Getting Promoted as an Instructor

DISCLAIMER: This information is intended for Fixed-Term Instructors, but term-to-term instructors are also eligible for promotion under much the same process. Speak to Tom Weller for details. Time spent as a term-to-term instructors does count toward promotion for fixed-term instructors.

All Instructors … are eligible to apply for promotion this coming academic year if they began employment at OSU no later than Fall 2017 and will have accumulated at least 3.0 FTE years in service by the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. Previously promoted faculty in these categories are eligible for their second promotion to Senior II if they were promoted no later than Fall 2017 and will, by the end of the 2020-2021 academic year, have accumulated 3.0 FTE years in service since promotion.
- UAOSU Timely Update

To clarify, 1.0 FTE year is one year of service at your annually contracted service duration, so 9 months for 9-months contracted instructors and 12 months for 12-month instructors. In general (for 1.0 instructors), you should start the process in February-April of your 3rd year, and be sure to let Tom Weller know!

You should also review the EECS Promotion and Tenure Guide (here), as this is the document that EECS will use internally to track candidate information.

The Promotion Process

The process for promotion in the Instructor track is not simple at OSU, but it can be navigated with preparation and time. This document is intended as a list of best-practices to enable you to succeed in your career path.

Promotion to Senior Instructor at OSU requires:

graduate degree appropriate to the assigned duties, or comparable educational or professional experience;
have special skills or experience needed in the unit*;
have an exceptional record of achievement in the assigned duties.

Understand your Position Description

Instructor positions in EECS may have a specific percentage of time allocated to each of several role duties, such as…

Instruction
Advising
Service

If there is a duty in your Position Description that is assigned a percentage, you will be evaluated on it in your promotion process. It is important to keep track of duties within each of these areas so that your Dossier (see below) shows that you performed all duties assigned with your role satisfactorily.

If you do not have a copy of your P.D., ask your supervisor and they will be able to forward it to you. If you don’t agree with the distribution of duties in your P.D. approach your supervisor to update it. The normal time to do this is when you submit your annual performance review.

Understand the Dossier

The Promotion Dossier on the CoE Promotion and Tenure Page is a document which will be partially completed by you, some of your references, the Department (via a committee and the Head), and the College. The absolute best thing you can do to ease your promotion process is to download it now and treat it as a living document:

Keep your Candidate Statement (Section V) in at least an outline form, updated yearly.
Utilize the annual performance review preparation to update your Vita (Section VIII) with current information.
- To aid in this, keep careful track of tasks you complete throughout the year.
- This section doesn’t have a length limit so include all pertinent activities and highlight those that contributed beyond expectations.
When you have a particularly strong connection with a student, take note of their name and ask if they’d ever be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf.

By returning regularly to this document, and taking your performance reviews seriously, you will be able to make any necessary adjustments in your work role and performance well in advance of “showtime”.

Understand the Timeline

The current requirements allow you to apply for promotion after 3.0 FTE years of service in rank. The promotion process itself will take one whole year, which is interspersed with interviews, revisions, teaching observations, etc… For a complete listing of the various deadlines, check the Annual timeline for COE promotion and tenure activities on the CoE Promotion and Tenure Page. It is non-trivial to understand, but the really important dates and time-frames to look for (and some aren’t on the Calendar) are…

