Consult EVPP: Promotion & Tenure for guidelines for the relevant academic year. Note that there may be different sets of guidelines for Tenured/Tenure-Track and Professional Track faculty.  Be sure to use the Guidelines document for the correct academic year.

Dates and deadlines

Important Dates for 2024-25

Approximate process schedule

• April 1: Annual Promotion & Tenure guidelines updated for the upcoming year by EVPP
• April-July: External and internal reviews requested and received
• August: Departmental review
• September-November: College-level review and Dean review
• November: Dossiers move to Provost/President's level for review. Candidates are notified of the vote of the CAC and the Dean's assessment
• November-January: University-level review
• January-February: University-level meetings with Deans
• February: President's notification of final decisions

Dossier preparation

See EVPP: Promotion & Tenure for the Provost's current Academic Year guidelines.

Election to Use Combined Years of Service

UT Austin has a process by which faculty members hired as tenure-track Assistant Professors or tenured Associate Professors, with prior full-time academic years of service in an equivalent rank at a prior institution, may elect to count up to three of those years immediately preceding time at UT Austin toward the number of years of effective years in rank required for on-time promotion at UT Austin. In addition, UT Austin requires faculty members to serve a minimum of two full effective years in rank at UT Austin before they might be considered for promotion (i.e., reviewed in the third year at UT Austin). 

Please refer to the relevant UT Austin General Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure for additional information about elected combined service, as well as detailed requirements and expectations for promotion.

Assistant Professors - Promotion and Tenure review to Associate Professor

For tenure-track faculty members, only years of probationary service are counted toward the minimum amount of qualifying service.

In accordance with Regents’ Rule 31007, a tenure-track faculty member accrues one year of probationary service at UT Austin for every nine months of full-time academic service during any academic year. An academic year does not count as a year of probationary service if the tenure-track faculty member: (1) begins employment at UT Austin after the start of the fall semester, (2) receives an approved extension to the probationary period, or (3) has been on leave without pay for any portion of the academic year.

Important: Per UT Austin guidelines, an Assistant Professor who has elected to combine years of service from a prior institution will be evaluated using the same expectations as if the candidate had completed six years of probationary service at UT Austin, and the case is considered a mandatory review (“up-or-out”). Before making this decision, the faculty member should consult with their department chair and the Senior Associate Dean.

Associate Professors - Promotion review to full Professor

For tenured faculty members, only effective years in rank are counted toward the minimum amount of qualifying service. Please carefully review the relevant UT Austin General Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure.

Process for requesting consideration of prior service

All of the following steps must be completed by February 1 preceding the fall the faculty member plans to undergo promotion review:

1. Faculty member emails department chair stating their election to be considered for promotion and tenure during the upcoming cycle using combined service at their prior institution. The request should include the number of prior years’ service to be included (up to a maximum of three).
2. The department chair responds to the email indicating whether they support the decision, with a cc to the Senior Associate Dean.
3. The department chair forwards the original request and their response to the Dean and Senior Associate Dean.
4. The Dean reviews the request, acknowledges receipt, and forwards the request to the Provost's Office.

Information for newly-promoted faculty

Course releases

See Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty Workload Policy,  tab “Teaching", paragraph 6:

"In recognition of the additional service responsibilities that come with promotion, the college will make available up to one course release to be used in the first two years following promotion for newly promoted faculty (once after promotion to the rank of associate professor and once after promotion to the rank of professor), at the discretion of the department chair.”

Salary increase

Contact COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu with questions about the salary increase policy for newly-promoted faculty.

Joint-appointed faculty

Faculty members with joint appointments must be simultaneously reviewed in both the primary and joint department(s)/college(s)/school(s). The respective department chairs and deans are responsible for identifying the need for review, coordinating the reviews, and overseeing the independent reviews to completion. The chair of the candidate’s primary department is responsible for coordinating selection and solicitation of external reviewers with joint units (including feedback from the candidate). The units must conduct independent reviews of the candidate which should entail evaluation of the same dossier contents. For joint appointments in departments within the same college, independent reviews are conducted at the department level and then there is a single college and dean review. For joint appointments in different colleges/schools, independent reviews are conducted at both the department (where relevant), college/school and deans’ levels. Different recommendations may be put forward to the President’s committee.

See additional guidance in the Provost's General Guidelines for the relevant year.

Leave - effects on P&T

See COE: Faculty Review Clocks.

Personal Circumstances (PC) Flags and P&T

If a Personal Circumstances Flag is requested during the period of promotion review, see EVPP: Personal Circumstances Flag for information and impact. See additional information at COE: Personal Circumstances Flag.

Policies

The policies related to recommendations for promotion in rank and recommendations for tenure are described in HOP 2-2160: Recommendations Regarding Faculty Compensation, Faculty Promotion, Tenure, Renewal of Appointment, or Nonrenewal of Appointment. General Guidelines for the Preparation of Supporting Materials and the Management of Candidate Files are available at EVPP: Promotion & Tenure.

Related policies:

• Academic Titles and Tenure (HOP 2-2010)

• Extension of the Tenure Track Probationary Period (HOP 2-2020)

• Tenure (Rule 31007, Regents' Rules and Regulations)

Probationary period for tenure-track faculty

See COE: Probationary Period - Tenure-Track Faculty. 

Process 

For an overview of the process and possible results, see EVPP: UT Austin Faculty Promotion Process for Departmentalized Colleges and Schools. 

See additional information at Chart of Recommended Actions.

Tenure-track Associate/Full Professors and P&T

New hires are sometimes made at the Professor or Associate Professor rank without tenure, for instance, in the case of a new, external senior hire whose career has been in a non-academic setting. The maximum probationary period for a tenure-track Professor or Associate Professor is four years. Their "up or out" tenure and/or promotion review is during their third year in rank.

Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.