PART 1: PRINCIPAL UNIT COMMITTEES

1. Department Promotion and Tenure Committees: At NMSU-Las Cruces, each academic department or unit utilize a department promotion and tenure committee. At the Doña Ana Community College, divisions are treated as equivalent to departments for this rule and therefore its “department promotion and tenure committees” are elected from the regular faculty from each division.
2. College Promotion and Tenure Committee: Each college at the NMSU-Las Cruces campus will utilize a college promotion and tenure committee, consisting of elected faculty members. The community colleges other than Doña Ana Community College, NMSU- Alamogordo, NMSU- Carlsbad and NMSU- Grants, and the University Library utilize only one promotion and tenure committee which functions as a college promotion and tenure committee.
3. College Faculty Representation: Principal Unit Committees considering the promotion of College and Research Faculty must include college faculty representation of at least one college faculty member. (See Also ARP 9.32, Part 9)

PART 2: PRINCIPAL UNIT POLICIES

1. Department Promotion and Tenure Policy: Each NMSU-Las Cruces department or DACC division shall have a written policy for promotion and for tenure referred to as a Department Promotion and Tenure policy. The Department Promotion and Tenure policies shall include criteria and procedures for promotion and tenure, developed collaboratively by the faculty and department/division head, and approved by the college dean or community college Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, as appropriate. The Department Promotion and Tenure Policy shall be consistent with their respective college or community college criteria and procedures for promotion and tenure. It shall also be consistent with the NMSU Rules on Faculty Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure, ARP 9.30 – 9.36.
2. College Promotion and Tenure Policy: Each college, community college and the University Library must have a written policy for promotion and for tenure, developed collaboratively by the tenure and Tenure-Track Faculty and college academic administration, and approved by the provost and chief academic officer. The college promotion and tenure policies must be consistent with the NMSU Rules on Faculty Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure (ARP 9.30 – 9.36).
3. Development of Promotion Procedures: Colleges must develop specific promotion procedures for their College and Research Faculty. The protections for College and Research Faculty must be the same as those given Tenure-Track Faculty and tenured faculty in ARP 9.31 – [Effective AY 18/19] Annual Performance Evaluation – Regular Faculty and Part 3 of this rule.

PART 3: COMMON ELEMENTS FOR PRINCIPAL UNITS’ PROMOTION AND TENURE POLICIES

To facilitate consistency with the NMSU Rules on Faculty Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure (ARP 9.30 – 9.36), each department and college promotion and tenure policy must contain the following:

