Operating Procedures for Granting Academic Tenure and Promotion

These procedures supplement the policy on Academic Tenure and Promotion (I.B.2). Refer to the policy for contact information and applicable definitions. For policy and procedures governing clinical faculty, please see the policy on Clinical/Professional Faculty Appointment and Promotion (VI.F.10) and for rules governing research faculty, see the policy on Research Faculty Appointment and Promotion (VI.F.8). These operating procedure expectations apply to all Purdue system campuses unless a variation is explicitly designated for regional campus faculty. Campus-specific requirements for Purdue Northwest (PNW) and Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) are provided in their respective operating procedures.

Effective date: March 16, 2026

Procedures 

1. 1. Nominations
      1. Prior to the beginning of the academic year, the chair of the Primary Committee or Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA), as the case may be, publishes a timetable setting forth the dates of the committee meetings and suitable deadlines for faculty members to update their files and to receive and react to the appropriate segments of a nomination for Tenure and/or promotion. The chair convenes the Primary Committee at the beginning of each academic year.
      2. Faculty members who are in the penultimate year of their Probationary Period are automatically nominated for Tenure and promotion and voted on by the Primary Committee, unless the faculty member specifically requests otherwise in writing at any step in the process. Tenure-track faculty members are permitted only one evaluation for Tenure. Nominations for Tenure and promotion prior to the penultimate year require the support of at least two members of the Primary Committee, and the consent of the candidate. All nominations for tenure are held to the same expectations for evidence of accomplishments and impact in discovery, learning, and engagement, irrespective of the timing of the nomination with respect to the tenure clock. A nomination counts as an evaluation as soon as external evaluation letters are requested. Evaluation of candidates in the final year of their Probationary Period may be allowed in rare circumstances and requires prior approval by the Provost or VCAA, as the case may be. An example for granting this request is evidence of significant productivity during the penultimate year, as documented by the department head and dean.
      3. Faculty members who consider themselves ready for promotion may nominate themselves once every three years and have their case considered by the Primary Committee. Faculty may also be nominated by a member of the Primary Committee each year. For probationary faculty, a self-nomination counts as their one attempt at tenure.
      4. It is possible that a faculty member received an extension of his/her Probationary Period by virtue of the procedures outlined in Section V of these procedures. Under these circumstances, the criteria for Tenure and promotion are the same in terms of both quantity and quality; committees may not impose additional requirements on candidates with extensions when compared to those without extensions. When applicable or appropriate, this language will be included in the request for an external evaluation letter.
   2. Review, Voting and Approval
      1. Throughout the entire review process, Primary, Area and Campus Promotions Committee members respond to each Tenure or promotion nomination as individuals, interpreting achievements described in the nomination documents in light of standards appropriate for the nominee’s discipline and the applicable campus’s Criteria for Tenure and Promotion. In the course of these evaluations, open and candid discussions are a critical element to informing each committee member of the candidate’s accomplishments. The confidentiality of remarks made at such meetings should, therefore, be carefully preserved and restricted to those within the promotions process to allow for full, fair and free discussion of the merits of the case. Nothing in this provision of confidentiality allows participants in primary or other promotion committees to engage in illegal, unethical or inappropriate behavior with impunity.
      2. Given the sensitive and confidential nature of discussions, all promotion committee meetings that consider and vote on tenure and promotion cases require in-person attendance. Exceptions need approval of the chair of the committee and the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (VPFA) or VCAA. Committee members who have a Conflict of Interest with a particular candidate must recuse themselves from all discussion and deliberations of a candidate’s case. All eligible members participating in Primary or Area Committee deliberations are required to participate in all substantive discussions of a candidate’s record and to submit a ballot on all candidates. Eligible members of all committees must be present to submit a ballot. Recusals, blank ballots and otherwise un-submitted ballots are not counted as votes. Other than the chair of the committee, non-voting members should be limited to one faculty member who may assist with facilitating the meeting and/or providing clarifications on policy. Exceptions need approval of the chair of the committee and the VPFA or VCAA. Faculty on leave or sabbaticals are not precluded from attending and voting in promotion committee meetings which they belong to. Additional attendance requirements and the specific rules governing the meaning of participation for the members of the Primary, Area, and Campus Promotions Committees are determined by the committee chair or an academic officer with authority commensurate with or higher than the committee level, in consultation with committee members.
      3. Each nomination is first considered and discussed by the Primary Committee, after which, members cast a written ballot for the individual candidate. The result of the ballot is recorded on the Nomination for Promotion form (President’s Office Form 36). In addition to providing for a “yes” or “no” vote, the ballot provides an opportunity to show reasons for the vote, with space allocated for comments and/or explanations. The reasons for all votes are expected to be provided, but this is especially important in the case of negative votes since comments can be the basis for feedback for faculty improvement. Unless otherwise noted in the campus committee structure, the chair of the committee does not cast a vote. Rather, her/his recommendation appears separate from the Primary Committee’s recommendation on the Nomination for Promotion form.
      4. Those candidates who receive a simple majority vote are sent forward to the Area Committee for review, unless the candidate chooses to withdraw his/her candidacy at this stage. In addition, the chair of the Primary Committee may endorse a candidate who does not receive the majority vote and send forward the nomination with his/her statement providing a rationale for the divergence from the Primary Committee. The Area Committee follows the same process as the Primary Committee described in II.C above.
      5. Those candidates who receive a simple majority vote of the Area Committee are forwarded to the Campus Promotions Committee along with documentation of whether and why the candidate also has the chair’s endorsement. The chair also may endorse and/or send forward those candidates who do not receive a majority of the Area Committee with a statement including the rationale for sending the case forward.
      6. The Campus Promotions Committee reviews the recommendations of the Primary and Area Committees. Each nomination is considered individually and voted on by written ballot. All candidates who receive the supporting vote of a simple majority of the Campus Promotions Committee will be recommended to the next level as outlined below. The chair of the Campus Promotions Committee will include his/her endorsement and comments, where appropriate, on the Nomination for Promotion form. In cases where the candidate’s recommendation for Tenure and/or promotion was supported by at least two-thirds of the Area Committee, but is not approved by the Campus Promotions Committee, the candidate’s dean or department head/chair may request from the Campus Promotions Committee chair a written explanation for non-approval.
         
