Tenure Track Promotions
New FEC Standards
The current FEC Standards came into effect on July 1, 2019. This document outlines performance expectations, merit allocations, criteria for Tenure and promotion to full Professor, as well as the policies and procedures that all faculty members on the Tenure-track must abide. It is an update to the previous FEC Standards which had been in use since April 1, 2007.
What does this mean for promotion applicants?
Pre-tenure Faculty: Those Eligible for Tenure
Assistant Professors and Associate Professors without tenure who started with the Department before July 1, 2019 must choose whether they would like to be evaluated under the current FEC Standards or the previous FEC Guidelines when they apply for tenure, pursuant to Article A6.03.9 of the Collective Agreement.
Assistant Professors and Associate Professors without tenure who started with the Department on or after July 1, 2019 will be subject to the current FEC Standards.
Tenured Faculty: Those Eligible for promotion to full Professor
All tenured Associate Professors are subject to the current FEC Standards.
Third Year Review
A newly appointed untenured faculty member will be given a probationary appointment as an Assistant Professor (or as an Associate Professor without tenure, if applicable) for two successive probation periods. The first probationary period is 4 years and the second probationary period is an additional 2 years, for a total of 6 years.
During the third year of the initial appointment, the faculty member is required to submit a promotion application for review by the Department's Academic Evaluation Committee (AEC). The AEC will provide feedback to the faculty member to strengthen their materials. The Third Year Review functions as a "practice" tenure hearing.
Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor
Faculty members employed under the Collective Agreement can be granted Tenure with promotion to Associate Professor, which may be considered any time after the conclusion of the first probationary period of four years, but is normally considered in the final twelve months of the second probationary period of two years. Faculty members will be evaluated according to their job description and the criteria outlined in the Faculty Evaluation Committee (FEC) Guidelines or the FEC Standards (see above).
Promotion to Professor
Promotion to Professor is not an automatic nor a mandatory step in an academic career. A long-term career as an Associate Professor is an acceptable and appropriate career path for many academics. Promotion to Professor represents recognition of distinction and excellence. Each candidate will normally have achieved national and/or international recognition as a leader in their chosen area of expertise as a teacher, researcher/scholar, administrator or scholarly clinician. The faculty member will have met the performance standards outlined in the FEC Standards (effective July 1, 2019). Faculty members are eligible to apply when their University rank based salary is within one (1) merit increment, or is higher than, the minimum salary for Professor.
Academic Evaluation Committee
In order to help ensure your success in your career progression, the Department of Medicine Academic Evaluation Committee (AEC) meets with the Chair in April to review promotion packages. Subsequently, faculty members receive written feedback to allow the opportunity to make any necessary changes to their promotion package prior to its submission to FEC.
Contact Us
Gloria Jichita
Academic Development Officer
domado@ualberta.ca
Dr. Vijay Daniels
Associate Chair, Education and Faculty Development
vdaniels@ualberta.ca