Tenure Clock Extension

As described in the Faculty Handbook, a one-year probationary period extension shall be automatically granted to either parent (or both, if both parents are tenure-track or continued appointment-track faculty members) in recognition of the demands of caring for a newborn child or a child under five and newly placed for adoption or foster care. The request should be made within a year of the child’s arrival in the family.

An extension of the probationary period may also be approved on a discretionary basis for other extenuating non-professional circumstances that have had a significant impact on the faculty member’s productivity, such as a serious personal illness or major illness of a member of the immediate family, or the ongoing impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Documentation of medical reasons is required and should be submitted with this request. In rare cases, extraordinary professional circumstances not of the faculty member’s making may be acceptable justification for a probationary period extension. 

Probationary period extensions are granted in one-year increments. A cumulative total of two years is usually the maximum probationary period extension for any combination of reasons. A third extension may be requested during the probationary period if one of the extensions is based on the disruption of the pandemic. Requests should be made within a year of the qualifying event or extenuating circumstance. The provost may approve exceptions to these limitations.

If the department head does not support this request, the reasons for denial shall be provided in writing, and the request is automatically forwarded to the dean for further review. If the dean does not support this request, the reasons for denial shall be provided in writing, and the request is automatically forwarded to the provost for further review.

Request to Extend the Probationary Period (Tenure Clock Extension) (PDF)