Action required:

All students, faculty, and staff must register for Microsoft Entra before Tuesday, November 11 to continue accessing university systems. Register today!

Skip to main content

School Of Respiratory Care Sciences Promotion and Tenure Policy

Effective Date

October 2025

Last Revision Date

October 2025

Scope and Audience

This policy governs the awarding of tenure for tenure-eligible faculty, as well as promotion for all faculty in the School of Respiratory Care Sciences. 

For tenure-track faculty members applying for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, this policy applies where appointment to the faculty began after July 1, 2026. Pre-tenured faculty appointed prior to July 1, 2026 may choose to be evaluated under this policy or the tenure and promotion policies in effect at the time of their appointment.

1. Policy Purpose

This policy outlines expectations from the School of Respiratory Care Sciences for tenure and/or promotion. The purpose is to: 

(a) establish criteria that express the School’s expectations for meeting University standards in terms of disciplinary practices;

(b) provide procedures for the initial evaluation of teaching, scholarship, and service;

(c) preserve and enhance the participatory rights of candidates, including the basic right to be informed about critical stages of the process and to have an opportunity to respond to negative evaluations; and

(d) clarify the responsibilities, roles, and relationships of the participants in the promotion and tenure review process.

This policy is to be read in conjunction with the University and College Tenure and Promotion policies. The guiding philosophy and the process (except for some clarifications in this document) are in the College and University policies.

2. Policy Statement

The effective date of this policy is July 1, 2026. Prior to this date, a policy did not exist in the School of Respiratory Care Sciences for evaluation of faculty candidates for tenure and/or promotion. While all faculty candidates will thus be evaluated according to this policy, it is important to note that pre-tenured faculty, clinical, teaching, and research faculty appointed prior to July 1, 2026 will have received formative feedback about their performance in the absence of this policy. Therefore, it is strongly encouraged that the personnel committee review the candidates’ annual feedback when evaluating these candidates for tenure and/or promotion.

3. Definitions

3.1. Faculty

Faculty positions held in the School of Respiratory Care Sciences are consistent with the definitions outlined in University Policy 7000.

4. Evaluation Areas

Following the expiration of the probationary period, tenure and promotion may be granted to tenure- eligible faculty who meet or exceed expectations based on their workload assignments as evaluated by their departments and colleges in each of the following three (four when applicable) areas:

  • Teaching
  • Scholarly, creative, or research activities
  • Service
  • Administrative (i.e., divisional dean, program director, director of clinical education)

In the School of Respiratory Care Sciences, it is expected that the candidate for promotion and tenure achieves satisfactory progress for the majority of probationary years.

Because clinical and teaching faculty are typically not awarded workload allocation for scholarly activity, evidence of scholarly activity should be viewed as exceeding expectations in this area. If workload allocation has been awarded for the express purposes of scholarly activity, the expectations of the work should be reviewed in the context of the workload release (i.e., a workload release of 3WLU should equate to one peer reviewed publication or a consistent expectation of expenditure which aligns with College of Health Sciences Policy). Alterations to this expectation exist in the context of the School of Respiratory Care Sciences Workload policy and Professional Development Policy.

4.1. Workload and Effort

Faculty workload is allocated across teaching, service, and (when assigned) administrative and/or scholarship activities in accordance with University and College workload policies. Faculty should have a clear sense of their workload percentages allocated to various activities from year-to-year, articulated in consultation with the Divisional Dean and respective Program Director.

Changes to workload from year to year should be made in consultation with the Program Director(s) and Divisional Dean. Changes to workload percentages should be matched by changes in the types of evidence the candidate submits in T&P/Promotion packets; meaning effort, workload, and impact should all be aligned in the evidence presented at the time of review. A specific workload distribution is not required to achieve tenure and promotion/clinical-track promotion. Deviations from COHS and/or University workload guidance should be documented clearly for review committees.

Note for TT/Tenured faculty: The successful tenure-track candidate for tenure and promotion will, over the pre-tenure period, have established a trajectory in their scholarship, teaching, service and administrative activities (when applicable) that indicates their capacity to maintain a productive and sustainable program in the School and/or discipline. While effort is not a substitute for success, it may demonstrate progress towards eventual success. Consequently, tenure-track candidates for promotion and tenure are encouraged to document all relevant activities, even when those activities did not immediately result in a positive outcome.

