COVID-19 Tenure Clock Extension
Given the extraordinary circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Baylor College of Medicine is granting an automatic one-year extension of the tenure clock to all faculty members with current tenure track appointments. We recognize and appreciate that all faculty members are making extraordinary contributions to our missions of patient care, research and education in the face of challenging clinical assignments, interruptions to research schedules and changes in educational programs. These contributions and changes have potential to adversely impact academic progress and promotion for individuals who are working towards promotion on the tenure track.
In response, we are granting a 12-month tenure clock extension for all part- and full-time faculty members currently appointed as assistant professor (tenure track) and associate professor (tenure track). The extension specifically applies to the following individuals.
- Faculty members with tenure track appointments, in good standing, in effect on March 1, 2020. The extension applies both to the nine-year tenure clock of assistant professor (tenure track) appointments or the three-year clock corresponding to faculty members hired and appointed initially at the rank of associate professor (tenure track).
- Faculty members who were under consideration for promotion to a tenured rank, as of March 1, 2020. This provision applies to individuals for whom the documentation and evaluation process already had begun in accordance with department- and institution-level processes for promotion on March 1, 2020, and is intended to provide continuity in the event that any review processes are delayed.
- Faculty members appointed onto the tenure track from March 1, 2020 through Dec. 30, 2020. Faculty members appointed to the tenure-track during the current crisis may experience disruptions in their career progression. Thus, the tenure clock for new appointees onto a tenure track will be 10 years if appointed as assistant professor (tenure track) and four years if appointed as associate professor (tenure track) between March 1 and Dec. 30, 2020.
In addition to the automatic extension described here, a faculty member may seek a second suspension of the tenure clock for up to 12 additional months, based on non-COVID-19 related circumstances, in accordance with the existing Tenure Clock Suspension policy and procedures described in these Faculty Appointment and Promotion Guidelines.
Introduction
This Faculty Appointments and Promotions website is designed to be your resource for learning about the appointments and promotions procedures at Baylor College of Medicine and accessing the forms and documents you require to successfully navigate this process at each stage of your career.
Appointment or promotion is based on documentation of excellence in a primary mission with evidence of good to excellent performance in at least one of the other academic mission areas of education, research, and patient care. Faculty members who contribute primarily to the patient care mission may be eligible for non-tenure track/non-tenured appointments or promotions based on clinical mission alone, given clinical excellence in combination with evidence of leadership, clinical expertise, healthcare quality and patient safety expertise, and/or business development related to patient care (see Patient Care Single Mission Pathway, Appendices 4 and 5 below). Appointment or promotion is dependent on achievement and not length of service, and is an honor within the institution.
It is the responsibility and prerogative of the chair of the department where you have your primary academic appointment to recommend promotion. For faculty members with appointments in centers, the center director and the appointing department chair should jointly recommend promotion. Recommendation for promotion should be based on the individual's educational contributions, clinical activities, basic and clinical research, and other scholarly activities. Definitions of excellence for tenure in each of the missions were developed by a faculty committee under the auspices of the Faculty Appointments and Promotions Committee and reviewed by Academic Council.
We welcome your feedback and suggestions for additional information we can provide here to support your career advancement at Baylor.
Scholarship
Scholarship is an expectation on Standard Pathways (education, patient care and research) and is helpful, but not required, on the Single Mission Pathway for Patient Care. Scholarship is defined as intellectual work that is validated by peers and communicated beyond the institution, such as the following:
- Published works in scholarly journals and textbooks
- Production and dissemination of enduring, high-quality educational materials
- Development of new technologies, methods, or materials
- Synthesis of information leading to new insights
- Quality improvement and patient safety projects with outcomes or clinical practice guidelines
- Research or clinically related business development
Faculty Appointments and Promotions Guidelines
Posted by Baylor College of Medicine July 1, 2019
The following chapters of the FAP Guidelines are available as downloadable PDF documents:
A. Employment Versus Appointment
B. Pay Status
F. Tenure Clock
I. Guidelines for Appointments/Promotions
J. Required Documents/Information for Faculty Appointments/Promotions
K. Faculty Appointments and Promotions Committee
L. Changes in Faculty Status or Change of Faculty Appointment
M. Intradepartmental Responsibilities
Additional Downloadable Faculty Resources
- General Guidance for Appointments and Promotions: Instructor and Assistant Professor
- General Guidance for Appointments and Promotions: Associate Professor
- Expanded Areas that Contribute to Excellence in a Baylor College of Medicine Mission Area
- Faculty Advancement within the Non-tenure Track: Patient Care Single Mission Pathway
- General Guidance for Appointments and Promotions: Patient Care Single Mission Pathway
- Examples of Service Relevant to the Healthcare Mission Area
Procedure Summary
A chart of appointment and promotion procedures for each rank is available.
Forms and Transcripts
For forms to request an appointment or promotion and record professional training and experience as well as requirements for transcripts and other useful documentation, visit the Faculty Appointment & Promotion page (Baylor login required).