Memo to Members of the General Faculty
The Committee of Counsel on Academic Freedom and Responsibility (CCAFR)
March 13, 2008
As the University Standing Committee responsible for UT Austin’s Post-Tenure Review Policy (PTR), we would like to reiterate, as we have since its adoption, what PTR is and is not, and to inform you of our continuing responsibilities in this process.
PTR applies to all tenured members of the faculty, regardless of the positions they currently hold. PTR affirms all current University and System commitments to tenure, academic freedom, due process, and good cause for dismissal. There is to be no linkage between PTR and review of tenured faculty for possible dismal; the link, rather, is to professional rewards and to faculty development where appropriate. It is intended to build on what currently works, the annual reviews conducted by individual departments and schools, and thus to minimize bureaucracy and the time spent evaluating and being evaluated, and to make the review process regular and routine. Faculty are to be given six months notice to prepare for the review and sufficient opportunity to provide input. In addition, the results of the review are to be given to faculty in writing, and they are to have opportunity to respond before any recommendation is made from the department or school to the next administrative level.
CCAFR monitors the PTR process and receives reports of faculty problems and concerns, recommending changes in PTR as needed. The table at the end of this memo, Summary of Post-Tenure Reports for UT-Austin, 1998-2007, provides a quantitative overview of PTR results since its advent here at UT–Austin.
Electronic versions of all the major documents concerning post-tenure review are located at http://www.utexas.edu/provost/policies/post_tenure/. The link “Current Post-Tenure Review Procedures” provides the timetable for post-tenure review, while there are also links to “Annual Review and Periodic Evaluation of Tenured Faculty—HOP Section 3.14,” and to “UT System Regents’ Rules Series 31102Evaluation of Tenured Faculty.”
Faculty may also wish to consult an issue of “Academe” (September/October 1998, pp. 61-7), or a briefer version available on–line at http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/policydocs/contents/PTR.htm, which contains the American Association of University Professors’ response to post-tenure review. We believe that The University of Texas at Austin’s process conforms to the AAUP’s guidelines regarding post-tenure review.
In addition to consulting these documents, please feel free to contact any member of CCAFR to express any concerns you might have regarding the PTR process at UT.
| CCAFR Members, 2006-07 | Department |
| Ann Cvetkovich | English |
| Alan Friedman | English |
| Michael H. Granof | Accounting |
| Susan Heinzelman | English |
| Tess Moon, Chair | Mechanical Engineering |
| Randall Parker | Special Education |
| Janet Straiger | Radio, Television & Film |
| Jeffrey Vaaler | Mathematics |
| Patrick Wolley, Co–Chair | Law |
|
Summary of Post-Tenure Reports for UT-Austin, 1998-2007 |
|||||
Year |
Total |
Satisfactory |
Unsatisfactory |
Resigned |
Retired |
Died |
1998/1999 |
197 |
189 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1999/2000 |
196 |
188 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2000/2001 |
191 |
175 |
4 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
2001/2002 |
173 |
161 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
2002/2003 |
148 |
139 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2003/2004 |
139 |
132 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2004/2005 |
195 |
180 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
2005/2006 |
199 |
176 |
8 |
2 |
11 |
2 |
2006/2007 |
191 |
174 |
6 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
# faculty |
1630 |
1515 |
36 |
21 |
48 |
10 |
%faculty |
100% |
92.9% |
2.2% |
1.3% |
2.9% |
0.6% |