4.2. Professional Development

While professional development is not a criteria that will be used for promotion and tenure, the school strongly believes that it helps with the other criteria for evaluation. This is particularly true for demonstrating a commitment to improving pedagogical methods and staying current on clinical practices, governing body policies, modern technology and education within Respiratory Care or Sciences. Most faculty are expected to maintain their RRT credential.

Typical Professional Development Activities

  • Developing materials for presentation at professional conferences
  • Pursuing academic coursework within the Respiratory Care or a germane subject area
  • Attending educational and research seminars on campus
  • Participating in the Boise State Center for Teaching and Learning certificate programs
  • Complete the teaching online series through Extended Studies

5. Performance Criteria and Expectations

Examples of activities for promotion and tenure are provided in the following section. The School of Respiratory Care Sciences values innovation and the examples provided are in no means exhaustive.

It is an expectation within the School that all faculty participate in consistent professional development across teaching, scholarly activity, service, and, if applicable, administration. These expectations are further outlined below.

5.1. Promotion and/or Tenure Requirement for Tenured & Tenure-Track Faculty

Evaluation of candidates focuses on the impact that a candidate has made in the areas of teaching, scholarly activities (tenure-track), service activities, as well as evidence of future promise in the three aforementioned areas; if the candidate has workload assigned to an administrative role, evidence demonstrating that the candidate has consistently met or exceeded expectation in that area will be included in the review.

The candidate’s impact is a direct result of the outputs of activity in each area. The scholarly activities within a candidate’s dossier (tenure-track) are the driving factor for promotion through the academic ranks. It is expected that a candidate will have strong records of dissemination of research using Boyer’s model and records of pursuing funded research.

All faculty members are expected to contribute to a culture of collegiality within the School. Our successes are derived from a culture and community which embraces creativity and innovation in education and research.

5.1.1. Expectations of Assistant Professors

5.1.1.1. Teaching

Assistant professors are expected to develop their teaching methodology and skills by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning workshops offered by Boise State University and professional societies.

Typical Recognized Teaching Activities

  • Attending teaching workshops offered by Boise State University or professional organizations.
  • Attending conference sessions dedicated to teaching and education in Respiratory Care or other related fields.
  • Implementing and documenting the use of new pedagogical techniques in courses.
  • Fostering a classroom environment which is conducive to learning for all students.
  • Developing new courses to expand department course or program offerings.
  • Developing/transitioning courses to hybrid/remote synchronously or asynchronously delivery.
  • Developing and fostering a collaborative environment withing their classrooms.

5.1.1.2. Scholarship

Assistant professors are expected to establish and develop their research careers through scholarly activities of inquiry associated with the discipline of Respiratory Care or Respiratory Science. It is anticipated they will have multiple lines of inquiry as their research career is developing.

These induvials are expected to engage in the process of developing and submitting grant proposals. The high scholarly activity demands placed on assistant professors means they will not always be the PI on every proposal, but it is expected they will be the PI on some of their proposals.

Typical Recognized Scholarly Activities

  • Developing conference sessions at the regional, national, or international level.
  • Invitations to present research at other national and international universities and conferences.
  • Invitations to submit manuscripts to special editions of journals.
  • Public recognition or awards for publications.
  • Awards for journal papers from professional societies.
  • Recognition of student achievements should be considered as an honorable accomplishment of the faculty member.
  • Pursuit of internal or external grants to strengthen research agenda.

5.1.1.3. Service

Assistant professors are expected to perform service to both the University and their profession. They are expected to be active within the School but their roles, especially leadership roles, in service at the college and university level should be limited.

As developing researchers and scholars, assistant professors are expected to have service activities aligned with their professional organization(s) (e.g., AARC, NBRC, CoARC, state society). Assistant professors are expected to provide service to at least one professional organization.

Typical Recognized Service Activities

  • School/College/University Service
    • Serving on School committees (standing and ad-hoc)
    • Supporting students by providing reference letters and nominating students for awards
    • Working with School student groups
  • Professional Service
    • Reviewing journal and conference manuscripts
    • Invitations to serve as proposal reviewers for external funding agencies.
    • Serving on committee within a professional, healthcare, or teaching-focus organization.
    • Organizing a session for a national or international conference.
    • Awards/recognition for reviewing manuscripts.
  • Outreach
    • Contributing to the outreach efforts of the School.

