UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA

Fendall Campus, Louisiana

Montserrado County, Liberia

POLICY ON
FACULTY PROMOTION AND TENURE

Approved on 3rd September 2019

Page 1 of 9
 UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA
POLICY ON FACULTY PROMOTION AND TENURE

I. BACKGROUND

For some time now faculty promotion at the University of Liberia has not been regular. Several
factors have contributed to this irregularity, among which are the lack of an updated policy on
faculty tenure and promotion. The other obstacles have to do with the institutional instruments or
requirements for determining promotion, such as, faculty and student evaluations and a systematic
approach to support faculty research. Over the last several years, however, the University has
gradually either addressed these problems or instituted measures to do so. For instance, the new
Teaching-Learning Center (TLC) and the recently established Institute for Policy Studies and
Research can now handle evaluations and regulate faculty research respectively. It is in this new
light that this faculty promotion and tenure policy is being presented.

The document itself has a long genesis, as it has evolved over a period of about five years. In 2014
Dr. Momolu Gateweh, then Vice President for Academic Affairs, appointed a committee to review
the policy on faculty promotion and tenure. The committee, headed by Professor T. Debey
Sayndee, submitted its report to the Academic Coordination Committee (ACC). During the review
of the report in 2016 some members of the ACC raised a number of questions. For instance, there
was a call for greater transparency, decentralization of the procedures for promotion, and a clear
definition of the various academic ranks. Accordingly, for example, a key change in this proposal
is that the application for promotion and tenure begins in the applicant’s college —first in the
department and later in the dean’s office—and then the recommendation is forwarded to the Vice
President for Academic Affairs and finally to the President’s office. In this process, the ACC still
plays a critical role in that it becomes the arbiter or ombudsman to evaluate protests from aggrieved
faculty members who are dissatisfied with the result of their application for promotion.

Afterward Dr. Emmet A. Dennis, President of the University of Liberia, set up a subcommittee to
review the comments and recommendations and revise the document; the subcommittee was
headed by Dr. William Ezra Allen, Vice President for Academic Affairs. In 2017 an electronic
copy of the original report was forwarded to the subcommittee. Following an initial revision, the
document was then turned over to the newly-established TLC for its evaluation and
recommendation. In addition, others likewise appraised the document and contributed to this final
draft. These latter contributors include, for instance, the proposed College of Health Sciences and
a number of individuals. The names of the original committee members (and those of the
subcommittee) are affixed at the end of the document.

II. DEFINITION OF FACULTY RANKS

A full-time faculty generally holds a tenure-track position, and hence, is expected to qualify for
promotion through the ranks. The University employs the following customary designations for
full-time academic rank: Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Instructor;

Page 2 of 9
Senior Laboratory Assistant (formerly laboratory demonstrator), Research Assistant, and Teaching
Assistant. Part-time or Adjunct Faculty status does not follow these designations.

1) Full-Time Faculty and Ranks

• Professor: This is the terminal academic rank for an instructional staff. The minimum
qualifications for the rank of professor are listed below:

a) An earned academic Ph.D. degree or appropriate terminal degree, or master’s

degree with extensive experience in teaching, research, and publication; at least four
years’ experience at the rank of associate professor;
b) Documented teaching effectiveness determined through department’s and
monitoring evaluations (e.g., TLC);
c) Documented participation in college life and governance, serving on committees,
etc.
d) Documented participation in communities outside the university; this could be
participation in community programs, researching communities, government, etc.
e) Evidence of continuing professional development, especially through TLC;
f) Evidence of a continuing record of scholarship including but not limited to
publication of at least five peer-reviewed scholarly articles, or one peer-reviewed
scholarly book, appropriate to the discipline since appointment to the rank of
Associate Professor and possible membership in a professional or scholarly
organization.

• Associate Professor: An instructional staff member whose work and performance meet
satisfactory appraisal and satisfy other conditions laid down may be employed with this
rank. The minimum qualifications for the rank of associate professor are listed below:

a) An earned academic Ph.D. degree or appropriate terminal degree, or master’s

degree with extensive experience in teaching, research, and publication; at least
three years’ experience at the rank of Assistant Professor;
b) Recognized teaching effectiveness as determined through departments and
monitoring evaluations, e.g., TLC
c) Recognized participation in college life and governance, serving on committees,
etc.
d) Evidence of continual professional development, especially through the TLC; and
e) Evidence of continual record of scholarship including but not limited to publication
of at least three peer-reviewed scholarly articles, dissemination of two other peer-
reviewed scholarly products, or one peer-reviewed scholarly book, appropriate to
the discipline since appointment to the rank of Assistant Professor.

