In addition to an offer letter, candidates must have the tenure portion of the appointment approved by the Board of Regents prior the start of the appointment. There are two slightly different sets of documentation required for hires with tenure, depending upon the type of hire as outlined below: 

Faculty Who Have Not Yet Been Tenured / Being Offered a Position at a Higher Level   

Incoming faculty members who have not received tenure at comparable institutions, and those who are coming in at a higher level (those going from associate to full professor), must go through a process similar to the university’s standard promotion and tenure review process. 

As is the case for the standard review, at least six (6) letters from external referees must be included in the file; three (3) of which may be the same people who wrote letters of recommendation for the candidate’s application for the position. The unit is responsible for contacting and requesting letters from all six referees, which specifically address the promotion/tenure questions via the external review letter on OFA's website. Please see below for guidance regarding preparation of the dossier. 

Please note: the identities of all external reviewers must be kept confidential. 

Faculty Who Are Joining CU with Tenure at the Same Level from a Comparable Institution 

This category includes faculty whose newly tenured appointment has been approved at the highest level at a comparable institution, regardless of the effective date. 

Units with faculty that have been tenured elsewhere at the same level (associate or full professor) must prepare a slightly different set of documentation for review. For these hires, the unit follows the VCAC Checklist for Appointments (Hires) with Tenure.  

For those who have previously been tenured at the same level, the requirement for external letters of recommendation may be met with the same letters that were received with the application. No additional letters and no vitae from the external referees are necessary for most of these cases. The dean's office may, in some instances, request up to three (3) letters from independent reviewers via the following template. 

Preparation of the Dossier 

For both types of hire with tenure, the department prepares two dossiers (one original and one copy) documenting the candidate’s qualifications, following the appropriate checklist. 

Candidates are to be given copies of the chair and subcommittee letters by the department, just as any candidate undergoing comprehensive, promotion and/or tenure review. 

Be sure to read both the checklist and the description for the checklist, which follows immediately after the checklist. The regents require a document called "Justification for Tenure" that includes an explanation of how the personnel action fits into the unit’s plans, a statement of the specific merit of the candidate, the unit’s tenure ratio and the faculty vote. This is separate from the "Statement of Primary Unit," and also is written by the department. 

The assembled notebooks, along with a disk containing the documents as shown on the checklist, are sent to the dean's office for review by the Arts and Sciences Personnel Committee. After addition of Personnel Committee and dean’s letters of support, the original dossier is sent by the dean’s office to the vice chancellor for faculty affairs. The offer of tenure must be approved by the Board of Regents before the candidate may begin his or her tenured appointment with the university. 

  • It takes several months before the tenure offer is reviewed by the Board of Regents. 
    •  In order for the tenure approval to be in place by the start date, a completed dossier should be available during the final negotiations.  
    • The Dossier must be sent to CAS Faculty Affairs no later than March 1 or immediately after acceptance of offer.  
    • Faculty hires with tenure who have not had their dossier reviewed and approved prior to their effective start date will be hired into a visiting appointment. Please notify CAS Faculty Affairs to initiate this required additional appointment. 

 

Reviewed 26 January 2024