5.1.2. Expectations of Associate Professors

5.1.2.1. Teaching

Teaching workload is dictated by the needs of the School and/or program as well as ongoing scholarly activities. Minimum allocation of workload specific to scholarly activity is to be consistent with the University workload policy. However, alterations to this allocation are at the discretion of the Divisional Dean and Program Director in concert with the faculty and the Dean of the COHS.

Typical Recognized Teaching Activities

  • Attending and leading teaching workshops offered by Boise State University or professional organizations.
  • Attending and leading conference sessions dedicated to teaching and education in Respiratory Care.
  • Implementing and documenting the use of new pedagogical techniques in courses.
  • Fostering a classroom environment which is conducive to learning for all students.
  • Developing new courses to expand School programs or course offerings.
  • Developing/transitioning course to remote/hybrid synchronously or asynchronously delivery.
  • Organizing regional/international conference sessions dedicated to teaching and education in technical or clinically focused fields.
  • Developing teaching tools that are nationally recognized and used outside of Boise State University.
  • Developing innovative cross-disciplinary courses which can attract students from outside Respiratory Care.
  • Developing tools and metrics which can be used to assess teaching effectiveness for the department.

5.1.2.2. Scholarship

It is expected that associate professors will continue with scholarly activities as they progress toward promotion. They must demonstrate well-developed line(s) of inquiry along select research themes as evidenced by multiple submitted grant proposals, multiple peer-reviewed journal publications, multiple peer-reviewed conference publications, and other scholarly products. The expectation is to have multiple scholarly inputs and outputs on an annual basis.

At this stage in their career, associate professors may choose to initiate new lines of inquiry which are related to the disciplinary scope of programming across the School. Scholarly activities (submitted grant proposals, peer-reviewed journal papers, and peer-reviewed conference papers) are expected along the new lines of inquiry.

Associate professors are expected to have developed a national and international reputation as researchers and scholars. For application to full professor, the body of scholarly work to be evaluated consists of work completed since achieving promotion and tenure and with added national or international recognition.

At this level, the candidate is expected to be the principal investigator on most of their submitted grant proposals and/or published materials. Although competitive funding is held in much higher regard than minimally- or non-competitive funding, the School recognizes effort made in all areas of grant funded work..

Collaborations with other research groups are highly encouraged; however greater emphasis is placed on publications based on work conducted at Boise State University.

Typical Recognized Scholarly Activities Appropriate for Associate Professors

  • Developing conference sessions at the national or international level.
  • Leading conferences at the national or international level.
  • Invitations to present research at other universities.
  • Invitations to submit manuscripts to special editions of journals.
  • Public recognition or awards for publications.
  • Awards for journal papers from professional societies.
  • Recognition of student achievements should be considered as an honorable accomplishment of the faculty member.

5.1.2.3. Service

Associate professors are expected to perform service to the university. They are expected to be active within the School, especially in leadership roles. Service and leadership at the college and/or university level is expected.

As established researchers and scholars, associate professors are expected to have service activities aligned with their technical organization(s). They are expected to take leadership roles in these technical organizations.

Typical Recognized Service Activities Appropriate for Associate Professors

  • School/College/University Service
    • Serving on and leading School committees (standing and ad-hoc).
    • Supporting students by providing reference letters and nominating students for awards.
    • Serving as an advisor to School student groups.
    • Serving on and leading college committees.
    • Serving on and leading university committees.
  • Professional Service
    • Reviewing journal and conference manuscripts.
    • National or international conference organization.
    • Joining a journal editorial board.
    • Serving on proposal review panels for external funding agencies.
    • Leading a committee within a professional organization (regional, national, or international level).
  • Spearheading outreach which serves School strategic initiatives.
  • Professional Oversight (e.g. ,AARC, CoARC, NBRC, Licensing Boards etc)
    • Contributing to and developing accreditation strategies for the School programming.
    • Serving on the board of an accreditation or professional credentialing organization

5.1.3. Promotion to Professor

 University Policy 4340 section 4.2.3 outlines the definition and criteria required for advancement to the rank of Professor

5.1.4. Periodic Review of Tenured Faculty

Exception for Associate Professors in the Promotion Process – Generally, the promotion from the rank of associate professor to full professor is considered no earlier than the fifth full year after attaining the rank of associate professor, which is generally contemporaneous with the granting of tenure. In such cases, if review for promotion to full professor is scheduled during the fifth, sixth, or seventh full year after the award of tenure, then the promotion review may, if it meets substantially similar criteria and goals of the post tenure review, take the place of the periodic performance review described here.

