TENURE & PROMOTION TIMELINE

This timeline includes key dates and activities for numerous university individuals and offices central to Winthrop’s tenure and promotion review cycle. To see any one role featured, for a PC: highlight that role and then click the Ctrl key and the F key (simultaneously) to highlight those responsibilities throughout the review cycle. For a Mac: click the Command and F key (simultaneously).

For purposes of this timeline, roles include Candidate, Department Chair, Dean, Dean’s Office, Committee Members, Department Committee Chair, College Personnel Advisory Committee Chair, Faculty Personnel Committee Chair, Office of Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs T&P System Administrator, Chief Academic Officer, President, Board of Trustees, and AFTP.

Questions or Suggestions? Contact Suzie Therrell, the Director of Faculty Affairs, who directs the annual tenure and promotion cycle on behalf of the Office of Academic Affairs.

Deadlines

Considerations regarding key dates:

  1. If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the effective deadline will be the first business day after the stated deadline. The deadline for each step is 11:59 pm on the date listed. Review letters may be uploaded prior to the deadlines.
  2. Because candidates have five calendar days to write an optional response letter at each level up until it reaches the Chief Academic Officer, reviewers and review committees should allow up to five calendar days from the prior review-level's letter date before expecting to see the case available in their queue.
  3. The effective date for tenure and promotion is the beginning of the next appointment period.
  4. The “T&P System” currently being used is Watermark.
  5. Deans and Department Chairs have access to all uploaded recommendation letters.

04/15

Deans notify faculty who are scheduled for tenure review during the upcoming academic year via email. Department, College, and University deadlines for submission of documentation will be shared with those standing for tenure and/or promotion.

Deans provide promotion intention forms to eligible faculty via email. Department, College, and University deadlines for submission of documentation will be shared with those standing for tenure and/or promotion.

Candidates are encouraged (but not required) to consult their Department Chair before deciding to go up for promotion. Department Chairs may use this opportunity to discuss promotion readiness and their degree of support, but the decision to apply for promotion remains with the faculty member.

05/01

Dean’s Offices and/or the T&P System Administrator can begin to create cases in the T&P System for each faculty member up for review. Cases should not be created earlier than 05/01.

05/15

Candidate returns promotion intention form to Department Chair via email. The Department Chair signs the form, acknowledging that the faculty member is pursuing promotion in the upcoming cycle. The Department Chair then emails the completed form to the Dean, copying the Candidate.

Department Chairs, in consultation with their Dean, begin to form department review committees (CAS, CESHS, CVPA, and Library).

06/15

Department Chairs complete comments on Annual Reports for tenure and/or promotion candidates.

08/01

Deans complete comments on Annual Reports for tenure and/or promotion candidates.

08/20

Department Chairs finalize committees for tenure and/or promotion review (with approval from Deans) (CAS, CESHS, CVPA, and Library) and inform committee members that they will receive invitations from the Office of Academic Affairs to the Division-Wide Tenure & Promotion Kick-Off Meeting at the end of August.

Deans provide a list of tenure and promotion committee members (CAS, CESHS, CVPA, and Library) to the Office of Academic Affairs.

Dean’s Offices and/or the T&P System Administrator update all cases in the T&P System to include department review committees, including designating the person who will serve as committee chair (CAS, CESHS, CVPA, and Library).

08/24

The Office of Academic Affairs invites Committee Members to the Division-Wide Tenure & Promotion Kick-Off Meeting at the end of August and sends information about completing the required confidentiality form.

The Office of Academic Affairs also ensures that college and university personnel committees are updated in the T&P System.

End of August

Required Division-Wide Tenure & Promotion Kick-Off Meeting for all Academic Affairs faculty and staff who are directly involved in the evaluation process. This includes members such as, or from, the following:

Candidates, Department Chairs, Deans, Dean’s Office, Committee Members, Department Committee Chairs, College Personnel Advisory Committee Chairs, Faculty Personnel Committee Chair, Office of Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs T&P System Administrator, Chief Academic Officer, and AFTP.

09/01

Candidates submit tenure and/or promotion portfolios in the T&P System.

Department Chairs check portfolios for problems or omissions and forward to the administrative step where cases will be held to check that all reviewers have completed the confidentiality form.

Changes to the candidate’s portfolio must be made prior to it being sent to the College Personnel Advisory Committee. No further supporting evidence may be added after this point. All previous reviewers or review committees must be made aware of and review any added material. See Tenure: Conditions and Procedures policy, 8.9

09/02

Academic Affairs T&P System Administrator confirms that reviewers at all levels have completed the confidentiality form and then forwards cases to department committees (CAS, CESHS, CVPA, and Library) or chairs (CBT) committees for review. If any reviewer has not yet completed the form, the Office of Academic Affairs will notify that reviewer and the Committee Chair or Dean.