• Assistant Professor: This is the entry point for all tenure-track instructional employees
with a terminal degree or those with a master’s degree who have had extensive experience
in teaching at the college level. The minimum qualifications for the rank of assistant
professor are as follow:

Page 3 of 9
 a) Teaching effectiveness;
b) Documented participation in College life and governance;
c) Evidence of continual professional development, especially through the TLC;
d) Evidence of continual record of scholarship; and
e) Terminal degree or master’s degree with extensive teaching experience.

• Instructor: Instructional staff with a master’s degree, with (or without) limited experience
in teaching. The minimum qualifications for the rank of instructor are:

a) Documented evidence of potential teaching ability and effectiveness;

b) Recognized potential for participation in college/university life and governance;
c) Evidence of continual professional development, especially through the Teaching
and Learning Center; and
d) Evidence of continual record of scholarship.

• Laboratory/ Technology Assistant (formerly Laboratory Demonstrator) is a STEM

(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) college graduate who is employed to
assist with teaching in the laboratory for the purpose of helping students to understand
principles previously acquired in the classroom. There is no in-rank promotion in this
category.

• Research Assistant (RA) is solely for research purposes and the person could be
associated with any academic unit for a specific funded research. He or she may be a
faculty, or a student with an exceptional project, who has been awarded a research grant.
RA is a non-tenured position and is renewable depending upon the availability of funds.

• Teaching Assistant (TA) is a bachelor- or graduate degree-holder that demonstrates

teaching potential (and GPA above 3.0), and has expressed the desire to eventually become
a faculty of the University. Accordingly, among other things, TAs will work under the
mentorship of seasoned faculty. Each will be required to prepare topics for presentation in
class under the watchful supervision of the seasoned faculty. TAs, like the rest of the
faculty, will be evaluated annually by the department chair/TLC and the position renewed
or dropped depending on the result. After five (5) years without the requisite graduate
degree for transition to a tenure-track position, the TA will lose his or her position. There
are, however, some limitations for the TA. For one, teaching assistantship is a non-tenure
track position. And the University cannot guarantee funds for faculty development for
TAs, although it will assert efforts in this regard.

2) Adjunct Faculty: An Adjunct Faculty is a part-time faculty employed periodically as a

contract worker when the University desires to temporarily fill a vacancy. Adjunct faculty
members usually teach on a part-time or per course basis pursuant to semester term
contract. They usually have no other faculty duties outside of teaching. Adjunct faculty
members do not accrue time toward tenure, promotion, or sabbatical leave.

Page 4 of 9
3) Visiting Professor, visiting associate professor, visiting assistant professor, and
visiting instructor: The visiting ranks are usually temporary appointments and service in
these ranks does not necessarily count toward the probationary period for tenure. This is
because a visiting rank refers to somebody who already has or recently had a position
elsewhere, and is temporarily associated with the faculty, e.g., while on sabbatical or as a
courtesy appointment for a person from the public or private sector who is teaching a
course. A visiting professor might or might not draw any salary from the university,
depending on the particulars of their appointment. Their status and degree of respect
generally depend on their main position.

4) Senior Research Fellow: This is an academic research position reserved for an individual
with an advanced postgraduate degree, often a doctorate, and with considerable experience
in his or her specialty.

5) Initial Academic Ranks: The qualifications and academic experience of the applicant
generally govern the academic rank designated on the initial contract. Normally, persons
without a doctorate degree but hold a master’s degree are hired as instructors on the initial
appointment. Persons with a doctorate degree are appointed as assistant professors when
the college is their first appointment in rank. Instructors receiving a doctorate are eligible
to be advanced to assistant professor rank on subsequent appointments. Persons from
another reputably accredited higher education institution are usually appointed to the same
rank held at the former institution.