         1. On the West Lafayette campus, Nomination for Promotion forms are forwarded to the Provost, who reviews, includes his/her recommendation, and forwards recommendations to the President.
         2. On Regional Campuses, the Nomination for Promotion form is transmitted to the Chancellor, who reviews, includes his/her recommendations, and forwards recommendations to the Provost. The Provost reviews, includes his/her recommendation and forwards his/her recommendations to the President.
         Upon receipt of the Nomination for Promotion form, the President makes his/her recommendation to the Board of Trustees for final action.
      7. Faculty members will be advised of their promotion progress within 10 business days by their department head/chair after the Primary Committee review and by their dean after the Area and Campus Promotions Committee reviews. The reasons for negative decisions will be conveyed to the faculty member within this same time frame. Official notice will be sent to Tenured and/or promoted faculty members after the President and the Board of Trustees approve the recommendations.
      8. Out-of-cycle promotion and tenure are uncommon and follow an expedited version of the process outlined in D-G above, in consultation with the VPFA. Out-of-cycle nominations are generally not permitted except in rare circumstances and only with written approval from the head, dean, and Provost. Candidates who are considered for an out-of-cycle promotion must meet the same expectations for evidence of accomplishments and impact in discovery, learning, and engagement as regular promotions. Out-of-cycle nominations adhere to all the requirements of the standard promotion process on an expedited schedule (this includes external evaluation letters, deliberation and votes by the Primary, Area, and Campus Promotion Committees, and endorsements of their respective chairs). In anticipation of out-of-cycle promotions, Primary, Area, and Campus Committee meetings may be scheduled on a regular cadence throughout the year (e.g., monthly) and canceled when not needed.
      9. The process outlined in D-G above does not cover new faculty appointments that include the awarding of Tenure with an offer of employment. Immediate Tenure requires an endorsement by either the Primary or Area Committee, a recommendation by the dean, approval by the Chancellor (as applicable) and approval by the Provost.
      10. Faculty with joint appointments participate and vote in Tenure and promotion proceedings only within the department listed as their Tenure home. Exceptions need the approval of the Dean and VPFA or VCAA.
   3. Tenure Effective Dates
      1. For Tenure requests within the normal promotion timeline, Tenure is effective with the start of the next academic year following approval. If Tenure is requested and approved outside of the normal promotion timeline, it will be effective with the start of the semester following approval. For example, Tenure approvals in the fall semester will be effective the following spring semester. Spring semester approvals will be effective with the start of the next academic year for academic-year faculty and the start of the next fiscal year for fiscal-year faculty. Approvals in the summer will be effective at the beginning of the next academic year for both academic-year and fiscal-year faculty.
      2. In cases where Tenure is awarded with an offer of employment, Tenure is effective with the start date of the contract.
   4. Documentation
      1. Nomination for Promotion form (President’s Office Form 36)
         
