Universities have various rank of professors and not all of the professors are tenured, which means they do not have a permanent position at the institution. If you are hired in a tenure track faculty position you will receive a contract for a period of three years, During this time you must engage in research and writing, after which you will geta contract for a further three years. In most cases it takes six years to become tenured, but this also depends on available tenure positions available. If you are not offered tenure at the end of the sixth year, the university will give you a contract for an additional year to allow you time to get a position at another university.
A professor in a tenure track faculty position has to be appointed to the rank of associate professor when tenure is granted. The decision to grant tenure is decide by a selection committee upon the recommendation of senior ranking professors, the dean of the faculty and the chair. If you do receive an offer of appointment and tenure, you will receive a standard form letter, which sets out your rights and responsibilities in the new position. Along with the appointment and promotion in rank comes a raise in salary and this should be specified in the contract letter.
A tenure track faculty position requires educational qualifications in the forma of a doctoral degree, completed research in the field, as well as published scholarly writings in academic magazines related to the field of expertise. During your contract at the university, you will be expected to teach graduate and undergraduate classes, conduct seminars and participate in meetings and other faculty events. At the end of your sixth year of service at a university, you will have a formal review by the selection committee, which will look at all aspects of your time at the institution.
You can be appointed to the rank of full time assistant professor as a tenure track faculty position as well. However, the probationary period for this position can be from one to three years. A decision on tenure must be made at the end of that period.. This is often the case with professors who complete their university courses and doctoral degrees at the sane university. Throughout their years of study, they have become very well known in the faculty and have used the university resources for their research and writing.
In order to maintain your position after working through the tenure track faculty position, you must remain active in the university. One of the responsibilities that comes with this position is to promote the university in the community and the world of business. Fund-raising is an important part of working in a university as is the ability to write grant proposals for research funding. The ability to raise money for the faculty and the university as a whole, in combination with the type of research and writing you do, plays a large part in receiving tenure at a university.
