Appointments, Promotion & Tenure Information

Appointments to the faculty are initiated by department chairs. The School of Medicine uses the ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior instructor, and instructor.

Appointment at the rank of professor or associate professor requires nomination by the chair, review and approval by the department's Committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure (department CAPT) (the department CAPT), the School of Medicine's CAPT, the Steering Committee of Faculty Council, the dean, the provost, the president, and the University's Board of Trustees. Senior faculty at these ranks must demonstrate, among other qualifications: a) national prominence in research or b) regional prominence (for associate professor) or national prominence (for professor) in teaching or clinical service.

Appointment at the rank of assistant professor, senior instructor, or instructor requires the same review and approval as above except for the School of Medicine's CAPT and the Steering Committee review which are not necessary for these ranks.

All new full-time faculty members receiving fifty percent or more of their professional salary thru CWRU compensation can be appointed only following completion of affirmative action search requirements verified by the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity.

No full-time faculty appointment is effective or official until approved by the Board of Trustees.

Faculty Senior-Level Promotion Deadlines

Non-Tenure Track Senior-Level Promotions effective January 1, 2025

  • Declaration form due January 6, 2024 (Form)
  • Packet due February 28, 2024 (Guidelines)

Non-Tenure Track Senior-Level Promotions effective July 1, 2025

  • Declaration form due May 1, 2024 (Form)
  • Packet due June 2, 2024 (Guidelines)

Tenure Track Senior-Level Promotions effective July 1, 2025

  • Declaration form due March 31, 2024 (Form)
  • Packet due April 28, 2024 (Guidelines)

Interfolio for Senior-Level Promotions

Interfolio is an online platform that manages the process for senior-level promotions and award of tenure applications. This allows for candidates to easily see what materials they need, as well as allow department administrators, committees, and faculty affairs staff to move the candidate’s packet forward through the review process.The University has made the decision to use Interfolio and eventually route all promotion applications through this software. We are beginning this rollout with our basic science departments on CWRU’s main campus, with promotions effective January 1, 2024. 

We will roll out Interfolio for our departments at our other campuses (UH, VA, CCLCM, MHMC) in subsequent promotion cycles. We will communicate with each campus regarding any changes. In the meantime, the process for submitting senior-level promotions will remain the same for our departments at our UH, VA, CCLCM, and MHMC campuses (i.e. email, BOX).

Submission Instructions

For Faculty Promotion Candidates, please use the Interfolio Guide for Promotion Candidates for instructions on how to submit your promotion materials.

For Department Administrators, please use the Interfolio Job Aid for Department Admins for instructions on how to submit the department’s promotion materials for your faculty candidates.

Questions?

If you have questions regarding the promotions process, please reach out to facaffrs@case.edu.
If you have questions regarding technical issues with the Interfolio platform, please reach out to product-help@interfolio.com

Pre-Tenure Review

Tenure track faculty members in their third and sixth pre-tenure years must be evaluated by their department's Committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure. These evaluations shall address the faculty members:

  • Knowledge of his or her academic field and commitment to continuing development of this competence
  • Dedication to effective teaching
  • Commitment to a continuing program of research or other advanced creative activity
  • Willingness to assume a fair share of university administrative and service tasks

Reviews take place in the spring of the appropriate year and are managed by Michelle Shaylor in the Faculty Affairs Office. She will call for each year's review in a memo outlining the necessary steps.

Annual Performance Review

Department chairs are required to provide each full-time faculty member in their department with a written summary of their annual performance review. Basic science departments and the clinical science departments based at University Hospitals use a common electronic website. Faculty at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and the MetroHealth System are evaluated using their hospital's form.