Dear Faculty Relations听鈥撎齅y department is about to hire an excellent new tenure-track assistant professor from another university where she has already served as a faculty member for 3 years. She is asking whether her work at her current institution can count toward tenure here. How should I advise her?听鈥撎鼵hair Wanting to Give Good Advice听
Dear Wanting听鈥撎齌his is a great question! The Boulder campus follows the occasionally granting new Assistant Professors 1-3 鈥測ears of credit鈥� towards tenure at the time of hire, if they have experience as an Assistant Professor at another university. In advising your potential new hire, ensure she understands that new faculty should only opt for years of credit towards tenure if they have substantial work from those years that fulfills the departmental criteria for excellence in scholarly and creative work. It鈥檚 imperative to note that taking years of credit is a binding decision that cannot be rescinded at a later time, and results in a shortened probationary period and tenure clock. If she lacks significant accomplishments during those years, it would be more prudent/advantageous for her to come to CU Boulder with the full 7-year probationary period.听
If they have met the , any faculty member can go up early for tenure. So, even if she decides not to take official years of credit towards tenure, your new faculty member could still earn tenure sooner than the full 7-year tenure clock. It would be advisable for the faculty member to consult with you and other mentors as she is making the decision of when to stand for tenure.听
Remember that you can always consult with the Office of Faculty Affairs for advice on questions like these. Good luck recruiting her!听
Written by Michele S. Moses, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, February 2024.