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Policy Update After MU-ADVANCE administered the faculty Climate Survey in Year 1 of the program, it became evident that modifications to the tenure and promotion process were desired by the respondents. Both male and female respondents indicated that career accommodations for spouses (28%) and the option to delay tenure due to increased family responsibilities (26%) were important to maintaining their careers at Marshall. Therefore, these issues became primary concerns for the MU-ADVANCE Policy Committee, who drafted two policies concerning tenure and promotion procedures. These policies, Pre-Tenure Review and Modified Duties, are currently under review by the Faculty Senate. The Pre-Tenure Review policy would institute a comprehensive review for all pre-tenure tenure-track faculty based on each college’s criteria for tenure and promotion, and would occur midway through the pre-tenure period. This policy, which is already a practice in some colleges and departments at Marshall, will ensure that pre-tenure faculty get clear, official feedback on their progress toward tenure, and will clarify both the tenure process itself and the level of documentation and detail required in a tenure dossier.
The
Modified Duties policy
would permit
nine-month faculty, who do not currently accrue sick
leave, to modify their duties and could allow
additional time at pre-tenure status to address
personal matters, such as the birth of a child,
elder care, or a catastrophic situation. This
policy would provide an official mechanism to allow
faculty to handle unexpected personal matters, and
would allow pre-tenure tenure-track faculty to
temporarily “Stop the Clock” without compromising
their progress toward tenure. Modified duties would
only be granted for personal matters, rather than
for career changes, even if temporary.
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