Most commonly, a person entering a tenure-track academic career is given a three-year appointment at the assistant professor level. Toward the end of each year of this appointment, the faculty member should review his or her progress with the department chairperson or with a mentor among the department’s senior faculty members. In the third year, the department conducts a more thorough performance review. If the outcome is positive, it is normal for a renewal for a second three-year term to be recommended for approval by the dean.
If the outcome of the review is negative, the faculty member must be given a terminal appointment that allows him or her to serve two full academic terms after written notice of nonrenewal. If the faculty member clearly is not meeting expectations, the notice not to renew the appointment may be given earlier than the third year. In that case, the next year of the initial appointment serves as the required two terms of notice.
There are procedures for appealing a decision not to reappoint a nontenured faculty member who holds an initial probationary-tenure-status.