         A Nomination for Promotion form must be completed for all faculty members as described below.
         1. All Tenure-track faculty members in the penultimate year of their Probationary Period, regardless of the vote at the Primary or Area Committees and even if the faculty member has chosen not to be reviewed.
         2. Faculty members who are nominated for Tenure and receive a majority affirmative vote from the Primary Committee, regardless of their year in rank.
         3. Faculty members who are nominated for promotion to associate professor or professor and receive a majority affirmative vote from the Area Committee, regardless of their year in rank.
      2. Supporting Documents
         1. Supporting documents are not required with the Nomination for Promotion form if the faculty member is in the penultimate year of his/her Probationary Period and has chosen not to be considered for promotion.
         2. Each campus must determine and clearly disseminate in writing expectations for evaluation letters that are to be included in a candidate’s documentation for Tenure and promotion. The campus may allow each college/school to set these expectations. Minimally, the expectations must include the number of letters, internal versus external reviewers and the acceptability of the nature of reviewers’ relationships with the candidate (e.g., collaborators, co-authors, former mentors). The Candidate has the opportunity to suggest letter writers and to identify those letter writers who should not be asked.
            
            It should be noted to external reviewers that, under Purdue University policies, their replies will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. The following statement should be included in all external evaluation letter requests:
            
            Candidates may request a summary of all evaluations in their file; however, sources remain confidential. We cannot guarantee that at some future time
            a court or government agency will not require the disclosure of the source of confidential evaluations. Purdue University will endeavor to protect the identity
            of authors of letters of evaluations to the fullest extent allowable under law.
         3. The department/school head/chair is responsible for making sure candidates are aware of their right to review and augment the Nomination for Promotion form as outlined below and is responsible for communicating the timetable of relevant meetings to all candidates.
         4. Candidates will be given the opportunity to help create and review their promotion documentation and may receive a copy of any document (with confidential department head/chair and dean’s statements omitted), excluding letters, that will be submitted to the Primary, Area and/or Campus Promotions Committee(s). Prior to submission to the Primary Committee, it is the right of candidates to have included in their departmental file whatever the candidate chooses to add, including the candidate’s own brief comments about teaching, research, creative activities, service or engagement. Candidates may choose to attach or append their comments to the promotion document.
         5. Candidates may include a statement highlighting and explaining the contribution of their interdisciplinary activities. This statement may include the candidate’s relative contribution to the projects that are listed. Departments/schools may wish to ask for additional advisory input on the interdisciplinary accomplishments as appropriate. This may include review from both Purdue and non-Purdue faculty members.
         6. Leadership, including evidence of intellectual independence, is a key criterion for promotion. When leadership cannot be readily demonstrated through conventional indicators, candidates are expected to clearly articulate their individual roles and contributions to collaborative work. This clarification should be provided through a credit statement or an equivalent mechanism that explicitly delineates the candidate’s responsibilities and leadership contributions. In addition, candidates may include supporting statements from collaborators that describe the candidate’s contributions and responsibilities. Collaborators may provide external letters if any personal or professional relationship is disclosed and if departmental or school policy permits such letter.
         7. Documentation of discovery, learning and engagement accomplishments will depend on the disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields in which the scholar works. Candidates should consult the campus Criteria for Tenure and Promotion as well as department and college guidelines to determine the standards for minimal levels of accomplishment and excellence in these fields on their campus.
         8. The documentation for candidates for Tenure and/or promotion who remain in consideration beyond the Primary Committee level, should contain, if appropriate: basis of nomination, prior experience, teaching assignments and evaluations of performance, any curricular innovations or special activities which may have contributed to teaching effectiveness, research responsibilities and achievements, extension and engagement assignments and evaluation of performance, scholarly work in progress, publications, administrative and committee responsibilities, other pertinent activities (membership and positions held in professional societies, consultation, committee and public service, etc.), prospects for future development, comments and recommendations by the department head/chair, and a standard/minimum number of evaluation letters as established by the college/school for the applicable type of Tenure and/or promotion on that campus. A letter of assessment from the department/school head of each minority appointment held by the candidate shall be included in the candidate’s promotion document prior to the Primary Committee Promotion meeting. Upon request, the candidate’s promotion materials and external letters should be made available to the head(s) of the minority department(s)/school(s). Documentation should also report the vote of the Primary and Area Committees where applicable. The Provost, in consultation with the VCAA, will issue instructions for completing the Nomination for Promotion form.