Speak with School Head regarding candidacy
- You should do this at or before your performance review for your second FTE year.
Inform School Head you’re going up for Senior Instructor
- By April near the end of your third FTE year, now termed “Promotion Year 1”
- EECS will provide a P&T mentor to help you in preparation of your Dossier.
Complete “Initial Dossier (Candidate’s Portion)”
- By May, Promotion Year 1
- This is the section where you notify the department of your candidacy and work on building your initial dossier, submit, receive feedback, revise, and resubmit. It is the bulk of your role in the process.
Identify potential Student Evaluators
- By June, Promotion Year 1
- See section below on Letter Writers
“Peer evaluation of teaching”
- in September/October, Promotion Year 1
- For this the EECS P&T Committee will task several (2-3) reviewers to observe your teaching, perhaps interview you, and write a letter in support (or not) of your promotion.
- It is recommended to use the OSU Peer-Review of Online Teaching Guidelines since course observation of online courses is very different from traditional courses.
“Candidate Signs Section X of the Dossier”
- The deadline is later, but often this is signed when the Dossier is submitted (Step 3 above)
- In this section you may sign away permission to view the dossier in its entirety (possibly containing negative reviews and letters)
- If you’re unsure about this, ask your supervisor.
Unit head: Meet with candidate
- November, Promotion Year 1
- In this time-frame you’ll meet 1:1 with the School Head to review the internal letters and learn whether or not they will support your promotion.
- This is also an opportunity to chat with the School Head about your role changes as a promoted Instructor.
Dean: Meet with candidate
- February, Promotion Year 2
- In this time-frame you’ll meet 1:1 with the Dean of CoE to talk about the promotion process and learn whether or not they will support your promotion.
- You seldom get a chance to have a 1:1 with the Dean - use it wisely!
Get Promoted/Paid
- Your salary and rank will update in September of Promotion Year 2 for 9-month contracts, or July for 12-month contracts; approximately 18 months after the process started. What a ride!

Letter Writers

During the time you work at OSU, you should be building a contacts directory of former students who may be willing to write a letter on your behalf as part of the promotion process. I generally recommend former ULAs and students who you have had regular substantive (heh) interaction with, or for whom you have otherwise made a substantial positive impact.

NOTE: As of AY2023, the requirement for non-student evaluators was removed for promotion in the instructor ranks.

Students

The instructor provides 6-8 names of students that they want to recommend for this activity. EECS solicits another 6-8 through their own process. Instructors do not need to reach out to the students to ask them to write the letters, the department will do that for them. (I did make sure they were willing before providing the names).

The message that students receive is thus:

Dear Students, Professor “X” is going through a standard evaluation as part of the promotion and tenure process in the School of EECS at Oregon State University. As a part of the evaluation process, a “short letter” is requested from *each* of you to help appraise the quality of the professor’s teaching and advising. Professor “X” has waived the right to access individual letters of evaluation solicited during the promotion process. Comments on any of the following are suggested (based on your knowledge of the professor).

Teaching:

Communication skills
Organization of lectures
Teaching style
Interactions with students
HWs/Exams
Learning experience

Advising:

Mentoring (graduate/undergraduate students)
Graduate student advising

Candidate Statement

Channel Hamilton, this is your “shot”
Convince everyone you deserve the promotion
Use your literary voice, speak from your experience
How do you make OSU better?
How do you help OSU accomplish it’s stated goals?
Why do we need you, in particular?
Try telling your “story” to someone. When talking, think about the statement.
What have you tried that’s worked – anything that sets you apart or before.
Edit, Edit, Edit!

COVID Statement

“…describe the impact of the pandemic on the ability to perform duties in the position description. Impacts may include the following examples: personal circumstances that impede work, lack of access to research facilities and sites, inability to collect data, publication delays, cancelled conferences and seminars, or other circumstances attributable to the changed landscape of working under pandemic conditions.”

The COVID statement exists to account for negative impact of COVID on your job performance
Use it to detail how COVID messed/interrupted/disrupted with your ability to do your job
This includes impacts to your mental health

Other Tips

When you notify your supervisor that you would like to go up for promotion, ask for a mentor for the process. This will be someone who has already gone through the process and will be able to give you advise and review your Dossier.
The Dossier formatting requirements are absolutely requirements. Format it exactly as shown in the template or you’ll have to revise those portions.
Keep a list of students you’ve impacted very positively. You’ll need letter volunteers.
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice or assistance from anyone in a leadership role, existing promoted Instructors, or peers. We all want to help!
The Candidate Statement is daunting and important. It needs to sell you to the promotion committees, but don’t be afraid to make it uniquely yours. It is, after all, your statement.
Include all course improvements, pedagogy developments, and ‘cool stuff’ from your courses in the curriculum contributions section.