10/01

In CAS, CESHS, CVPA, and Library, Department Committee Chairs upload recommendation letters for tenure and/or promotion to the T&P System; record committee vote tallies for tenure and/or promotion (in cases of disagreement); and forward all cases to the Candidate response step.

In CBT, Department Chairs add their reports and recommendations to the T&P system and forward them to the Candidate response step.

Candidates have five calendar days to upload and submit an optional response letter to the T&P System; if no response is submitted, the case will automatically advance to the next review step.

10/15

In CAS, CESHS, CVPA, and Library, Department Chairs upload recommendation letters for tenure and/or promotion into the T&P System and forward all cases to the Candidate response step.

Candidates have five calendar days to upload and submit an optional response letter to the T&P System; if no response is submitted, the case will automatically advance to the next review step.

11/15

In all Colleges and the Library, College Personnel Advisory Committee Chairs upload recommendation letters for tenure and/or promotion into the T&P System, record committee vote tallies (in cases of disagreement), and forward all cases to the Candidate response step.

Candidates have five calendar days to upload and submit an optional response letter to the T&P System; if no response is submitted, the case will automatically advance to the next review step.

12/15

Deans upload their recommendation letters for tenure and/or promotion to the T&P System and forward all cases to the Candidate response step.

Candidates have five calendar days to upload and submit an optional response letter to the T&P System; if no response is submitted, the case will automatically advance to the next review step.

02/15

The Faculty Personnel Committee Chair uploads separate recommendation letters regarding tenure and/or promotion  into the T&P System, records committee vote tallies (in cases of disagreement), and forwards tenure and/or promotion cases to the Candidate response step.

Candidates have five calendar days to upload and submit an optional response letter to the T&P System; if no response is submitted, the case will automatically advance to the next review step.

An optional meeting may occur with Faculty Personnel Committee, Chief Academic Officer, and the Director of Faculty Affairs.

02/22

Chief Academic Officer shares tenure recommendations and promotion recommendations with the President. No letters are generated at this time.

Office of Academic Affairs sends lists of faculty expected to stand for tenure in the next academic year to Deans.

03/01

President notifies Candidates and their Department Chairs and Deans of tenure recommendation (award or notification of nonrenewal) and/or promotion recommendation, pending final Board of Trustees approval. Notifications are sent to candidates in writing via email, uploaded to the candidate’s case in the T&P System, and saved in the Office of Academic Affairs’ faculty personnel files.

Negative decisions receive both email notifications and a hard-copy letter, and candidates will have the opportunity to submit an appeal of negative tenure decisions within the T&P System.

03/08

Candidates’ appeals of tenure decisions (only an option for procedural reasons) are due to the Committee on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Promotion (AFTP), copying the Chief Academic Officer. See Tenure – Conditions and Procedures (procedures, 9.0 Notification of Tenure Decision) and Termination of Appointment (procedures, Denial of Tenure) policies.

Academic Affairs T&P System Administrator archives cases for all candidates who are not appealing their decision and makes cases available to AFTP committee within the T&P System, as necessary.

04/01

AFTP sends report on findings related to denial of tenure decisions for procedural reasons to Candidate, Chief Academic Officer, and President.

Deans confirm with the Office of Academic Affairs the names of faculty who will stand for tenure in the next academic year.

04/15

President notifies AFTP, candidates and their Department Chairs/Deans of denial of tenure appeal decisions. Notifications are sent to candidates in writing via email and hard-copy letter, with an additional copy saved to candidates’ T&P System cases and within Office of Academic Affairs’ faculty personnel files.

See also: New cycle simultaneously begins for next review cohort. Deans contact faculty via email to begin tenure and promotion processes while Candidates consult with their Department Chairs. Please reference the start of this timeline for more detail.

April BOT

Upon action by the Board of Trustees, the names of faculty granted tenure and/or promotion are submitted for publication.

Within a week after the Board of Trustees’ April meeting, the Office of Academic Affairs notifies candidates and their Department Chairs and Deans of final tenure and/or promotion approval from the Board of Trustees. Notifications are sent to candidates in writing via email and hard-copy letter, with an additional copy saved to candidates’ T&P System cases and within Office of Academic Affairs’ faculty personnel files.

05/01

Academic Affairs T&P System Administrator updates case templates as needed for next year’s reviews.

For Tenure procedures, see: Tenure – Conditions and Procedures

For Promotion procedures, see: Promotion – Faculty

Last Revised 7/1/2026