         9. In order to allow Primary Committee members sufficient time to review promotion documents, and provide an opportunity for factual errors to be identified and corrected before the document is frozen the chair of the Primary Committee should observe the following timelines:
            1. At least two weeks before the Primary Committee meeting: A final version of the promotion document, including all external letters received up to that point should be shared with the Primary Committee.
            2. During the two week review period and up to 24 hours before the Primary Committee meeting, the only changes allowed to the document are corrections of factual errors or inaccuracies, and inclusion of any additional external evaluation letters received. Committee members are encouraged to identify any concerns as early as possible to allow the candidate and head to make corrections.
            3. 24 hours before the Primary Committee meeting an updated promotion document with any corrections of factual inaccuracies, additional external evaluation letters should be shared with the committee, along with a separate note summarizing changes made after the initial sharing of the document.
         10. The promotion document is then frozen 24 hours before the Primary Committee meeting at which the case is discussed and voted on. No further changes (with the exception of minor typographical errors) can be made to the document.
             1. Colleges may choose to adopt earlier timelines for both sharing and freezing promotion documents in their written Tenure and promotion procedures; however, any deviations from these timelines must nonetheless provide Primary Committee members with a reasonable time period for review and, where applicable, corrections.
             2. For instance, colleges that have a practice of freezing the promotion document once it is shared with external reviewers should aim to share the final version with the Primary Committee at least two weeks before the document is sent out to external reviewers.
             3. Promotion documents should be shared with Area and Campus Promotions Committees at least two weeks before their respective meetings.
         11. Any additional accomplishments or updates that occur after the document is frozen should be communicated by the head and/or dean/EVPR on behalf of the candidate, for example, by including the information on the Nomination for Promotion form (President’s Office Form 36) Part I or in a written document shared at the Area and Campus Promotions Committee meetings.
   5. Extensions of the Probationary Period
      1. Purdue recognizes that faculty may encounter circumstances that interrupt or prevent progress toward professional and scholarly achievement. This is an especially critical issue for faculty working toward Tenure within a limited and specified timeframe. The process outlined below provides faculty the opportunity to seek an extension of the Probationary Period when certain situations arise that slow or hinder achieving Tenure.
      2. Deans and department heads/chairs have a responsibility to inform faculty of this process, especially upon recognition that a qualified faculty member’s progress toward Tenure may be impeded by circumstances cited below. Faculty members are encouraged to discuss this process with their department heads/chair when qualifying circumstances arise or are anticipated.
      3. A one-year automatic approval will be granted for birth or adoption of a child, provided the faculty member submits a Request for Probationary Period Extension form to the Provost or VCAA, as the case may be, within one year of the birth or adoption of a child and prior to the penultimate year of his/her Probationary Period. This provision applies to either or both parents. Upon approval, the Provost will initiate a revised Appointment to the Faculty form (President’s Office Form 19) that reflects the change to the end of the maximum Probationary Period. The Provost or VCAA distributes notification of the adjustment in the Probationary Period to the deans and department heads/chairs.
      4. When conditions and personal circumstances arise that substantially interfere with progress toward achieving Tenure, a faculty member may request that his/her Probationary Period be extended. Justifiable conditions for granting extensions include, but are not restricted to, severe illness or disability or the need to care for a family member, unanticipated destruction of research materials or assigned lab space or equipment, or unexpected obstacles to field research. Approval of the request is at the discretion of the Provost or VCAA, as the case may be. Verification that the conditions leading to the request occurred or continue to exist and that the faculty member demonstrated progress toward Tenure prior to the onset of the conditions will be made. Requests for extensions in these cases are to be made as soon after the conditions that precipitated the request as possible, but no later than the start of the penultimate year of the Probationary Period, with a recommendation that ordinarily the request be submitted within one year of the event prompting the extension. The steps for initiation, review and approval are as follows:
