Sample Letter to Referee for promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor

Re: Promotion of Dr. X to Associate Professor with Tenure

Thank you for agreeing to assist in evaluating the scholarship and professional achievements of Dr. ------, Assistant Professor in the Department/School of------, who is being considered for both tenure and promotion to the rank of Associate Professor.

The University’s Framework Agreement defines standards required for two possible positive outcomes: the first, required for the granting of tenure and promotion to the rank of Associate Professor and the second, for the granting of tenure to an Assistant Professor without promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. The Framework Agreement is a public document that may be found on the web at

According to Article 16.3.3 of the Framework Agreement to become a tenured Associate Professor, a Faculty Member must demonstrate:

(a)Scholarship that has made a substantial contribution to the academic discipline;

(b)teaching effectiveness at or above a level of quality appropriate to the Faculty Member’s experience and with a continuing commitment to excellence in teaching;

(c)capacity for continuing development with regard to each of the following

i)teaching

ii)service and professional activities that further the goals of the University and the Faculty Member’s academic discipline.

According to Article 16.3.1 of the Framework Agreement an Assistant Professor with eligibility for tenure must demonstrate:

(a)a record of performance that meets or exceeds the written expectations of her or his Department (Faculty in the case of a non-departmentalized Faculty) that are in accord with the Evaluation Policy in which the Faculty Member holds an appointment;

(b)continued development with regard to each of the following

i)teaching effectiveness at or above the a level of quality appropriate to the Faculty Member’s experience and with a commitment to the importance of excellence in teaching,

ii)scholarly or creative achievements of high quality that are normally but not necessarily demonstrated by presentation or publication in a suitable academic or artistic forum, and

iii)service and professional activities that further the goals of the University and the Faculty Member’s academic discipline,where teaching effectiveness and scholarly achievements have paramount importance; and

(c)the capacity to attain the standards to become a tenured Associate Professor.

Candidates found to be qualified for promotion are automatically awarded tenure in accordance with Article 18.1. However, since the awarding of tenure does not automatically confer promotion at the University of Victoria, you may wish to render separate opinions on the candidate’s qualifications for tenure and promotion under the two standards.

The Faculty Evaluation Policy (Section 1 of the document included in this package) lists the criteria used to evaluate achievement with respect to the standards within the Faculty of Science. Finally, the Departmental expectations for achievement required to attain tenure, referenced in Article 16.3.1 a) of the Framework Agreement are contained in the candidate’s Letter of Expectations; a copy of this letter is also included in the package.

With these standards and criteria in mind, I ask that you offer your evaluation of the scholarly and professional achievements of Dr. ------. To further assist you in your evaluation, a curriculum vitae, teaching dossier and other supporting documents are included with this letter. It would be helpful if you could compare Dr. ------to other individuals of similar experience with whom you are acquainted. I would also appreciate your comments on whether Dr. ------would qualify for tenure and/or promotion to the rank of Associate Professor in either your own institution or in another institution comparable to the University of Victoria.

I will need to make your comments available to the Departmental Committee on Promotion and Tenure, and to the Faculty Advisory Committee and administrative officers responsible for consideration of promotion cases. Under the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation, Dr. ------may be granted access to your letter unless you specifically state that you wish the contents to remain confidential. If your response is designated confidential, and if Dr. ------requests the information, I would be required to give him a summary of your letter without revealing its authorship.

I would appreciate receiving your response by------. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Chair/Director

Department/School of ------

enclosures: CV, Teaching Dossier, up to 5 research papers, 3-page summary of research achievements, Faculty Evaluation Policy, Departmental Expectations