Final Tenure Review
Process Overview
Currently, the step-by-step process for the Final Tenure Review is as follows:
- HR notifies Heads of School and Assistant Professors of the upcoming review and invites them to arrange a meeting to review objectives and assess the Assistant Professor's progress on Criteria.
- The Assistant Professor completes their part of the application for the Final Tenure Review – RSS Performance Review Form for Year 4 of Tenure Track – a document generated via the MyRSS Application Wizard.
- The Head of School meets with the Assistant Professor to discuss their progress. Following the meeting, the Head of School completes the Report, where they:
- Comments on the Assistant Professor meeting Criteria for Tenure Track Assessment, outlining the area-specific context for academic appointments
- Proposes nominees for External Referees and seeks the Dean’s approval.
- A complete application (RSS CV, Self Assessment and Head of School report) is signed off by the Head of School and forwarded to HR at junpromo@tcd.ie for presenting to the JAPC for the Final Tenure Review.
- HR seeks the external referee’s report in advance of the Junior Academic Progression Committee interview meeting.
- HR convenes meetings of the Junior Academic Progression Committee that will interview the Assistant Professor and review their performance. There are two potential outcomes:
- For those who demonstrate satisfactory performance to the Committee:
- A permanent contract will be offered
- For those who do not demonstrate satisfactory performance to the Committee:
- They will complete the final year of their 5-year contract and their employment with the University will come to an end.
- HR then records the outcome on the staff member's HR record.
- HR brings the memo confirmation to Council and Board for approval.
External Referees
The role of an external referee in relation to the Final Tenure Review is to assess research and scholarship, teaching, contribution to the College/Discipline/Society. Comments shall be sought on all areas of assessment and the referee shall be provided with a full copy of the candidate’s material, but excluding any material relating to personal circumstances.
Each complete application to the Junior Academic Progression Committee shall include a list of three external referees submitted by the candidate who are experts in the candidate’s discipline, of which not more than one shall normally be based in Ireland.
A list of three external referees will be provided by the Head of School, in consultation with the relevant Head of Discipline.
The Faculty Dean (or nominee) shall rank the names of the three external referees, the highest ranked will be approached; should they be unavailable, written references will be sought from the next highest ranked referees on the list, until one reference has been received.
One external referees’ report is necessary for the application to be considered complete and considered by the Junior Academic Progression Committee.
Applications which do not include sufficient external references shall be deemed ineligible for consideration by the Junior Academic Progression Committee in the current round and a resubmitted application will be considered in the next round of Final Tenure Reviews by the Junior Academic Progression Committee subject to the receipt of at least two external references.
Eligibility for the selection of external referees:
- External referees should not have been co-author with the candidate within the past 7 years, and
- They should not be, or have been, the applicant's PhD supervisor, or vice versa.
Interview by the Junior Academic Progressions Committee
Upon submitting a complete application documentation, an Assistant Professor due their Final Tenure Review will be invited for an interview before the Junior Academic Progressions Committee. The Committee will be asking questions covering the three main areas of review:
- Research and Scholarship
- Teaching and
- Contribution to College/Discipline/Society
Junior Academic Progressions Committee membership
- Vice Provost/Chief Academic Officer (Chair) (Ex Officio)
- Dean of FAHSS (Ex Officio)
- Dean of FEMS (Ex Officio)
- Dean of FHS (Ex Officio)
- Senior Lecturer/Dean of Undergraduate Studies (Ex Officio)
- Dean of Graduate Studies (Ex Officio)
- A member of the academic staff of the University who is an Assistant Professor above the merit bar – Dr Inmaculada Arnedillo-Sánchez
- A member of the academic staff of the University who is an Associate Professor, Professor In or Professor Of – Professor Philip Coleman
- A member of the academic staff of the University (of any academic grade) – Dr Margaret McCann
- Secretary: Director of HR (or nominee) - Ms. Fidelma Haffey, Head of Talent
Quorum of 5 (excluding Human Resources)
Outcomes
Outcomes should be notified to applicants following completion of all interviews. They will be sent electronically via email. There are two possible outcomes:
Successful
- A permanent contract will be offered for those applicants, who demonstrate to the Junior Academic Progression Committee that they have met the threshold in all areas i.e. research and scholarship, teaching, and contribution to College/Discipline/society.
- In year 5 of their appointment goals/objectives will be set by the Head of School (in conjunction with a Discipline expert where necessary) and agreed with the Assistant Professor. These goals/objectives form part of the permanent Assistant Professor’s ongoing performance management.
Unsuccessful
- Those who do not demonstrate satisfactory performance to the Junior Academic Progression Committee will complete the final year of their 5-year contract and their employment with the University will come to an end.
Appeal
An Assistant Professor may appeal the decision of the Junior Academic Progression Committee to the Appeals Committee (chaired by the Senior Dean) within one month of notification of the decision.