5.2. Promotion for Clinical/Teaching/Research Faculty

Evaluation of candidates focuses on the impact that a candidate has made primarily in the areas of teaching and service activities; however, if workload allocation has been assigned to scholarly activity and/or administration, evaluation would extend to this area as well. Additionally, evidence of future promises in the aforementioned areas should be considered. The candidate’s impact is a direct result of both the inputs and outputs of their activities in each area. The activities within a candidate’s dossier are the driving factor for promotion through the academic ranks.

All faculty members are expected to contribute to a culture of collegiality within the School. Our successes are derived from a School and community which embraces creativity and innovation in education.

5.2.1. Expectations for Clinical Instructors

5.2.1.1. Teaching

Clinical instructors will have a teaching load that is negotiated with the Divisional Dean and respective Program Directors and will be dependent upon the needs of the School program(s). Ideally, required courses will align with the candidate’s area of expertise within the field of Respiratory Care or Sciences. Clinical instructors are expected to develop their teaching methodology and skills by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning workshops offered by Boise State University and professional societies.

Typical Recognized Teaching Activities

  • Attending teaching workshops offered by Boise State University or professional organizations.
  • Attending conference sessions dedicated to teaching and education in Respiratory Care or other technical or clinically focused fields.
  • Implementing and documenting the use of new pedagogical techniques in courses.
  • Fostering a classroom environment which is conducive to learning for all students.
  • Participating in mentorship opportunities.

5.2.1.2. Service

Clinical instructors are expected to perform service to both the University and their profession. They are expected to be active within the School but their roles, especially leadership roles, in service at the college and university level should be limited.

Typical Recognized Service Activities

  • Departmental/College/University Service
    • Serving on School committees (standing and ad-hoc).
    • Working with the School student groups.
    • Serving on college and university committees.
  • Professional Service
    • Serving on a committee within a professional organization.
  • Outreach to School Interest Groups
    • Contributing to the outreach efforts of the School.

5.2.2. Expectations for Assistant Professors

Clinical Assistant Professors control their outside professional service activities. Candidates should consult with the Divisional Dean and/or Program Director for guidance regarding the expectations for professional service.

5.2.2.1. Teaching

Clinical assistant professors will have a teaching load that is negotiated with the Divisional Dean and requisite Program Director and will be dependent upon the needs of the School or program. The required courses will align with the candidate’s area of expertise within the field of Respiratory Care or Science. Clinical assistant professors are expected to develop their teaching methodology and skills by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning workshops offered by Boise State University and professional societies.

Typical Recognized Teaching Activities

  • Attending teaching workshops offered by Boise State University or professional organizations.
  • Attending conference sessions dedicated to teaching and education in Respiratory Care or other technical or clinically focused fields.
  • Implementing and documenting the use of new pedagogical techniques in courses.
  • Fostering a classroom environment which is conducive to learning for all students.
  • Developing new courses to expand School course or program offerings.
  • Developing/transitioning courses to hybrid/remote synchronously or asynchronously delivery.

5.2.2.2. Service

Clinical assistant professors are expected to perform service to both the University and their profession. They are expected to be active within the School, college, and university level. Leadership roles may be appropriate, depending on the needs of the service entity.

Clinical assistant professors are expected to have service activities aligned with their professional organization(s). Clinical assistant professors are expected to provide service to one professional organization, which aligns with their credentialing and expertise.

Typical Recognized Service Activities Appropriate for Clinical Assistant Professors

  • School/College/University Service
    • Serving on School committees (standing and ad-hoc).
    • Supporting students by providing reference letters and nominating students for awards.
    • Working with School student groups.
    • Serving on college and university committees.
  • Professional Service
    • Serving on a committee within a professional organization.
    • Organizing a session for a regional, national, or international conference.
    • Awards/recognition for teaching and service.
  • Outreach Aligning with School Strategic Initiatives
    • Contributing to the outreach efforts of the School.

