REG 05.20.31 – Tenure Clock

Authority: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

History: First Issued: Fall 2002. Last Revised: October 15, 2024.

Additional References:
NCSU REG05.20.07 – EHRA Employment and Pay Periods
Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure: Mandatory Review Dates
College RPT Liaisons

Contact Info: Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence (919-513-7741)

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 NCSU POL05.20.01 –Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Permanent Tenure provides for an extension of the time during which the institutional decision must be made regarding reappointment, promotion, and tenure and authorizes the Chancellor or Chancellor’s designee to extend the term of appointment of an untenured, tenure-track faculty member only in documented cases of compelling circumstances which are determined to have the potential to significantly delay the progress of development of the faculty member’s program. The chancellor has delegated this authority to the Provost (NCSU POL01.05.01 – Board of Trustees (BOT) Bylaws (Appendix I).

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 Tenure Clock Extension: Change in end date of contract that results in the required review time for reappointment or promotion and conferral of tenure to be one (1) year later. The end date is specified in the appointment letter, reappointment letter, or a prior approved tenure clock extension notification. End date information can also be found in MyPack Portal or obtained by the department or college Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT) Liaison.

2.2 Mandatory Year: Academic year that candidate must be reviewed for reappointment, promotion, and tenure, as determined by the end date of the contract to allow for a terminal year if tenure or reappointment is not achieved. See section 4.4 Timeline Considerations.

2.3 Automatically Granted: Extensions as a result of circumstances described in section 4.1 of this regulation will be approved automatically through a notification form initiated by the university. Faculty members may choose to “opt out” of these extensions.

2.4 Granted Upon Request: Extensions as a result of circumstances described in section 4.2 of this regulation will be approved on request through a notification form initiated by the faculty member. Faculty members must “opt in” to these extensions.

2.5 Granted Upon Review: Extensions that may be approved or denied based on review following request through a notification form initiated by the faculty member.

2.6 Early Promotion and Conferral of Tenure: Early promotions and conferral of tenure are those cases for which the action is recommended at a time earlier than the required mandatory review.

3. BASIS FOR TENURE CLOCK EXTENSION

3.1 Extensions are intended to accommodate faculty and the institution in those cases in which compelling circumstances have the potential to significantly delay the development of the faculty member’s program on the normal schedule dictated by the original appointment term. Standards for tenure and promotion review remain the same, whether or not an extension is granted. Examples of compelling circumstances include:

3.1.1 A personal serious health condition; care for a child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent with a serious health condition; birth or care for a newborn; care for an adopted or foster child; and care for a family member injured while on active duty for the Armed Services. For the purpose of tenure-clock extensions, references to “family” or “household” include domestic partnerships, although this definition does not apply to eligibility for paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or NCSU POL05.30.01 – Medical and Parental Leave for 9-Month Faculty.

For information on paid sick or parental leave for nine-month faculty, see NCSU POL05.30.01 – Medical and Parental Leave for 9-Month Faculty.

3.1.2 Major disruption of key services and support beyond the reasonable control of the faculty member.

3.1.3 Major program redirection beyond the reasonable control of the faculty member.

3.1.4 Other professional or personal circumstances that have the potential to significantly delay the development of the faculty member’s program.

3.2 Applications for extensions should be made before the start of the departmental RPT review process for the mandatory year. Applications after that date are considered exceptional. A faculty member is responsible for checking with the Department Head to ascertain when the faculty member’s departmental RPT review process begins.

3.3 Automatically granted extensions and extensions granted upon request, as described in sections 4.1 and 4.2 will be for one (1) year. A maximum of two (2) automatically granted or granted upon request extensions will be permitted for assistant professors, such that the notification regarding conferral of tenure shall not be postponed beyond the eighth year of service following the start of the assistant professor’s first appointment. Other extensions as described in section 4.3 will normally be for one (1) year; extensions for more than one (1) year are considered exceptional.

3.4 In the case of a tenure clock extension, the faculty member will have the option to be reviewed in either the original mandatory year or the new mandatory year set by the extension. Both years will be considered normal review years; i.e., not “early” (section 2.4). When the faculty member opts to be reviewed in the original mandatory year for reappointment or for promotion and tenure, they relinquish the tenure clock extension. Therefore, if the reappointment or tenure decision is negative, the faculty member does not receive another review; the denial serves as the 12-month notice that the faculty member’s contract will end at the conclusion of the next year.

3.4.1 If the faculty member wants to be reviewed in their original mandatory year they must inform the Department Head before the start of the departmental RPT process for that year. Faculty members should check with their Department Heads to ascertain when the departmental review process begins.

3.5 In accordance with NCSU POL05.20.01 –Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Permanent Tenure , the decision and notification regarding conferral of tenure shall not be postponed beyond the eighth year of service (including any approved extensions) from the first appointment as assistant professor. In extraordinary circumstances, the Chancellor or Chancellor’s designee (the Provost) may approve postponing the decision and notification regarding conferral of tenure beyond the eighth year of service.

4. PROCEDURES

4.1 Automatically Granted Clock Extensions: Extensions initiated by the university are granted automatically and are applied to the faculty member’s tenure clock unless the faculty member declines the extension.

