Tenure Criteria, Timeline, and Materials

Criteria

Tenure decisions are based upon an evaluation of teaching, scholarly or artistic engagement and contributions to the College community. While all three criteria are considered significant, two are of paramount importance: candidates for tenure will be expected to have excelled in their teaching and to have achieved a level of professional distinction recognized by members of their guild outside the College. This means that, while non-tenured faculty members will be judged in part on their contributions to the College community, those contributions, however great, will not override teaching and scholarly/artistic records that fall short of the required excellence and distinction.

Normal Timeline

  • Spring of fifth year of service: Candidate meets with the Dean for Academic Affairs meets to discuss the procedures and the preparation of the review materials.
  • By May 1: The department and candidate should submit information about potential outside reviewers to the Dean.
  • By July 1: Copies of the scholarly or artistic work to be reviewed should be submitted to the Dean for mailing to reviewers.
  • By September 15: The candidate and the department each submits to the Dean for Academic Affairs the names of three present or former Bowdoin faculty members outside the candidate’s department to comment on the candidate’s contributions to the College.
  • By September 15: The candidate provides complete evaluation materials to department or committee chair.
  • By October 15: The department or committee evaluation and recommendation is made available to the candidate and the Dean.
  • By December 1: The recommendation of CAPT is submitted to the Dean.
  • Soon after: The recommendation of the Dean is communicated to the candidate and then to the President.
  • Soon after: The recommendation of the President is communicated to the candidate.
  • Spring Trustees Meeting: The Trustees vote on final tenure decisions.

Materials

  1. The candidate’s self-evaluative statement covering teaching, scholarship or artistic work (achieved and planned) and service.
  2. The candidate’s curriculum vitae.
  3. All syllabi and any other other course materials (e.g. assignments, exams), used during the semesters the candidate has been teaching at the College, including the semester of the review.
  4. Evidence of scholarly or artistic engagement (e.g. publications, works produced, works exhibited, works in progress, reviews of works, papers presented).
  5. Other materials the candidate considers relevant.
  6. All College Student Opinion forms and numeric summary data for courses taught at Bowdoin, for semesters beginning in Fall 1999-00. The candidate may choose to submit forms from earlier semesters; failure to do so will not jeopardize the evaluation.
  7. Departments may require the submission of their separate departmental forms.