5.2.3. Expectations for Associate Professors

University policy # 4490 outlines the definitions and criteria required to advance to the rank of Clinical Associate Professor.

Clinical Associate Professors are encouraged to carefully consider the timing of their application for clinical professor. Candidates are expected to have records of teaching commensurate with national/international reputation. Additionally, candidates for promotion to full clinical professor are encouraged to consult with others at that rank in the Department in advance of applying for promotion for a formative review of their portfolio.

5.2.3.1. Teaching

Clinical Professors will have a teaching load that is negotiated with the Divisional Dean and relevant Program Directors and will be dependent upon the needs of the School or program and in the context of any administrative responsibilities they may hold. Typically, the courses will be aligned with their area of expertise. However, they may be asked to teach required courses that are not aligned with their area of expertise.

Typical Recognized Teaching Activities

  • Attending and leading teaching workshops offered by Boise State University or professional organizations.
  • Attending and leading conference sessions dedicated to teaching and education in Respiratory Care or Respiratory Science.
  • Implementing and documenting the use of new pedagogical techniques in courses.
  • Fostering a classroom environment which is conducive to learning for all students.
  • Developing new courses to expand School programs or course offerings.
  • Developing/transitioning course to remote/hybrid synchronously or asynchronously delivery.
  • Organizing regional/national/international conference sessions dedicated to teaching and education in technical fields.
  • Developing teaching tools that are nationally recognized and used outside of Boise State University.
  • Developing innovative cross-disciplinary courses which can attract students from outside Respiratory Care/Sciences.
  • Developing tools and metrics which can be used to assess teaching effectiveness for the department.

5.2.3.2. Service

Clinical associate professors are expected to perform service to the university. They are expected to be active within the School, especially in leadership roles. Service and leadership at the college and/or university level is expected.

Clinical associate professors are expected to have service activities aligned with their professional organization(s). They are expected to take leadership roles in these professional organizations.

Typical Recognized Service Activities

  • School/College/University Service
    • Serving on School committees (standing and ad-hoc).
    • Supporting students by providing reference letters and nominating students for awards.
    • Working with School-specific student groups.
    • Serving on college and university committees.
  • Professional Service
    • Serving on a committee within a professional organization.
    • Organizing a session for a national or international conference.
    • Awards/recognition for teaching and service.
  • Spearheading or contributing to the outreach efforts of the School.

5.2.4. Clinical Professors

Clinical Professors must sustain or exceed excellence in all the areas listed above for Clinical Associate Professors. A focus should be on the mentorship of faculty and/or students in the areas of teaching, research, and/or service. Leadership positions in national organization are expected.

5.3. Recognition of Administrative Service

The School of Respiratory Care Sciences recognizes administrative service as a specified role within the school that warrants release from teaching due to the extent of the responsibilities. These roles may be required by accrediting bodies, or may be designated by the Divisional Dean to support strategic initiatives of the School. Typical positions that require administrative services include Divisional Dean, Associate/Assistant Divisional Dean, Program Director, Director of Clinical Education and Functional Respiratory Care Sciences Lab Director. Expectations of administrative service are outlined in job descriptions and should be documented by each individual. There is no specific rank or track where Administrative Service becomes a requirement. Administrative Service is a separate and unique category that warrants consideration in promotion and tenure.

Typical Recognized Administrative Service Activities

  • Development and implementation of meaningful, forward thinking strategic plans.
  • Ensuring all accreditation and credentialing standards for retaining program accreditation are met.
  • Securing and maintaining clinical affiliations and placements.
  • Development and maintenance of School and program policies and procedures.
  • Mentorship and development of programmatic faculty, including adjunct faculty.
  • Monitoring enrollment and retention rates of programming within the School
  • Identification, coordination, facilitation, or delegation of marketing and recruitment tactics for the School.
  • Engagement in the School leadership team activities

6. Additional Procedures

6.1 Biennual Review

The School follows the review outlined in the University’s Policy 4340

6.2. Annual Tenure Progress Review

Early in the spring semester of each year, the Respiratory Care Tenure and Promotion Committee will meet to review the progress made by each non-tenured tenure-track faculty member (candidate) during the previous calendar year. 