III. CRITERIA AND STRUCTURE FOR ACADEMIC PROMOTION

1) Procedures for Academic Promotion

The Procedure for promotion envisions here calls for decentralizing the current process to
enhance fairness and effectiveness. In this new procedure, applications for promotions will
begin in the Departments, and go through the Deans, the Vice President for Academic
Affairs, and then the President of the University. The Academic Coordination
Committee (ACC) will serve as final arbiter or ombudsman in case, for instance, an
aggrieved faculty is dissatisfied with the final recommendation. An outline of the
process is included below. In short, Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs will
issue an annual call for applications for academic promotion. Applications for Academic
Promotion shall be made in accordance with the “Guidelines for Submission of
Application” (see appendix) available in each department or electronically via email from
the Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Office of the Vice President for
Academic Affairs will make all of the documents available to the departments and faculty.

2) Procedures for Promotion and Tenure

A. To ensure that the integrity of advancements in our institution is transparent and fair,
all academic promotions must be based on the policy outlined in this document. Thus,
for example, except in the case of special appointment by the President of the
University of Liberia, a faculty member appointed to an office must have previously
earned the requisite academic rank for holding that office. Put differently, no appointee

Page 5 of 9
 should “automatically assume the rank of an office”. However, the University may
occasionally assign academic titles to individuals with commanding experience or
specialized skills including erstwhile individuals from either the public or private
sectors.

B. To become a department chair, one must be at least an Assistant Professor; Dean and
Associate Dean (Associate Professor and above), Associate Vice President (Associate
Professor), Vice President (Professor). The University will continue to accept the
existing ranks of new faculty members from recognized or accredited schools who are
hired by the institution.

C. All Applications for promotion should begin in the applicant’s department. First, chairs
are required to evaluate their respective faculty every academic year. The evaluation
will be based on the assessments conducted by the TLC, which will include those
conducted by students in classes taught by the instructor. A duplicate of the evaluation
will be prepared by the Chair, signed by both the Chair and the Instructor. One copy
will be given to the instructor, while the other placed in his or her file in the department.
Annual evaluations serve as a benchmark, an indicator of the faculty’s progress toward
tenure and promotion.

D. Second, each department will establish a Department Promotion and Tenure

Committee (DPTC) chaired by someone other than the chair of the department.
(Smaller departments in the same college can combine to form a single DPTC: e.g.,
History, Philosophy, and Geography; and Physics and Mathematics. The DPTC will
accept all applications based on the “Guidelines for Submission of Application” from
the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. After the review, the DPTC
submits a letter of recommendation (along with the application package or portfolio) to
the Chair of the department. Following an evaluation, the Chair forwards his letter of
recommendation (accompanied by the portfolio) to the Dean. The Dean does the final
appraisal in the college and submits his letter of recommendation, and the portfolio, to
the Vice President for Academic Affairs who submits same to the Faculty Senate
committee on Faculty Promotion and Tenure. The Vice President for Academic
Affairs will write his or her recommendation to the President of the University of
Liberia who will make the ultimate approval.

3) Eligibility for Promotion

All applicants holding appointments at the University of Liberia who have acquired the
master’s or doctorate degree or its equivalence from a recognized university (or in
exceptional circumstances someone with equivalent evidence of higher-level research
and/or teaching and scholarship achievement) are eligible to apply for promotion.

Page 6 of 9
4) General Benchmark

All applicants seeking academic promotion to various ranks shall be assessed on the basis
of the following criteria:
• Scholarship – verified appropriate academic degree from a reputable university
recognized by the University of Liberia;
• Teaching – evaluation (student/peer, college, department and university);
• Research and Publication – undertake and publish research in a recognized medium
(determine by respective college/ Institute for Policy Studies and Research;
• Service – Service here includes membership on a UL committee; those appointments
by the UL authority, participation in department’s curriculum reviews, assignments on
behalf of the University, and contribution to the community and the nation. Each
document for the above services will constitute proof and will be enclosed in the
faculty’s portfolio for promotion.

5) Failure to achieve promotion

A faculty who is not promoted within the period specified for his or her rank forfeits tenure
and promotion and must leave the University or remain in that rank.

