1. Policy Statement.
Excluding time from the probationary period allows balance between work and life away from work for tenure track faculty members who experience significant personal obligations (e.g. medical, family or other circumstances that interfere with academic work) during the pre-tenure probationary period. Recognizing the inherent challenges in balancing work and life away from work and addressing them appropriately allows UNT to recruit and retain the best scholars, who will contribute to academic excellence at UNT.
2. Application of Policy.
3. Definitions.
4. Procedures and Responsibilities.
A. Eligibility
A tenure-track faculty member, under certain circumstances, may request that up to one year be excluded from the probationary period. Such circumstances may include, among others, the birth or adoption of a child, responsibility for managing the illness or disability of a family member, serious persistent personal health issues, and/or death of a parent, spouse, child or domestic partner. A maximum of two, one-year periods may be excluded from the probationary period.
B. Requesting Time Period Exclusions
1. Faculty Member. Requests for time exclusions from the pre-tenure probationary period will begin with a written request from the faculty member to the department chairperson. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to provide appropriate documentation to adequately demonstrate why the request should be granted. Faculty members should make the request whenever they believe circumstances may warrant approval of the request. Permission for exclusion may not be sought out of hindsight, long after the potentially qualifying circumstance. A request for exclusion may not be submitted after the deadline has passed for submission of the promotion and tenure dossier. The Family and Medical Leave policy 1.4.21 should be referenced for serious health issues of the faculty member, spouse, parent or child or for the birth or adoption of a child.
2. Chair. Upon receipt of a request to exclude time, the chairperson will submit a written recommendation to the dean, including the reasons for supporting or not supporting the request.
3. Dean. The dean will review the request and recommendation by the chairperson and make a written recommendation to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
4. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs may approve or disapprove the request.
C. Approvals/Denials
The evaluation of the request will be based on the merits of the individual case at each step in the review process. Denials may be based on lack of progress toward tenure at time the request is made, except for requests made pursuant to the Family Medical Leave policy; insufficient information to support the request; or, any other meritorious reason. The approval of a request for a probationary period time exclusion will be documented in writing and include the reason(s) for the exclusion, the period of the exclusion and its effect upon the date for tenure review, and the plan for the faculty member to meet his or her instructional and other academic responsibilities during the excluded period. A denial will be documented in writing and include the reason(s) or basis for the denial.
A faculty member must sign the approved document prior to implementation of the exclusion. “The standards and criteria in effect at the time the faculty member’s request for exclusion was granted shall be used in reviewing her/him for tenure.”
D. Appeal of Denial of Request
The denial of a request for a time period exclusion may be appealed through regular faculty grievance procedures.
5. References and Cross-references.
6. Forms and Tools.
There are no forms for this policy.
