Overview

In the past, the OFD sponsored a bi-annual, campus-wide tenure preparation seminar for all pre-tenure faculty. Although this program always filled to capacity and received high evaluation scores, faculty expressed an interest in having the most relevant “local” information about tenure possible. As a result, the OFD now works directly with schools and colleges to custom design tenure preparation workshops at the school/college level. For a list of workshops offered this year, please visit our calendar.

Prior to attending a tenure preparation workshop, you may find it helpful to consult the following documents in order to familiarize yourself with the schedule and process of tenure at UMass Amherst, as well as to learn general strategies for achieving tenure:

• Provost’s Memo on Promotion and Tenure
• The Academic Personnel Policy (also known as “The Red Book”)

Some suggestions to keep in mind as you navigate the tenure track at UMass Amherst:

• The “mini-tenure” or “4.2” review typically takes place during the second semester of a faculty member’s third or fourth year. During mini-tenure, faculty are usually expected to prepare and assemble a complete tenure file, with the exception of soliciting external letters of support. However, schedules and expectations vary by department and school/college, so it is critical that you initiate early conversations about mini-tenure and tenure with your chair. Your senior colleagues, recently tenured peers and fellow early-career faculty will also be invaluable sources of information and advice on this subject.
• Early-career faculty often report that one of the most helpful ways to start a tenure file is seeing how other faculty members from the same school/college prepared theirs. Ask if your department or school/college keeps examples of successful tenure files for review. If yours does not, contact the OFD – we may be able to connect you with a mentoring partner from your school/college who has volunteered to talk with early-career faculty about tenure.
• All faculty are required to complete and submit an Annual Faculty Report (“AFR”) to detail individual accomplishments and contributions in teaching, research, and service during the prior academic year. Ask your chair how this report will be used to evaluate your performance, and if he/she or any of your departmental colleagues can offer tips on using the information from the AFR to help prepare your tenure file.
• There’s no universal list of how many articles published or classes taught will be “enough” to get tenure. That being said, chairs and former Personnel Committee members are excellent sources of information and insight about how tenure files are evaluated at the departmental level, and “what matters” in the evaluation process. If an opportunity arises, you may also wish to consider serving on a Personnel Committee yourself.
• Finally, remember that tenure may be a stressful process, but you were hired at UMass Amherst for a reason. Search Committees rarely waste their time, energy, and/or resources to hire a candidate who is unlikely to achieve tenure. That means that someone – or most likely, a whole room of “someones” – believed in you from the very beginning. Keep the lines of communication open with your Chair about schedules, expectations, and processes; consult regularly with your colleagues (pre-tenure and tenured, inside and outside of your department) about their experiences and advice; and write and seek feedback on all of your file components well in advance. In other words, build a Mutual Mentoring network of people who want to support your success in achieving tenure, and work closely with them throughout the process.