To facilitate review the candidate must provide required materials (items a through d below) to the School of Respiratory Care Sciences Tenure and Promotion Committee on the first day that faculty return to campus for the Spring Semester. The Respiratory Science Tenure and Promotion Committee shall write a Tenure Progress Review (TPR) that evaluates the candidate’s evidence of teaching, scholarship, service, and if relevant, administration in the context of workload allocation.  The SRCS Tenure and Promotion Committee will meet with the candidate to discuss and evaluate progress, and the candidate’s TPR.  After meeting with the candidate, the SRCS Tenure and Promotion Committee will finalize the TPR, signed by each member of the committee and include details which are required by the COHS and/or University. The candidate will have the opportunity to to acknowledge the TPR.   The TPR shall be forwarded to the candidate, the School’s Divisional Dean, and to the Dean of the College of Health Sciences (COHS) (due February 7).  If needed, the School’s Tenure and Promotion Committee chairperson will meet with the Divisional Dean to discuss the faculty member’s progress.  The TPR shall be placed in the candidate’s Tenure record and become a component of the application for promotion, if needed or may be used.  In addition, the candidate can request a meeting with the School’s Divisional Dean to discuss the review.

The annual tenure report evaluation will be based on:

a. The faculty member’s CV and Annual Activity Report 

b. Results of the evaluation of teaching and mentoring, based  on visitations by the SRCS P&T committee or designee or other appropriate pedagogical experts, examination of student teaching evaluations, course syllabi, learning objectives, teaching materials, and exams provided by the faculty member, and annual activity report.

c. Copies of grant proposals, manuscripts, and publications, each with notation describing the activity that year (e.g., “submitted and accepted by …”).

d. Representative reviews of grant proposals and submitted manuscripts may be submitted by the faculty member if desired.  Such reviews will provide the Respiratory Care Tenure and Promotion Committee with peer input on the merit of submitted proposals and manuscripts.

e. If the candidate desires, they may also submit other records or results of service activities to illustrate their value and impact to both the candidate and the population(s) affected by the service activities.

 The candidate will provide, to the School’s Tenure and Promotion Committee, the following:

a. Course syllabi, teaching materials, exams and all ancillary materials involved in classroom assessment activities.

b. Representative reviews of grant proposals or submitted manuscripts.

c. other records or results of service activities to illustrate their value and impact to both the candidate and the population(s) affected by the service activities.

6.3. Declaring Intent to Apply for Tenure and/or Promotion

Deadlines and requirements follow those outlined in Policy 4340 and COHS Policy 217.

6.4. Application Requirements

Application requirements for promotion are outline in University policy 4340 and 4490. However, in most cases, materials required of all candidates will include:

  • Application letter outlining how candidate meets requirement for promotion and/or tenure in context with the relevant policy.
  • Hiring letter.
  • Current Vita.
  • All annual evaluations by Divisional Dean.
  • A summary of official student evaluations for all courses for at least the past three academic years (This should be in a template form and include an additional narrative to explain any high or low evaluations and/or interject context about changes to course design or pedagogy which may have impacted student evaluations). All student/course evaluations should be included after the summary to include all qualitative and quantitative data.
  • A narrative overview of service contributions
    • A copy of the prior years’ service letters (if applicable).
  • A summary of the significance of accomplishments and their relationship to the faculty member’s workload assignments during the period under review and a discussion of the potential for future achievements (e.g., in the areas of teaching, research, scholarly, and creative activity, and service).
  • Workload assignments for years under review.
  • Statement of Teaching Philosophy.
  • Evidence of teaching accomplishments.
  • Statement of Service Philosophy.
  • Evidence of service accomplishment.
  • Depending on workload allocation, additional documentation related to scholarly activity and/or administrative service will be required. It is recommended that these artifacts are organized in a similar way to those outlined above.

During the review process the following materials will be added:

  • School personnel committee’s recommendation (if in use).
  • Divisional Dean’s recommendation.
  • College tenure and promotion committee’s recommendation.
  • College Dean’s recommendation.

6.4.1 Specific Requirements for Tenure-eligible/Tenured Faculty

Policy 4340 Procedures Items 1-6 are determined by the Provost each year. The items below have been consistent for several years.

  • Adjustments to tenure/promotion timeline.
  • Biennial review statements
  • Statement of Research, Creative, Scholarly Activities Philosophy.
  • Evidence of scholarly activity input and output.
  • For Associate Professor and Professor: External Review Letters.

