Promotion and Tenure Guide

UCEA Retention, Tenure and Promotion Guidebook

UCEA Retention, Tenure and Promotion Guidebook

This UCEA Guidebook on Retention, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP) was developed by a group of senior and emeriti professors who have spent decades in academia and have been dedicated leaders in the field of educational leadership.  In addition, to maintain an intergenerational approach and to honor diversity, we invited UCEA’s Executive Committee members to review or coauthor selected chapters.  Thus, The Guidebook presents the readership with the enriching viewpoints of a representative group of professors in our field. 

The Guidebook does not supplant nor does it promote a certain platform for retention, tenure, and promotion (RTP) reviews.  The users are encouraged to see this as a guide or a blueprint explaining what to expect before and while undergoing RTP review processes.  Each institution, program, department, college, or unit may have its own set of guidelines that dictate its expectations.  Such policies or regulations determine the criteria and procedures that an individual seeking RTP must follow.  The Guidebook simply intends to provide extra support that faculty may need to pursue a successful career development path.  In addition, advice is made available for senior faculty, chairs, deans, provosts, and so on involved in the RTP process. 

The document below is the most current version of the RTP Guidebook and includes modest revisions received from the UCEA 2017 Plenum.


UCEA Guidebook on Retention, Tenure and Promotion (RTP)

Guidebook Sections

  1. Editors’ Introduction
  2. Written Policies and Institutional Norms
  3. Preparation for Midtenure Retention Review
  4. Preparation for Tenure and/or Promotion Review to Associate Professor Rank
  5. Managing Uncertainty: Strategies Before, During, and After the Tenure Review
  6. Life after Tenure—Preparation for Promotion to the Rank of Professor
  7. Advice to those Critical to the Tenure and Promotion Review Process
  8. Closing Comments

Contributors to the 2017 Guidebook

The 2017 guidebook authors include, .

  • Scott McLeod, University of Colorado Denver
  • Jayson W. Richardson, University of Denver
  • Elisabeth Avila Luévanos, Texas A&M University
  • Julia Mahfouz, University of Colorado Denver
  • Katherine Cumings Mansfield, University of North Carolina-Greensboro
  • Cailen M. O’Shea, North Dakota State University
  • Shanté Stuart McQueen, Portland State University
  • Anjalé Welton, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Citation: McLeod, S., Richardson, J. W., Luevanos, E. A., Mahfouz, J., Mansfield, K. C., O’Shea, C. M., Stuart McQueen, S., & Welton, A. (2021). UCEA job search handbook: Tips and techniques for aspiring faculty [2nd ed.].