Probationary Period

• The probationary period refers to the period of time at the end of which a tenure-track faculty member is put up for tenure. A tenure-track assistant professor must be reviewed no later than the sixth year of the probationary period and individuals appointed to the associate professor or professor ranks without tenure must be reviewed no later than the third year of their probationary period.
• For example: A tenure-track assistant professor (with no probationary period extensions) who started in rank at UT Austin at the start of the 2019-20 academic year (AY2019-20) would be reviewed no later than AY2024-25.
• Note:  Faculty with joint appointments at Dell Medical School follow this probationary period.

• One year of probationary service is accrued by at least two long sessions (fall and spring semesters) of full-time academic service during an academic year. 
• An academic year is defined as starting September 1st and ending on August 31st of the following calendar year (e.g., 9/1/24 to 8/31/25).  
• When a faculty member works a partial year (e.g., a faculty member begins their appointment in January) or is on a leave of absence (e.g., leave without pay) for any part of the year, that time does not count as a year of probationary service.
  • For example: A tenure-track assistant professor might start in rank at UT Austin in January 2024. Their first full probationary year of service would then start in September 2024 (tenure clock start date), and the first year of probationary service would be AY2024-25.

• A probationary period extension is a tenure clock extension. A year during which an extension is applied does not count toward the maximum number of years allowed for the probationary period. As noted above, a tenure-track assistant professor must be reviewed no later than the sixth year of the probationary period.  And individuals appointed to the associate professor or professor ranks without tenure must be reviewed no later than the third year of the probationary period.
• For example: A tenure-track assistant professor starting at UT Austin during the 2024 fall semester and who receives one probationary period extension, must be reviewed no later than the 2030-31 academic year.  Without the probationary period extension, this tenure-track faculty member would have to be reviewed for tenure no later than the 2029-30 academic year.

• All tenure-track faculty are eligible to extend their probationary period for up to two years due to personal circumstances. 
• In addition, tenure-track faculty hired on or before May 31, 2022, for whom one of their probationary period years included AY 2019-20 or AY 2020-21 or AY 2021-22, are eligible to extend their probationary period one year due to the negative impact of COVID-19.

Personal circumstances that may justify the extension include, but are not restricted to: 

• disability or illness of the faculty member; 
• status of the faculty member as the principal caregiver of a preschool child; or, 
• status of the faculty member as a principal caregiver of a disabled, elderly, or ill member of the family of the faculty member.  (HOP 2-2020)

Requests for a probationary period extension must be submitted to the department chair. 

• It is the responsibility of the faculty member to provide appropriate documentation to adequately demonstrate why the request should be granted. 
• The documentation should include substantiation of why the circumstance placed an unreasonable burden upon the ability of the faculty member to meet progress expectations.

The probationary period extension request must be made no later than the end of the spring semester (i.e. by May 31st) before the faculty member’s mandatory tenure review year.

• For example: If the 2024-25 academic year is the tenure-track faculty member’s final year of their probationary period during which they must be reviewed for tenure, then the faculty member must submit a request for the probationary period extension by May 31, 2024.

The Executive Vice President and Provost will make extension decisions within five working days of their receipt of the request and all appropriate documentation unless exceptional circumstances mandate additional time for consideration.

• Yes, you can rescind (cancel) a probationary period extension if rescinded using the appropriate process including meeting the relevant deadline.
• A request to rescind an approved probationary period extension must be submitted in writing to the department chair no later than February 1st of the calendar year associated with the candidate’s intended fall promotion review.
• For example: If a tenure-track assistant professor who joined UT Austin faculty during the 2018 fall semester received one probationary period extension, then they would be up for review at the latest in fall, 2024. If the faculty member instead chooses to rescind the extension in order to be reviewed in fall, 2023, the request to rescind must be received not later than February 1, 2023, before the promotion review academic year 2023-24.

*Partial year does not count toward probationary period.

*Extension year does not count toward probationary period.

*Partial and extension years do not count toward the probationary period.