Frequently Asked Questions from Tenure-Track Probationary Faculty Members

  • How does Canvas work?
     
  • How do I expend research or travel funding I have received?
     
  • What needs to go into my syllabus?
     
  • Into which review category (teaching, research, service, advising, honors & awards) does the work that I’ve done go?
     
  • How many publications/performances/exhibitions/etc. do I have to complete to succeed in my tenure case?
     
  • Am I on track for a successful tenure case or not?
     
  • What matters most for the tenure case?
     
  • How do I keep my students and my teaching from sapping all of my time from pursuing my research objectives? How do I stay research productive when I could put all of my time into educating my students and they would still want more?
     
  • How do I balance my time between being visible in the department with my students and faculty colleagues with being out in the field developing my visibility nationally in my professional/academic field? How much time away is too much time away?
     
  • How do I keep myself from spending all day answering e-mail?
     
  • How do I keep myself from spending all day in meetings?
     
  • I feel unable to stand up for myself and express a minority or contrarian opinion in department processes because of my probationary status. Should I speak up or continue staying silent? If the former, how do I do so without harming my chances for successful promotion?
     
  • What is the deal with faculty colleague X? Why were they so mean/nice/unusual in that meeting?
     
  • Can I go up for promotion early? Do I have the record for that? What does a record for that look like in my field?
     
  • My research requires equipment or financial resources that are not available for me here. How do I go about getting those resources, either within the institution or without?
     
  • Which conferences in my field am I supposed to attend each year? What value is it for me? Who should I meet? Should I present at them? Or are they wastes of my time?
     
  • Are there venues or publications or kinds of research output that I should avoid because they will not be valued highly for tenure in my discipline?
     
  • I have been invited to do some particular research project or presentation. Is this a project I should say yes to or should I decline to spend that time on other opportunities?
     
  • I have been asked to serve on a particular committee, but I feel like I’m already doing too much. Can I decline to serve on this particular committee, or would that be a mistake?
     
  • Are there things I should be doing to have a successful tenure case that I’m not doing?
     
  • What did the EC/BC members say about my annual review file? What was their feedback about my performance and progress?
     
  • Why does the department do things the way that it does them?
     
  • Why does the student’s degree program require these things that it requires? Can we change them? How?