4.1.1 All faculty who receive “opt-out” (i.e., automatically granted) extensions should carefully review the timeline considerations provided in section 4.4 of this regulation.

4.1.2 In the case of a faculty member who receives sixty (60) days or longer of FML or Paid Parental Leave for any reason including a new child in the family, the Leave Administrator in University Human Resources will email a Notification of sixty (60) days Approved Family Leave form to the Department Head, copied to the faculty member and the College Human Resources (HR) Office and the Office of the Provost, confirming that the faculty member has been granted a one-year tenure clock extension.

4.1.3 A maximum of two (2) automatic extensions of one (1) year each will be granted for assistant professors, even if the faculty member declined the extensions, while all other extensions will be considered using the process described in section 4.3.

4.2. Granted Upon Request Clock Extensions: These extensions must be requested by the faculty member or their department but are automatically granted in the Office of the Provost.

4.2.1 All faculty who receive “opt-in” (i.e., automatically granted) extensions should carefully review the timeline considerations provided in section 4.4 of this regulation.

4.2.2 In the case of a faculty member with a new child in the family or household who did not receive sixty (60) days or longer of FML or Paid Parental Leave, the faculty member may request a tenure clock extension within one (1) year following the birth, adoption, or placement of a foster child. Such requests must be reviewed in the Office of the Provost, but do not require Provost approval; rather, they will be granted if, the faculty member completes a Notification of a Birth, Adoption, or Placement of a Foster Child form [Form # PRV-004] that is signed by the faculty member, Department Head, and Dean and then routed to the Office of the Provost from the College HR Office. Requests after this one-year window are not automatically granted, but will be considered using the process described in Section 4.3.

4.2.2. Clock extensions granted automatically or upon request may still be relinquished at the option of the faculty member; that is, faculty members who have requested and received such an extension may decline to use it and be reviewed in their originally-planned review year as described in section 3.4, above.

4.2.3 A maximum of two (2) automatic extensions of one (1) year each will be granted for assistant professors, while all other extensions will be considered using the process described in section 4.3.

4.3. Extensions Granted Upon Review: These extensions must be requested by the faculty member, their Department Head or their Dean, and must be approved by the Provost. These requests should be requested by completing the PRV-002 form that is signed by the faculty member, department head, and dean and then routed to the Office of the Provost from the College HR Office.

4.3.1. All faculty receiving extensions reviewed and granted by the Provost should carefully review the timeline considerations in section 4.4 of this regulation.

4.3.2. All other requests for tenure clock extensions that are not covered by sections 4.1 or 4.2, above, must be initiated by the faculty member, the Department Head, or the Dean.

4.3.3 Based on consultation with the faculty member and the Department Head, the Dean will determine whether to request an extension.

4.3.4 Extension requests shall be submitted to the Provost using the Request for Tenure Clock Extension Form and shall contain the following elements:

4.3.4.1 Description of the current contract (start date, end date, department, rank).

4.3.4.2 Description of extension requested.

4.3.4.3 Description of the compelling circumstances that justify the extension requested.

4.3.4.4 Affirmation of the concurrence of the faculty member, Department Head, and Dean.

4.3.5 Approval or denial of the tenure clock extension will be provided in writing by the Office of the Provost.

4.3.6 Clock extensions approved under this Provost-reviewed process may still be relinquished at the option of the faculty member; that is, faculty members who have received such an extension may decline to use it and be reviewed in their originally-planned review year as described in section 3.4, above.

4.4 Timeline Considerations

4.4.1 Clock extensions (automatic or otherwise) granted in the first term of an assistant professor’s appointment.

Per section 4.2.1 of NCSU POL 05.20.01 Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Permanent Tenure, new assistant professors on the tenure track are appointed to an initial four-year term. Tenure clock extensions that are granted during a faculty member’s first term may only be used to extend the length of the first term and thus set a new date for the mandatory reappointment review. If such a clock extension is used, the mandatory year for reappointment review will be delayed by one year, thus extending the first term of the faculty member’s contract by one year. If successful in the reappointment review, the faculty member will be reappointed to a second term as assistant professor. This second term of three years’ duration will be appended to the end of the first term contract. Per section 4.2.2 of NCSU POL 05.20.01, at the time of reappointment, the mandatory tenure review will be set to occur in the penultimate year (i.e., the second year) of that three-year term.

4.4.2 Clock extensions (automatic or otherwise) granted in the second term of an assistant professor’s appointment.

Clock extensions granted after a faculty member’s successful reappointment to a second term as assistant professor will be applied to the second term, and add one year to the standard three-year term. Because mandatory tenure reviews occur in the penultimate year of an assistant professor’s second term, the granting of a clock extension, if the extension is taken, moves the mandatory tenure review by one year as well.

4.4.3 Clock extensions (automatic or otherwise) granted to untenured associate professors.

Clock extensions granted to untenured associate professors will extend the contract of the faculty member (typically four to five years, per section 4.3.1 of NCSU POL 05.20.01) by one year. Mandatory tenure reviews for untenured associate professors occur in the penultimate year of the contract; therefore, the granting of a clock extension, if the extension is taken, moves the mandatory tenure review by one year as well.