B.4 Accelerated Promotion Review of Tenure-Track Assistant Professors

(a) Years of Probationary or Combined Probationary Service

Cases considered before the sixth year of probationary service at UT Austin, including elected years of combined service as described in Section B.3(b), are considered accelerated reviews and are not considered mandatory reviews.

Candidates who wish to be considered for review and have accumulated six full academic years in rank at UT Austin or six years of elected combined service (including the academic year during which the review is being conducted), but have fewer than six years of probationary service by virtue of approved extensions to their probationary period, are advised to rescind extensions to their probationary period and submit their case for on-time review, rather than accelerated review.

(b) Expectations for Accelerated Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure

Accelerated cases must be fully explained and justified by the department chair and/or dean and should only be put forward for review when a compelling case can be made that the candidate’s record is truly exceptional across all areas of review (Section A.7), that the candidate exceeds expectations for on-time promotion in all areas [Section B.3(c)], and that accelerated promotion is in the University’s best interest.

In most cases, the University will benefit from the evidence gathered from the fulfillment of the entire six years of probationary service or elected combined service before making a tenure decision because this information offers more consistent and reliable evidence to demonstrate a continuing trajectory of excellence in the professional context and environment of UT Austin.

(c) Levels of Review for Accelerated Tenure Review

Accelerated cases for tenure-track assistant professors progress through all levels of review unless the candidate

(1) withdraws the case prior to review by the president’s committee,

(2) resigns from the University, or

(3) is terminated by the University for disciplinary reasons in accordance with Regents Rule 31008.

(d) Recommendation Options for Accelerated Review of Tenure-Track Assistant Professors

At each level of review (Section A.2), recommendation options for accelerated tenure review of tenure-track assistant professors are:

(1) “promote to associate professor with tenure,”

(2) “do not promote,” or

(3) “terminal appointment.”

In the case of a “do not promote” decision by the president, the candidate must wait until their sixth year of probationary service at UT Austin [Section B.3(a)] or sixth year of elected combined service [Section B.3(b)] to be reviewed again.