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I. INFORMATION FOR FACULTY CANDIDATES FOR PROMOTION AND/OR TENURE

A. Changes in rank and tenure status are effective September 1 of the academic year following the review by the several promotions, tenure, and appointments committees.

B. The process should be started early allowing a minimum of a full year for completion of the entire process.

C. The applicant is encouraged to review University guidelines for promotion and tenure as well as the "Suggestions for Department/Division/School Promotions and Tenure Committees" available on the HSC website at http://www.uthscsa.edu/vpaa.

D. Avoid Abbreviations — Commonly used abbreviations in one discipline may only be alphabet soup for others. Please remember that the UTHSCSA Promotions, Tenure, and Appointments Committee is an interdisciplinary body consisting of members with diverse backgrounds.

E. Curriculum Vitae (eCV Required)

1. The eCV found at (http://ecv.uthscsa.edu) is the only acceptable format for use in promotion and tenure considerations at the UTHSCSA.
2. The candidate's eCV should be formulated with care to reflect an individual's work life. The Committee finds considerable variation in the quality of eCVs that are presented. At one end, there have been eCVs that read well and provide an overview of the complexity of an individual work life. Because the Committee uses only data that are documented in the packet, a well-prepared eCV portrays the applicant's contributions and accomplishments in the best possible manner. At the other end, occasionally the Committee finds eCVs that are poorly prepared. (For instance, important details are missing.) Such eCVs are hard to read and detract from the intent of the application.
3. It is always advisable to work with a senior member of the Departmental Committee to review the applicant's eCV for content and format. The eCV may take multiple iterations, particularly for inexperienced applicants.
4. Separate by list book chapters, recent reports, abstracts etc. We recognize that individuals may excel in writing chapters, review articles, journal articles, or books. Provide details about books that the candidate has authored or co-authored. This can be in the letters of recommendation or in a brief narrative in the eCV itself.
5. Provide details about teaching: number of lecture hours; course directorship; number of students in the class; supervision of lab section; type of clinical teaching; mentoring of research students, etc. Student evaluations, if available, may be very helpful.
6. Provide details about grants, including the percentage of salary and amount of time.
7. Brief narratives in the eCV may provide clarification of items.

F. Letters of recommendation

1. It is University policy that the Chair of the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee solicits letters of recommendation.
2. A member of the Committee should advise the candidate on the selection of individuals who will be requested to write letters of recommendation. Talking about the process with an experienced colleague can help applicants shape the selection process.
3. Letters that provide an evaluation of current work from an informed observer who has first hand knowledge of this work strengthens packets. Letters from former colleagues and teachers are often laudatory. While of value, they often do not fully clarify the status of the applicant's current work.
4. The Chair of the Department Committee or the Department Chair may invite senior faculty from other schools (not professionally related to the candidate as mentor/colleague) to comment on an applicant's accomplishments. This may add to the strength of the packet. For instance, an applicant may have developed a special area of excellence including a special service area. A comment from a senior faculty member may provide a national perspective about the difficulties in doing this and the value of this service.
5. On a separate sheet, list names of individuals who submitted the letters of support grouped by whether they are from inside or outside the institution. This item is required.
6. All letters of recommendation should be included in the promotion packet.

II. INFORMATION FOR DEPARTMENTAL PROMOTION, TENURE AND APPOINTMENTS (PT&A) COMMITTEE

A. The Chair of the Departmental PT&A Committee should be selected from senior academic ranks. This individual should have the experience to be able to advise applicants on various aspects of the Promotion process.

B. University guidelines recommend that a candidate be in rank at the lower level for three years or equivalent. We have occasionally seen applications for a new appointment, usually at the associate level, without documentation of equivalence at the same or lower rank. Similarly we have seen applications for promotion (also usually at the associate level) for candidates who have been on the faculty less than three years without documentation of equivalence in their prior work. Any exceptions to the three-year guideline should be strongly justified.

C. The Departmental PT&A Committee should provide guidance to the candidate for appointment, promotion, and or tenure as described Items E. Curriculum Vitae and F. Letters of recommendation, in Section I. INFORMATION FOR FACULTY CANDIDATES FOR PROMOTION AND OR TENURE above.

D. Review packet for content and format as described in Section I. INFORMATION FOR FACULTY CANDIDATES FOR PROMOTION AND OR TENURE above.

E. Letters from the Committee Chair to the Department Chair summarizing the packet should provide adequate details to identify strengths and limitations. The recommendation from the Departmental PT&A Committee and the Department Chair should clearly state areas that form the basis of promotion. The letters should point out the unique aspects of the activities that may not be apparent to an outside reader. This might include a brief explanation of the candidate's participation in professional organizations such as membership in exclusive societies. At times, the University PT&A Committee is provided with unusually brief letters from Chairs of Department PT&A Committees.

F. The American Board of Professional Psychology should certify clinical psychologists who are candidates for appointment, promotion and tenure at the associate or professor level who have clinical contact with patients.

III. INFORMATION FOR DEPARTMENT CHAIRS AND STAFF

A. New appointments at the Associate and Professor level are required by University policy to be reviewed by the Department or School PT&A Committee before consideration by the UTHSCSA Promotions, Tenure, and Appointments Committee.

B. Review packet for content and format as described in Section I. INFORMATION FOR FACULTY CANDIDATES FOR PROMOTION AND OR TENURE above.

C. Use of the attached CHECKLIST/CONTENTS as a coversheet is required.

D. Pages in the packet are to be numbered sequentially from beginning to end including the coversheet. Pages received after the packet is assembled (such as letters of support), should be placed in the proper section and numbered with corresponding page number and lowercase letter, i.e., lOa, 15a, etc.

E. Provide a letter of recommendation from the Chair of the Department to the Chair of the UTHSCSA Promotions, Tenure, and Appointments Committee.

1. "Suggestions for Department/Division/School Promotions and Tenure Committees", available at http://www.uthscsa.edu/vpaa, areas of strength should be explicitly noted in this letter.
2. The Department Chair should address both the strength and weakness of the applicant. As scholarly activity is interpreted broadly, the UTHSCSA Promotions, Tenure, and Appointments Committee is appreciative of explanations of seeming gaps in scholarly activity to help in Committee deliberations.
3. The letter should be comprehensive to document sufficiently the strengths of the candidate that form the basis of its recommendation. Occasionally, we have had unusually brief letters from Chairs hindering the Committee members in making an informed decision.