1. A statement that university policies regarding promotion and tenure supersede department and college policies.
2. Statements describing the criteria for promotion and tenure consistent with performance evaluation criteria. (See ARP 9.31 – [Effective AY 18/19] Annual Performance Evaluation – Regular Faculty).
3. A provision permitting a candidate to temporarily suspend the promotion and tenure time process in accordance with the procedure provided in ARP 9.35 – [Effective AY 18/19] Faculty Promotion and Tenure Reviews: Procedural Guidelines and Timeline.
4. A statement regarding confidentiality of records and all committee procedures, including the manner in which confidentiality is ensured. Exceptions must be clearly indicated.
5. A commitment to review for potential update the Principle Units’ respective policies and procedures for evaluation, promotion and tenure, including but not limited to those occasions when the NMSU Rules on Faculty Evaluation, Promotion and Tenure are amended, to maintain consistency. A standing committee of the Faculty Senate will review the NMSU Rules on Faculty Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure. College rules and procedures for promotion and tenure will be reviewed by a college committee which will include Faculty Senators. Department rules and procedure for evaluation, promotion and tenure will be reviewed by a departmental committee including faculty from the department and the department head.
6. A statement to the effect that if the NMSU Rules on Faculty Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure (ARP 9.30 – 9.36) should change during a faculty member’s pre-tenure or pre-promotion period, the faculty member may elect whether to be evaluated by the former Rule or the revised Rule, and this election shall be documented in writing to clearly specify which standards, criteria, etc will be applied in accordance with the faculty member’s election.
7. A procedure for the conduct of a Mid-Probationary Review. Faculty who choose to participate in the review process must submit their Portfolio to their department head by mid-January. The Portfolio shall be prepared in accordance with ARP 9.35 Part 6, “Portfolio Preparation by Candidate” and be reviewed by the department promotion and tenure committee, the department head, and the college promotion and tenure committee. The college committee will provide to the department head and faculty member a written formative evaluation of progress. The review is conducted in accordance with the Principle Unit’s promotion and tenure policy. (See ARP 9.35 Part 3, “Mid-Probationary Review”)
8. A procedure for electing the college promotion and tenure committee. All tenure and Tenure-Track Faculty are eligible to vote during the election. When colleges choose to include college faculty on this committee, college faculty are eligible to vote for college faculty membership on the college committee.
9. Procedure for selecting members of the department promotion and tenure committee.
10. Definition of eligibility for serving on the promotion and tenure committees. Only tenured faculty members are eligible to vote for tenure and promotion. College-track faculty who serve on the college committee are eligible to vote on promotion of college-track faculty. In instances of promotion, committee members must hold a rank at least equal to the rank for which the candidate is applying.
11. Provisions for term limits if desired for serving on the department promotion and tenure committee.
12. Provisions for term limits for serving on the college promotion and tenure committee are required, except at the Alamogordo, Carlsbad, and Grants community colleges.
13. The provision that in no case will a promotion and tenure committee be comprised of fewer than three eligible members.
14. A provision for addressing cases where there are inadequate numbers of eligible faculty to constitute a committee. The department and/or the college promotion and tenure committees may have members from outside the department.
15. The provision that the dean, department head, or comparable administrator may meet with the Principle Units’ promotion and tenure committees to discuss procedural matters.
16. The provision that the deliberations and voting of promotion and tenure committees will be conducted in closed session only among committee members. Committee members can attend sessions by a confidential electronic method with permission of the committee chair. Committee members must take part in the deliberations in order to vote.
17. A method for surveying the committees’ recommendations regarding each candidate(s) via secret written ballot. Committee members may vote in person, or by an appropriate confidential electronic method with the permission of the committee chair. Absentia and proxy ballots are not permitted. All vote counts must be recorded.
18. A method for the Principle Units’ promotion and tenure committees to submit a letter summarizing its recommendations and the numerical vote count on each candidate to the department head and college dean or comparable administrator. The recommendation must:
    1. Reflect the majority view.
    2. Contain specific commendations, concerns, and recommendations addressing the department’s criteria in each of the areas required for promotion and tenure.
    3. Allow for dissenting opinions containing specific commendations, concerns, and recommendations addressing the criteria in each of the areas required for promotion and tenure.
19. A method for informing each candidate in writing of the Principle Units’ recommendations and numerical vote count, the department head’s letter, and/or the dean’s or comparable administrator’s letter.
20. The provision that a candidate may withdraw from further consideration in accordance with ARP 9.25 Part 6, “Withdrawal”.
21. Guidelines for preparing the Portfolio. (See ARP 9.35 Part 6, “Portfolio Preparation”)  The parties shall refer to the individual college policies for additional guidelines.
22. A mechanism to provide candidates with sample Portfolios. If the Portfolios of actual persons are used, written permission must be obtained from the owner of the Portfolio.
23. A procedure for indicating how and when a candidate may change, add, or delete materials from the Portfolio after the Portfolio is submitted to the committee for review.
24. A statement regarding the location where the Documentation File will be stored and accessed for review.
25. A procedure for indicating how and when evaluators may request additional information. All requests must be made in writing and transmitted to the candidate.
26. A procedure allowing the candidate to review all items included in the Portfolio assembled prior to the review by appropriate committees, administrators, and/or External Reviewers.
27. A procedure for soliciting external letters of review which incorporates the following:
    1. The number of letters that shall be solicited for each candidate. At least three letters should be included in a tenure or promotion Portfolio.
    2. Specifications regarding how the letters will be placed into the candidate’s Portfolio. The department head will contact reviewers to solicit the letters.
    3. Specifications regarding how much and what type of material is supplied to reviewers. The department and/or college policies and criteria for tenure and promotion must be provided to reviewers.
    4. Specifications regarding the criteria for serving as an External Reviewer. A reviewer will be a highly regarded expert in one or more aspects of the candidates work and must be able to offer an objective assessment of the candidate’s work. When a reviewer holds a tenured position, it should be at or above the rank sought by the candidate. Departmental rules and procedures should be precise about who is or is not appropriate to serve as an External Reviewer. It is recommended that a candidate has a diverse set of reviewers to get the most complete picture of the candidate’s performance.
    5. Conflicts of interest, either real or perceived, must be avoided when selecting External Reviewers. See ARP 3.00 through 3.13 relating to Conflicts of Interest and Ethical Conduct for more information.
    6. Instructions to Reviewers (authors of external review letters and Letters of Support), including:
       1. A request for a brief statement regarding the individual’s qualifications for serving as a reviewer.
       2. A request that the reviewer indicate the relationship between the candidate and reviewer.
       3. Notification that the candidate will have an opportunity to read the letter of assessment.
       4. Notification that third parties in the event of an EEOC or other investigation into a tenure or promotion decision may review letters.
    7. A statement addressing the role, if any, of unsolicited letters. If a Principle Unit decides to accept unsolicited letters, such letters must be included in the Portfolio prior to review by the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee. If the Principle Unit does not have an explicit statement regarding unsolicited letters, such letters will not be accepted nor included in the Portfolio.
28. A statement regarding post-tenure review in accordance with ARP 9.36 – [Effective AY 18/19] Post-Tenure Review.
29. Reference to the appeals process as outlined in ARP 3.25 Discrimination, Harassment and Sexual Misconduct on Campus and ARP 10.60 – Review of Faculty Grievances.
30. Develop a procedure for reviewing the university’s Conflict of Interest policies, rules and procedures with the promotion and tenure review committee(s)