Tenure and faculty appointments

The Senior Appointments Committee (SAC) is a university-level committee made up of full-professors.

The SAC guide to reappointment, tenure, and promotion at UBC is the primary and most comprehensive source of information on tenure and appointments. The summary of SAC revisions explains the most recent updates from September 2023.

Procedures: The SAC guide documents procedures established through longstanding practice and through the evolution of the collective agreement, conditions of appointment for faculty*, Articles #5  and #9. 

Criteria: The criteria and procedures for tenure, promotion and reappointment reviews are detailed in the agreement on conditions of appointment for faculty, in particular Articles #3 and #4,  which form the basis for these documents:

• The professoriate stream: criteria for tenure and promotion (updated July 2024)
• The educational leadership stream: criteria for tenure and promotion (updated July 2024)

The timing of a faculty member’s regular reviews for tenure, promotion and reappointment will depend on their appointment and rank. Section 2 of the SAC guide,explains this process in detail, including when reviews for promotion and tenure are optional versus mandatory.

This is illustrated in the sample schedule (doc).For alternate examples, see Appendix 15 of the guide.

Assistant professors: Please note that due to changes in the 2016-2019 collective agreement, assistant professors hired after July 1, 2017 may only receive tenure if promoted to a higher rank (explained in Section 2.4 of the SAC guide, which interprets Articles 2.03(j) and (k). Assistant Professors hired before the cutoff date remain eligible for tenure without promotion.

Tenure clock extensions may be possible. See the section below for details.

Tenure review date templates

The following templates are designed to help you identify the review dates for tenure track positions. All documents are up to date, unless otherwise noted.

• Assistant professor, tenure track (doc)
• Acting assistant professor, tenure track (doc)
• Associate professor, tenure track (doc) (November 2022)
• Associate Professor of Teaching (doc)  (November 2022)
• Assistant Professor of Teaching (doc) 

Departments are required to track the timing of their faculty member's regular review for tenure, promotion and reappointment. For more information, view a sample schedule for a tenure track Assistant Professor. (doc)

Tenure clock extensions

Maternity or parental leave: When you go on maternity leave, the length of your pre-tenure appointment will be extended by one year, unless you inform the head of your academic unit in writing that you don't wish the pre-tenure period extended.

If you're only going on parental leave, you must inform the head of your academic unit in writing of the change in your family status and request the extension at the earliest possible date but no later than six months after the child is born or placed with you for the purpose of adoption.

Sick leave: If you're unable to perform your duties because of illness or injury, the university and the faculty association agree to consider whether, in the circumstance of each case, your period of pre-tenure appointment should be extended.

Please submit your written request for a tenure clock extension to the head of your academic unit. If your head approves the request, they will then seek approval from the dean or equivalent position, who will then seek approval from the provost. The provost will work with UBC's faculty relations (Vancouver campus) or with human resources (Okanagan campus) to seek approval from the faculty association.

Disability leave: If you're on full disability leave and on IRP benefits, your tenure clock is automatically frozen. The tenure clock will restart upon your return to work, whether full- or part-time. If your return to work is part-time, your tenure clock will be pro-rated. Requests for further tenure clock extensions can be made by following the process noted above for sick leaves.

The documents provided below or referenced in the SAC guide might also be helpful. All documents are up to date, unless otherwise noted.

General information

• Tenure stream ranks at a glance  (docx) 
• Tenure and promotion summary map (pdf)
• Tenure and promotion checklist for heads and directors (pdf)
• Reappointment checklist for heads and directors  (pdf)
• Sample department ARPT procedures version #1 (pdf)
• Sample department ARPT procedures version #2 (pdf)

Letters of reference material

• Letters of reference chart (docx)

Senior appointments committee

• SAC Cover Sheet & Checklist (Word)

Librarians go through confirmation, which is equivalent to tenure for faculty members. Confirmation criteria and procedures for librarians are found in the agreement on conditions of appointment for librarians. In particular, the criteria are set out in Article 3, and the procedures are set out in Article 4.

See librarians’ appointments committee guidelines 2020/21 (docx). 

Program Directors go through confirmation, which is equivalent to tenure for faculty member. Confirmation criteria and procedures for program directors in Extended Learning are found in the agreement on conditions of appointment for program directors in Extended Learning.

In particular, the criteria are set out in Article 3 and the procedures are set out in Article 4.

• Slides for Tenure & Promotion Workshops - Heads/Directors (June 3, 2024)
• Slides for Tenure & Promotion Workshops (May 15 & 16, 2023)​​​​
• Slides for Tenure & Promotion Workshops - Heads-Directors (May 17, 2023)
• Slides for Tenure & Promotion Workshops (May 30, 2022)​​​​
• Slides for Tenure & Promotion Workshops - Heads/Directors (May 31, 2022)