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Faculty
Regulations
14. Appointment With Tenure
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| a. In General |
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| A faculty member granted
tenure may continue in the rank to which s/he has been appointed
with tenure or at a higher rank until retirement, unless the
University finds it necessary, after due process, to invoke
its right to terminate the association at an earlier date.
Termination must be based upon proof of adequate cause
for dismissal which will be related directly and substantially
to the fitness or performance of the faculty member in his/her
professional capacity as a teacher, researcher, or creative
member of his/her professional field. |
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| If,
for reasons of financial exigency of a program in which a tenured
faculty member is teaching the termination of a tenured appointment
is proposed, such termination shall be considered only as a
last resort after every effort has been made to meet the need
in some other way and to find for the faculty member a suitable
assignment in the University. |
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| b. Eligibility for Tenure |
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| Tenure is not acquired
merely by successive reappointment over a specified period of
time. The granting of tenure is a positive judgment based on
the process set forth in Section 9 of this Manual.
For a positive tenure decision, a faculty member must
have demonstrated high quality in both teaching and scholarship.
There must also be evidence of the ability to continue significant
growth in these areas and continue to make positive contributions
to the University community such as institutional service to
the Washington College of Law community. |
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| i. Minimum Rank |
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| To be eligible for
an appointment with tenure, a faculty member must have attained
the rank of assistant professor or higher. Normally, the requirements
for a positive tenure decision would be equivalent to the qualifications
for the rank of Associate Professor or higher. |
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| ii.
Years of Service: Full‑Time Faculty |
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| To be eligible for
tenure, a full‑time faculty member must have six years
of full‑time teaching service at the rank of instructor
or above, at least four of which must be completed at American
University, consistent with the waiver of prior service provisions
described in iii. |
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| A faculty member with
a new appointment who has been previously tenured or who was
eligible to be considered for tenure at another institution
may, in exceptional cases, be appointed with tenure after following
appropriate University procedures as described in section 9. |
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| iii. Waiver of Prior Service |
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| At the time of an initial
tenure track appointment, a faculty member may be granted credit
by the University for prior service.
All years of prior service at American University may
be waived. If the service was at another institution, up to
two years of prior service may be credited towards tenure accrual. |
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| Until the faculty member
submits his/her first “File for Action” for reappointment
to the University, a faculty member may waive such credit towards
tenure, subject to notification through the established faculty
action process. The waiver must be in writing and filed with
the dean of academic affairs. Thereafter, time credited toward
tenure may not be waived, even at the request of the faculty
member, except in the most unusual of circumstances. |
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| c. Leaves and Accrued Time for Tenure |
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| Certain types of leave
do not count as accrued time for tenure.
Eligibility for these leaves is described in section
15. |
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| Leave Without Pay : A leave without
pay is not included either in accrual of service for sabbatical
eligibility or as part of pre‑tenure service, unless there
is advance written agreement to the contrary by the dean of
academic affairs, in consultation with the individuals and committees
ordinarily involved in recommending faculty personnel decisions.
Normally, if a leave without pay is granted in the sixth
year of pre-tenure service, the tenure review will go forward
and the time accrues towards tenure. Periods of partial leave without salary stop
the tenure clock on a proportional basis.
These arrangements and the conditions related to it must
have the prior written approval of the dean of academic affairs. |
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| Research Leave: A Research Leave normally carries with it accrual
of eligibility for tenure and promotions in rank, but not for
sabbaticals. Faculty
members have the right to waive this accrual, if they specify
this waiver as part of their application for Research Leave.
Normally, if the Research Leave is granted in the sixth
year of pre-tenure service, the tenure review will go forward and
the time accrues towards tenure. |
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Parental Delay: A faculty member who is the primary care-giver
for a newly born or newly-adopted
child may postpone tenure consideration for up to one year
even if no leave from the university has been taken.
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| The maximum number
of years of delay will be two years and this will include all
other types of leaves. |
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| d. Accumulation
of Service Toward Tenure: Faculty Members with Less Than |
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| Full-Time Teaching
Duties |
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| The faculty of American
University includes some members who are designated as full‑time
but who teach less than a full load of courses while engaging
in full‑time scholarly work and teaching.
Provided that they carry a minimum teaching load of five
credit hours per academic year and participate actively in the
governance of the Washington College of Law or of the University,
such faculty members will accumulate credit toward tenure as
if they were teaching a full load. |
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| A rate of not less
than one‑half of the regular rate of accrual of credit
toward tenure for full‑time faculty members who are engaged
partly in administrative, counseling, or other functions, or
who do not work full‑time in scholarship and teaching
will apply, provided that the rate is agreed upon in writing
at the commencement of such contractual period. No credit toward tenure shall be granted while
a faculty member is on leave without pay. |
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| e. Prohibition Against a Concurrent Tenured
or Full-Time Appointment at Another Higher Education Institution |
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