6.4.2. Specific Requirements Clinical Faculty

Policy 4490 Promotion Folder

  • A concise summary of activities that address the promotion criteria.
  • A copy of the position description for the position held by the applicant.
  • For Assistant and Associate: Letters of support from at least two colleagues holding clinical or tenure-track faculty appointments from any department, school or college at the University.
  • For Professor: External Review Letters.

6.5. Promotion Application Review Procedures

Each level of the tenure and/or promotion review process, including the school-level review, the college-level review, and the University level review, is an independent evaluation of a candidate’s record of performance that makes independent recommendations to the next review level. Later stages of review neither affirm nor reverse earlier recommendations, which remain part of the record for consideration by the President. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the review process to exercise their own judgment to evaluate a faculty member’s teaching, scholarship (where applicable), service, and administration (as applicable) based upon the entirety of the data and information in the record. No single source of information, such as peer review letters, shall be considered a conclusive indicator of quality. Only criteria identified in the SRSCS/ COHS/university guidelines, which have been approved by the faculty, can be considered in decisions.

6.5.1. Responsibilities of the School

When evaluating candidates base on the School criteria, the School will provide clear documentation of rationale for decisions including those that are not in the majority opinion. This summary of dissent can be kept anonymous. The committee and Divisional Dean must adhere to institutional policies, meet deadlines and follow appropriate tenure/promotion processes. Deviations can be used as evidence that the institution breached its obligation to conduct a fair review.

Neither the peer committee nor Divisional Dean can add to the criteria or choose to ignore portions when evaluating a candidate. If the criteria are problematic, it is the School’s responsibility to change them. In circumstances where members of the review committee disagree on interpretations of the guidelines, the School faculty will review the guidelines, draft language to clearly resolve the interpretation differences, and the resulting resolution will be clearly drafted for policy revision upon unanimous faculty vote.

6.5.2. Responsibilities of Candidate

Be familiar with the university, college, and School policies that govern the application process in the School of Respiratory Care Sciences. This includes following deadlines and application requirements.

6.5.3. Responsibilities of School Promotion and Tenure Committee

The committee will follow deadlines outlined in the University and College policies.

The committee will protect the integrity of the Tenure/Promotion Review Process by maintaining confidentiality. Discussing the candidate outside of the formal peer review process is problematic because it may embarrass the candidate, erode the integrity of the review process, undermine the legitimacy of the committee’s recommendation, and/or damage relationships among colleagues. Breaching confidentiality may also lead to disciplinary action. Committee members will annually sign an agreement of confidentiality prior to gaining access to candidate application materials

Each member of the committee will evaluate candidates objectively and rigorously while giving constructive advice/suggestions.

6.5.3.1 Committee Make-up

The committee is annually made up of all School faculty not going up for promotion within that academic year. The Chairperson of the committee will be the Associate Dean of the School or another individual appointed by the Divisional Dean.

The committee may include non-tenured faculty and one (1) or more representatives from outside the candidate’s department if needed. In the evaluation of tenure-track candidates, the SRCS P&T committee must include at least one (1) tenured faculty. Divergence from this composition must be approved by the Faculty Senate.

Persons with a clear conflict of interest or persons who would compromise the impartiality (including a spouse or partner of an individual being considered for tenure) are not able to participate in the evaluation of promotion materials or recommendation.  See Policy 1110 Conflict of Interest or Commitment and Policy 7050 Nepotism Policy.

6.5.4. Responsibilities of the Divisional Dean

The Divisional Dean forwards the promotion folder along with their formal letter of recommendation, any clarifications that may be required on the applicant’s specific responsibilities, written input for tenure, tenure-track and clinical faculty of the School, and a copy of School’s promotion criteria to the College’s Promotion & Tenure Committee by University and College deadlines

The Divisional Dean’s letter should:

  • make the case for (or against) promotion and/or tenure based on the information contained in the candidate’s dossier, the department P&T committee, and the department criteria.
  • discuss performance during the relevant time period (i.e., past five years for tenure or since last promotion for advancement).
  • support conclusions with evidence.
  • discuss evidence that is contradictory to the recommendation (e.g., a negative external review letter).
  • avoid implicit bias.