.
(*Visiting faculty are limited to 3 years total appointment length)
Career-line/Adjunct/Visiting Faculty Reappointment & Promotion Votes (CAV)
After a review for reappointment/promotion, the department faculty will vote regarding the reappointment (or reappointment with promotion) for each career-line, adjunct, or visiting* faculty member.
The results of these votes must be recorded and submitted to the Office for Faculty by the end of the day on April 5, 2023.
(*Visiting faculty are limited to 3 years total appointment length, and are not eligible for promotion in rank)
For Health Sciences-specific information, contact Piikea Godfrey or Kelly Akins within Health Sciences Academic Affairs.