Retention, Tenure and Promotion

CFETI has collaborated with University Personnel - Faculty Services to assemble the following tools and resources for the Retention, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP) process. Expand the links below to find the support you need.

• RTP Dossier Checklist

  • Faculty assembling a dossier are strongly encouraged to use this Candidate RTP Dossier Checklist to ensure that they have included all required materials in eFaculty. You are welcome to download this spreadsheet and check off items as you work on your file. 

    You should also consult your department chair and/or Associate Dean for Research for feedback on your dossier. Additional instructions are provided in the What Goes Where Guide [pdf] [pdf] developed by UP - Faculty Services.

• “Cheat Sheet” of RTP Criteria and Standards

  • We have taken University Policy S15-8 [pdf] [pdf] and distilled the criteria and standards into this handy one-page S15-8 Cheat Sheet. Print out a copy–it’s handy tool for anyone assembling or reviewing a dossier.

• RTP Training for Candidates

  • RTP @ SJSU is a comprehensive repository of materials and resources that you are encouraged to explore as you prepare for your dossier review. The course provides the following:
    • Overview of policies and procedures
    • Guidance on crafting a compelling case
    • Suggestions for leveraging the features of eFaculty
    • Sample dossiers shared by your colleagues.
    The training is delivered asynchronously via Canvas; it can be accessed at any time using your SJSU credentials in Duo.

• RTP Training for Committee Members

  • RTP Committee Training is a required annual training for RTP committee members at all levels to help you engage in a substantive and holistic view of colleagues’ dossiers. This course offers the following:

    • Overview of policies and procedures
    • Complexities of being an evaluator
    • Considerations by areas of achievement
    
    The training is delivered asynchronously via Canvas; it can be accessed at any time using your SJSU credentials in Duo. Faculty who are elected to serve on an RTP committee must be enrolled as “students” in the course and complete required assignments before they can access cases in eFaculty. Department chairs are responsible for reporting committee members to University Personnel - Faculty Services.

• RTP Calendars and Policies

  • UP-FS maintains each cycle’s RTP Calendar and key policies related to the process at their Retention, Tenure, & Promotion website.

• eFaculty Training and Support

  • UP-FS offers guides, quick tips, and open labs to help you navigate eFaculty. Visit their eFaculty Training and Help page for more information. You will also find their detailed What Goes Where? Preparing Materials in eFaculty guide [pdf] [pdf].

• College and University Committee Membership

  • Curious to learn who is serving on RTP committees in this cycle? This spreadsheet provides a list of committee members at the college and university levels.

• Departmental RTP Guidelines

  • Departments may find that their candidates’ dossiers exemplify the criteria for tenure and promotion in ways that are unique to their academic field or area(s) of expertise. University Policy S15-7 [pdf] [pdf] provides a way for those departments to develop and Departmental RTP Guidelines that help evaluators better understand how candidates might meet the different levels of achievement.

    Please note: Departmental RTP guidelines are an outward-facing document for colleagues and administrators “up the chain,” i.e. a resource for evaluators who may be unfamiliar with the variety of contributions that meet each level of achievement within your field. As such, they should be written in such a way that enables someone outside the department to gain a clear understanding of what your department values and why.

• Steps for Developing Departmental RTP Guidelines

  • Review the list of currently approved Departmental RTP Guidelines, maintained by UP-Faculty Services, to gain a sense of how other departments have approached their guidelines. Take the position of a reviewer. What about the document makes it easy to read? What makes it hard to digest?

    Watch our 2022 info session on creating guidelines (passcode 7K1!W#Uc) and view the slide deck. Follow the recommended RTP guidelines template and be mindful of best practices for crafting effective guidelines.

    When you have a draft that has been approved by your faculty, please submit it to faculty-success@sjsu.edu to initiate a review by Professional Standards and your college dean. Once approved, the guidelines come up for review every five years.