Tenured/Tenure-Track Recruitment & Hiring Guidelines
Title Descriptions
Conferral of PhD
Teaching Limitations
Benefits Eligibility
Background Checks
COVID Vaccination Requirement
Tenure Clock Delay Option for Spring Hires
Hires with Tenure
Records Retention Period
Title Descriptions
Distinguished professors (job code 1100). This title is extended by the Board of Regents to recognize the outstanding contributions of tenured full professors to their academic disciplines. The faculty awarded this title must demonstrate accomplishments in accordance with the following criteria: (a) excellence in the promotion of learning and student attainment of knowledge and skills; (b) distinguished performance in scholarly/creative work; and (c) outstanding leadership and service to the profession and to CU and/or affiliate institutions. The title “distinguished” implies that there will be a limited number of faculty members holding this title.
Professors (job code 1101), also called “full professors”, should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or its equivalent, and; (a) a record that, taken as a whole, may be judged to be excellent; (b) a record significant contribution to graduate and/or undergraduate education, unless individual or departmental circumstances can be shown to require a strong emphasis, or singular focus, on one or the other; and (c) a record since receiving tenure or promotion to associate professor that includes substantial, significant, and continued growth, development, and accomplishment in teaching, research/creative work, and service.
Associate professors (job code 1102) should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or its equivalent, considerable successful teaching experience, and promising accomplishment in scholarship or in research. Normally the award of tenure accompanies appointment to or promotion to associate professor, except at the School of Medicine where tenure may be granted at any point in the faculty member's career when he/she meets the School’s standards for tenure.
Assistant professors (job code 1103) appointed to tenure track positions should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or its equivalent, plus some teaching experience. They should be well-qualified to teach at the undergraduate or graduate levels and possess qualifications for research or scholarship in a special field or clinical discipline.
Conferral of PhD
If the hire is contingent upon conferral of PhD, proof needs to be submitted to the Office of Faculty Affairs no later than the start of the semester. If PhD requirements are not met in time, the appointment will be at the rank of Instructor with a reduced compensation amount and the faculty member will be allowed up to two academic years to complete PhD. The appointment will then be converted to the rank of Assistant Professor at the beginning of the semester after the one in which the requirements for PhD are met and the compensation will be adjusted at the same time.
Teaching Limitations
Full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty may teach one additional course per semester above the standard teaching expectation for their department, including courses taught on all CU campuses and through Continuing Education with one exception; self-paced courses taught through Continuing Education do not count against teaching limits. Faculty members holding chair and associate chair appointments are not eligible for overloads.
Benefits Eligibility
Tenured and tenure-track faculty with 50% appointments or greater are eligible for benefits, including retirement benefits, and are eligible for leave as outlined under the “Sabbaticals & Leaves” section.
Background Checks
Per CU Boulder's background check policy, a background check must be conducted at reappointment or promotion review if a background check has not been processed within three years. The college interprets this to mean that if the background check was passed more than three years prior to the start of the reappointment period, the faculty member must undergo a criminal background check at time of offer letter for the reappointment.
Note: The standard progressions from assistant professor to associate professor to full professor are not considered to be "promotions" and are exempt from the background check requirement every three years after initial hire.
The date in which the most recent background check was processed is found in HCM in Personal Information on the "CU Personal Data" tab.
COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
All University of Colorado Boulder employees are required to comply with the campus COVID-19 vaccine requirement. New employees must provide proof of vaccination or receive a medical or religious exemption within 30 days of employment.
Tenure Clock Delay Option for Spring Hires
When a tenured/tenure-track faculty member begins in the spring semester (January), they can request that their tenure clock be delayed by one semester, per the Boulder Campus Policy pertaining to Adjustments to the Tenure Clock. For example, using a start date of January 6, 2022, by filling out the request to waive the first semester of service, the tenure clock would start in Fall 2022, moving comprehensive review to Academic Year 2025-26 and tenure review to Academic Year 2028-29. The initial offer letter dates are not altered, but rather follow the standard template.
To request a tenure clock delay, the unit HR liaison in conjunction with the faculty member and the Department Chair submit this request online through the Office of Faculty Affairs website. This agreement is binding, so faculty should obtain advice from their Department Chair prior to submission.
Hires with Tenure
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 or are 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 (e.g., 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 letters from external referees must be included in the file; three 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 included in the following sample template. Please see below for guidance regarding the preparation of the dossier.
Please note: The identities of all external reviewers must be kept confidential from the candidate and those outside the primary unit evaluation committee.
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 letters from independent reviewers via this sample template.
Preparation of the Dossier
For both types of hire with tenure, the department prepares a dossier documenting the candidate’s qualifications, following the appropriate VCAC checklist.
Candidates are to be given copies of the Chair and PUEC 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 assembled dossier is sent to the Dean's Office for review by the First Level Review Committee (FLRC). After addition of the FLRC and Dean’s letters of recommendation, the 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, the dossier should be received by the Dean’s Office shortly after the candidate has accepted the position, but no later than mid-April for a fall semester hire with tenure. If this timeline cannot be accomplished, the new faculty member may need to wait until the spring semester to start their tenured appointment. Alternatively, a temporary, non-tenure-track appointment could be used to allow the individual to start work at CU prior to the approval of tenure by the Regents.
Records Retention Period
Search records specific to the search committee's process should be retained by the unit according to the CU Boulder Record Retention Schedule. All applicant materials are retained in CU Careers.
*All search committee notes are to be destroyed at the conclusion of the search.