RE: EXTENDED TENURE CLOCK

EFFECTIVE DATE:  March 26, 2020

MUS Board of Regents Policy 706.1, which governs tenure of faculty in the Montana University System, establishes that the period of full-time probationary service prior to the acquisition of continuous tenure “shall normally not exceed seven years.”

Because of the extraordinary disruption to faculty research, teaching, and service caused by the spring 2020 COVID-19 crisis, this directive extends the maximum period of full-time service prior to tenure by one year for current probationary faculty. This extension is not applicable to those faculty reviewed for tenure during Academic Year 2019-2020. Furthermore:

  1. Faculty who wish to pursue tenure on the usual seven-year timeline or on the timeline dictated by their letter of hire will still be afforded that option.
  2. This policy applies only to reviews of probationary faculty; it does not apply to reviews for the promotion of tenured associate professors to the rank of full professor or to post tenure review.
  3. The extension of the tenure clock by the exercise of this option is independent of any other accommodations made in conjunction with existing Family Medical Leave or Faculty Modified Duties policies.
  4. For each campus, calendar dates associated with the various stages of the review cycle in each academic year will not be adjusted as part of this policy.

 

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Clayton T. Christian
Commissioner of Higher Education

Commissioner's directives are official interpretations and guidance issued by the Commissioner of Higher Education; they remain in effect as system directives until withdrawn or revised by the Commissioner or superseded by action of the Board of Regents.

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