         1. Except in the cases of automatic extensions pursuant to Section V.C, above, the faculty member submits to the department head/chair a completed Request for Probationary Period Extension form.
         2. The department head/chair forwards it to the dean with their recommendation. The department head/chair and dean ascertain, to the best of their knowledge, that the conditions cited in the request are valid.
         3. If the dean approves the request, he/she forwards it to the Provost or VCAA, as the case may be.
         4. If the Provost/VCAA approves the request, he/she initiates a revised Appointment to the Faculty form to reflect the change to the end of the maximum Probationary Period.
         5. Any faculty member who feels it necessary to appeal a decision may utilize established grievance procedures (see Section VII for more information).
      5. Ordinarily, approvals for extensions are for one year. However, Tenure-track faculty with part-time appointments may request an extension of the Probationary Period for up to three years following the steps above.
      6. A faculty member whose initial appointment is on a full-time basis and is adjusted to a part-time basis during the first three years of service to the University may request an extension equivalent to the Probationary Period for those who begin with a part-time appointment.
      7. Refer to Section I.D when considering faculty members for Tenure and promotion who have been granted an extension to their Probationary Period.
   6. Review of Negative Tenure and Promotion Decisions
      1. Upon receipt of a negative Tenure or promotion decision, candidates may submit in writing to their dean a request for a written statement of the reasons for the decision. The candidate must submit his/her request within 15 business days of receiving the decision, and the dean must provide the written statement to the candidate within 15 business days of receiving the request. The written statement provided to the candidate should not contain confidential outside letters or confidential summary statements.
      2. Candidates who believe the decision was based on one or more of the reasons listed below may submit to the VPFA or VCAA, as the case may be, a written request for reconsideration. The request must be submitted within 20 business days of receiving the written statement of reasons, specify the grounds for the request and include any new material germane to the issue.
      3. Grounds for Requesting Reconsideration
         1. Evidence of grossly inadequate consideration of professional competence
         2. Evidence of judgments based on erroneous or misinterpreted information
      4. Within 20 business days of the receipt of the written request for reconsideration, the VPFA or VCAA, in consultation with the department/school head/chair and/or dean, will determine whether the request meets one of criteria outlined above and whether reasonable and adequate grounds support the candidate’s allegations that the negative decision was improperly based. The VPFA or VCAA will not make a determination on the merits of the candidate’s suitability for Tenure or promotion.
      5. If the finding is that the negative decision was not improperly based, the VPFA or VCAA will report this in writing to the candidate and no further action is necessary.
      6. If the finding is that reasonable and adequate grounds support the candidate’s allegations that the negative decision was improperly based, the VPFA or VCAA will recommend that the candidate’s case be considered at the next level. Cases denied at the Primary Committee level will be considered by the Area Committee and cases denied at the Area Committee level will be considered by the Campus Promotions Committee.
   7. Established Grievance Procedures
      1. Complaints of procedural fairness may be brought forward in accordance with the policy on Faculty Grievances (I.B.1).
      2. Complaints of discrimination may be brought forward in accordance with the policy on Equal Opportunity, Equal Access and Affirmative Action (III.C.2).

History and Updates

March 16, 2026: Updates provide greater clarity and consistency for promotion and tenure procedures including the timing of document sharing, single evaluation for tenure, promotion committee attendance rules, out-of-cycle promotions, expectations for faculty with joint appointments, and intellectual leadership.

November 15, 2022: Section II.J. was added, on out-of-cycle promotion.

January 7, 2022: Appendix A, which contained the promotion committee structures of each campus, was deleted.  The committee structures of each campus are now accessed from links in the “Related Documents, Forms, and Tools” section of the Policy document (Academic Tenure and Promotion (I.B.2)).  

January 1, 2016: Procedures established as separate document in support of the policy on Academic Tenure and Promotion (I.B.2). The requirements of this document supersede those outlined in section II of the Principles and Policies for Academic Freedom, Responsibilities, and Tenure, and Procedures for Termination for Cause (Executive Memorandum No. B-48).