6) Categories of Academic Rank for Promotion

A. First Category of Academic Rank for Promotion:

Academic Promotion to the Rank of Instructor

• The applicant should be a holder of a master’s degree or its equivalence;
• A minimum of three (3) years of teaching (evaluated by college/TLC) and
research;
• A minimum of two (2) articles in one’s area of discipline in a recognized peer-
review journal (publications may increase as per specific disciplinary or
collegiate requirements);
• Documented evidence of service to the University of Liberia, the nation, or
one’s community; and
• Maximum period for promotion: 3 years

B. Second Category of Academic Rank for Promotion:

Academic Promotion to the Rank of Assistant Professor
• The applicant should have an earned doctorate or master’s degree or its
equivalence;
• A minimum of three (3) years of teaching (evaluated by college/TLC) and
research;
• A minimum of four (4) peer-review articles in the applicant’s area of discipline
(publications may increase as per specific disciplinary or collegiate
requirements);

Page 7 of 9
 • Documented evidence of service to the University of Liberia, the nation, or
one’s community; and
• Maximum period for promotion: 4 years

C. Third Category of Academic Rank for Promotion:

Academic Promotion to the Rank of Associate Professor

• The applicant should have an earned relevant doctorate or its equivalent in
his/her area of specialization;
• A minimum of four (4) years of teaching (evaluated by college/TLC) and
research;
• A minimum of six (6) new peer-review articles/book in one’s area of discipline
since the last promotion or appointment (publications may increase as per
specific disciplinary or collegiate requirements);
• Must show evidence of having supervised two (3) students at the graduate or
post graduate level; and
• Documented evidence of service to the University of Liberia, the nation, or
one’s community; and
• Maximum period for promotion: 5 years

D. Fourth and Final Category of Academic Rank for Promotion:

Academic Promotion to the Rank of Professor

• The applicant should have an earned relevant doctorate or its equivalent in
his/her area of specialization;
• A minimum of six (6) years of teaching (evaluated by college/TLC) and
research;
• A minimum of six (6) peer-review articles/book in one’s area of discipline since
the last promotion or appointment (publications may increase as per specific
disciplinary or collegiate requirements);
• Must show evidence of having supervised at least six (6) graduate/postgraduate
students;
• Documented evidence of service to the University of Liberia, the nation, or
one’s community;
• Maximum period for promotion: 7 years.

IV. SABBATICAL LEAVE REGULATIONS

As Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the University of Liberia in 1975

(And modified by the Faculty Senate on September 3, 2019)
A. After a period of six continuous years of service in the University, a Faculty or senior
staff member shall be entitled to sabbatical leaver of one calendar year for the purpose

Page 8 of 9
 of engaging in research, teaching, and improvement of professional knowledge of
travel outside the country.
B. Those entitled to sabbatical leave shall be senior Administrators and all tenured
Professors and Associate Professors.
C. A person eligible for and desiring sabbatical leave shall apply in writing to the Office
of the President not less than six months and not more than one calendar year before
date of eligibility.
D. A person eligible for and desiring sabbatical leave shall in his/her letter of request cite
justification for same, among which are:
a) publication of a book or research paper(s);
b) visiting professorship elsewhere;
c) refresher courses at another institution;
d) on-the-job exposure at another University;
e) services in a government, national, or local body;
f) services in an international body, e.g., UNESCO, AAU, WHO, IDEF, UNDP, etc.;
or,
g) a mutually agreed-on academic exercise.

E. Not more than 3% of the total staff (including administrators) may go on a leave in any
one academic year.
F. During the period of such leave, the grantee shall be entitled to full salary plus actual
cost of travel not exceeding a total of $1,500 during the entire period of leave.
G. During the period of such leave, the acting incumbent performing the duties of the
grantee shall be entitled to the equivalent of the difference between his salary and the
salary of the grantee.

APPENDIX: GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION FOR

PROMOTION AND TENURE

1. Upon the call of application, the qualified candidate shall submit a portfolio or a three-ring
binder containing the letter of application and all supporting documents. The portfolio
shall be submitted to the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee (DPTC).
Photocopy the contents for your record.

2. The supporting documents in the portfolio shall comprise the evidence for promotion,
including copies of results of teaching evaluation, published articles or copies of title page,
records of service, etc.

3. After evaluation (by the DPTC, the dean, and the office of the VPAA), each unit shall make
two copies of its recommendation; one shall be enclosed in the applicant’s portfolio and
forwarded to the next level for evaluation. The second copy shall be given to the applicant.

Page 9 of 9