Timetable for your residential trip (idea)

For many people, obtaining a tenure-track position is the culmination of years of work as a doctoral student. Achieving a position in itself has many benefits: a salary increase, the promise of continued career in the field and more independence and academic freedom. But successfully navigating the tenure process can be challenging, as tenure has declined dramatically at institutions nationally. In fact, about 75 percent of faculty positions are unfilled today.

If you are on the road, what can you do to increase your chances of finding accommodation in this area? Although it varies slightly by institution, we would like to share a timeline of the steps we took that helped us successfully complete the process. Even though we have both completed the tenure and promotion process at a teaching institution, we believe our advice is valuable to anyone about or thinking about the tenure track.

• The first year. You need to do three important things. First, you must gather documents that explain the tenure process and expectations for tenure at your institution. Those documents can be your contract; guidelines for management and promotion in your department, college and university; sample tenure and promotion files; and any rubrics that apply to your institution. Institutional guidelines will help you determine what is important in library teaching or practice, scholarship, and service, as well as the formal requirements for each.

For example, scholarship requirements vary by institution—and sometimes by departments within the same institution—when it comes to the number and type of peer-reviewed publications that count as examples of acceptable scholarship. This information is very important to know, as often publication cycles can be long and completing quality research takes time.

In our case, these documents also provided information on who would be on our tenure review committee and what software we needed to use throughout the process. If you must use certain types of software, be sure to talk to your partner about any specific features or problems within the program.

The second thing you should do in your first year is figure out how to document your academic growth. Also, establish a work schedule to complete the various tasks in obtaining the position. A multi-year process of gathering and sifting evidence shows that you are doing what is needed in your teure-track situation and you are doing it well.

In your first few months on the track, request and review documents submitted by your colleagues. That will allow you to see what a successful candidate looks like, and what your department, college and university expects. In fact, consider reviewing the documents at least once a year to ensure you are gathering the right evidence for your file.

In our cases, we kept copies of the main emails by printing them or keeping them in a folder. We also make a point of regularly scheduling time each month to process and collect evidence, enter data into the agency’s software, and update our CVs.

We also realized that working with our materials and holding meetings with colleagues about the recruitment process should be part of our normal working practices. Sitting time and promotion should not be extra work done off the clock. Instead, dedicate a few hours of your work week to organizing data, reviewing records and building proof of your residency file.

In addition, make a note in your calendar of when you are expected to apply for residency—your first appointment letter should show you when you are eligible. Remember, some institutions’ procedures are based on calendar years and others on academic years.

The third thing you should do is determine the level of support you will receive as you navigate the system. Does your department or college offer some form of mentor support, formal or informal? Does it give you time off to work on your residency? Can you get additional professional development or travel funds? Also, do you need to advocate for support or services, or are they offered to you automatically? How long does the support last? To find answers to those questions, talk to your colleagues and supervisor, check your chief academic officer’s web page, review the senate’s documents and/or contact your union if your institution has one.

• In the second to fourth year. These are the years when you should focus on data gathering and planning activities that help you meet your housing needs. We advise you to plan carefully which conferences, professional development activities and service areas you want to volunteer at to best meet your needs. It can be easy to say yes to many things, and managing your time will help you create a better work-life balance.

We also recommend using your two-year review as an opportunity to discuss your progress in tenure and promotion with your manager. For example, do you need to grow in certain areas, or are you too focused on one? Start communicating with colleagues inside and outside your institution, as you may need people to write letters of support for you, depending on what your institution’s needs are. Also, keep asking your colleagues about their experience, read other tenure files and raise questions.

• Final (or fifth) year. Nine to twelve months before your residency application deadline, you should create a timeline of what you need to accomplish. Below is a sample nine-month timeline that you can adjust based on your institution’s needs and your specific needs.
  • The first month. Identify your team members or co-workers that you can work with on your documents. This helps you hold yourself accountable, encourages reflection and provides general social-emotional support during the process. It also allows you to develop an interdisciplinary, cross-campus understanding of each other’s roles, especially if you are not in the same department or college.
    • Schedule a time and space to meet that is not in any of your offices—it will help you focus on what you need to do that day that is specific to getting the position. Review all the institutional documents you collected in your first year, and make sure you have the latest versions. If you have questions about the information in them, access the answers. Create a timeline based on those documents and your established work practices, to meet and follow the process.
  • The second month. Now you should start organizing the evidence you have collected, from your first year. Make sure your tasks are documented in any necessary software. In addition, if you use mandatory software for your dossier, use the report to see how the report extracts information and how many pages it is—especially important if you have limitations on its length.
    • Finally, talk to your immediate supervisor—your chair or your instructor—about applying for tenure and promotion. During that conversation, gauge their belief in your ability to succeed in the process. This is also a good time to see if they recommend a category or categories for you to focus your application on—teaching or library work, scholarship, or service—and if they have other general recommendations.
  • The third month. Ask for support letters, and be strategic about it. Ask people who can speak to the category you plan to focus on. For example, ask students to write letters of support for your teaching, or identify faculty members who know your scholarship. Provide context for each author and what you would like them to highlight.
    • Remember, you can request letters and recognition of your work during your tenure process and later add this to your dossier. As always, be sure to follow your institution’s formal and informal policies regarding internal and external correspondence.
  • The fourth and fifth month. Start writing your stories for your dossier. They provide an overview and context about the data generated by the software and explain why the institution should want to keep it. During these months, you should continue to gather and organize your additional evidence, including following up on any requests for supporting documents. You will need more evidence to support what you write in your essays.
  • The sixth month. Decide on a deadline for adding additional evidence of your work to the report, as this should be at the end of the semester. This month, you put together everything you need for your dossier—making sure you have supporting documents, creating the structure of your appendices, organizing your additional evidence, and more.
  • The seventh month. Continue to edit and update your stories and add any additional content you need. Depending on your institution, you may be able to ask a member of the department, writing center and/or faculty support center to review and provide feedback on your entire paper.
  • The eighth and ninth months. Complete the narrative portion of the report, including any revisions to content or formatting. Once installed, you may or may not be able to make changes, depending on your institution’s guidelines. Finally, submit your entire dossier on time, and in accordance with your institution’s procedures.

You’ve done it—from gathering evidence to writing stories to organizing more evidence. Hopefully, by using our advice, the process didn’t feel overwhelming. Of course, take some time to relax and celebrate your work, growth and success reflected in your posting.

Then start planning your next promotional dose.