Post-Tenure Reviews

Background on Post-Tenure Review

Effective June 12, 2025, the Indiana University Board of Trustees established policy BOT-24: Post-Tenure Faculty Productivity and Annual Review in compliance with Indiana Code (IC) 21-39.5-2-2 and IC 21-38-3.5. 

The policy creates a post-tenure review on a five-year cycle. Each tenured faculty member will complete a post-tenure review five years after their effective tenure date and every five years thereafter. The focus of the post-tenure review is the five-year period, which the faculty member may discuss within the context of their entire academic career.

In Spring 2026, the first year following the effective date of IC 21-38-3.5, 20% of tenured faculty members with the most longevity as tenured faculty will be evaluated, in addition to faculty members who have had tenure in effect for the five prior years. 

In each of the second, third, fourth, and fifth years following the effective date of IC 21-38-3.5, 20% of tenured faculty, annually, who have the most longevity as a tenured faculty member and who have not received a post-tenure productivity review will be evaluated in addition to faculty who have had tenure in effect for the five prior years. Faculty timelines for post-tenure review are managed by the provost's office and distributed to academic units.

Tenured faculty members holding administrative roles (chairs, directors or higher with faculty supervisory role or 0.5 or greater administrative full-time equivalent, FTE) shall be reviewed annually by their supervisors. These tenured faculty members shall undergo post-tenure review in the fifth year after their administrative appointment drops below 0.5 FTE. 

Resources for Post-Tenure Reviews

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Step-by-Step Elements User Guide for Faculty
• One-Page Summary Guidance for Faculty
  • Teaching
  • Research
  • Service
• Evaluation Letter Template for Chairs and Deans
  • Chair to Faculty Member Notification Email Template (2026)
  • Dean to Faculty Member Notification Email Template (2026)
• Post-Tenure Review Workshop Recording (January 2026)
• Post-Tenure Review Workshop Recording (February 2026)

Routing Procedures

Due February 15, 2027: The faculty member under review submits the following materials through the Post-Tenure Review exercise in Elements

1. Current curriculum vitae (CV)
2. A narrative of up to one page per productivity area (teaching or library services, scholarship, and service) describing their accomplishments and summarizing productivity over the previous five years.
3. Estimates for the following items during the 5-year review period:
   1. Average teaching or library services effort allocation
   2. Total number of undergraduate students taught 
   3. Total number of graduate students taught
   4. Average hours per week spent on instructional assignments
   5. Average hours per week spent overseeing graduate students

Due March 5, 2027: The faculty member’s department chair or unit head reviews the submitted materials, along with the last five years of annual report letters. The department chair or unit head will provide a written assessment of the overall productivity of the faculty member using a template provided by the Academic Leadership Council (ALC) and the University Faculty Council (UFC).

Optional: The school dean may choose to convene a post-tenure review committee to assist in the assessment of the post-tenure productivity review packets. This committee serves in an advisory capacity to the dean. 

Due March 19, 2027: The dean reviews the materials and assesses the faculty member’s disciplinary record in their personnel file. The dean adds a brief letter that assesses and recommends the faculty member’s productivity rating for the five-year period under review using a template provided by the ALC and the UFC.

Optional and due by April 2, 2027: The faculty member will have 10 business days from receipt of the dean’s letter to submit an optional response that can be added to the packet before the dean forwards the packet to the provost for review.

Due April 16, 2027: The provost will review the post-tenure productivity review packet and assesses the faculty member’s productivity, professional conduct, academic responsibilities, and performance during the review period. The provost will provide each faculty member reviewed a final performance rating before forwarding the packet to the chancellor.

Due April 30, 2027: The chancellor will review the dossier and accept, reject, or modify the provost’s recommended rating. The chancellor will send their recommendation to the president.

Review Criteria

1. Meets Expectations: The faculty member’s productivity and performance meet or exceed unit-defined criteria for the previous five years.
2. Does Not Meet Expectations: The faculty member’s productivity and performance fall below unit-defined criteria for the previous five years. A faculty member will be considered not to have met expectations if, during the previous five years, the faculty member received an overall “does not meet expectations” rating on an annual review and did not successfully complete the required 12-month, developmental performance improvement plan (PIP), or demonstrated a sustained failure to meet the assigned academic and professional duties of the position. In the case of a “does not meet expectations” rating, the faculty member must be placed on a 12-month, developmental PIP. Successful completion of the PIP places the faculty member in good standing and supersedes the “does not meet expectations” rating. A faculty member who fails to successfully complete the PIP may be subject to dismissal from employment at the end of the academic year.
3. Unsatisfactory: The faculty member has received an overall rating of “does not meet expectations” in two or more annual reviews without successfully completing the required PIPs. A faculty member who receives a final productivity rating of “unsatisfactory” may be subject to dismissal from employment at the end of the academic year.