WHY IT MATTERS

All units must review and update P&T guidelines by March 21, 2026 to align with evolving faculty work and institutional values.

THE CHARGE

Goal: Ensure clarity and inclusivity — not to expand requirements, but to recognize the full range of faculty contributions.

Key areas to address:

• Research, scholarship & creative works (including open science)
• Teaching effectiveness (innovative pedagogy, mentoring, student success)
• Service (department to global, including advocacy)
• Interdisciplinary research & collaboration
• Changing funding landscape realities
• Entrepreneurship & innovation
• Community engagement & global partnerships
• Mentoring of students and colleague

WHAT SUCCESSFUL REVISIONS LOOK LIKE

The School of Public Health, recently highlighted at the Promotion and Tenure Criteria workshop hosted by the Office for Academic Personnel & Faculty, broadened its criteria to include community-engaged and educational scholarship grounded in institutional equity values. Meanwhile, the Foster School of Business refined teaching-track expectations through iterative, Faculty Code–aligned revisions.

PROCESS ESSENTIALS

1. Governance first
   • Work through faculty elected councils with clear charge statements
2. Be inclusive
   • Focus groups and town halls
   • Department-level input
   • Transparent feedback loops
3. Get expert help
   • Faculty Code experts (Secretary of Faculty)
   • Office for Academic Personnel & Faculty, Development and Operations support staff
   • Peer institution examples
4. Allocate resources
   • Dedicated staff support for writing/editing
   • FTE consideration for equity-focused work
   • Timeline: Start now for March deadline

WHAT TO AVOID

• Vague language (“interesting research,” “team player”)
• Biased terminology that disadvantages certain groups
• Overly narrow definitions that exclude valid scholarship
• Criteria that don’t reflect current funding realities
• Avoid developing guidelines in a prescriptive, top-down manner; instead, aim for an inclusive process that incorporates input from all levels within the unit.

IN SUMMARY

Your P&T guidelines should be specific enough to answer “What do I need to do to get promoted?” yet broad enough to recognize diverse contributions. APF provides workshops, expert consultation, and resources to support your revision process. Workshop facilitators are willing to provide their expertise in support of any unit upon request

Contact & Resources:

• Current unit promotion and tenure criteria
• Submit updates to: vpap@uw.edu
• Faculty Code sections: 24-32, 24-34, 24-57C | Executive Order 45

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The University of Washington is revising promotion and tenure guidelines to ensure they reflect the full range of faculty contributions, including community-engaged scholarship (CES). This effort aligns with UW’s mission, vision, and values, and responds to the Provost’s October 2025 charge to update policies for clarity, equity, and inclusivity.

WHY IT MATTERS

• CES advances public impact and supports diverse scholarly activities.
• A 2024 survey revealed that over half of faculty and staff do not feel fully supported in CES work under current criteria.
• Updating guidelines strengthens tri-campus capacity for community engagement and affirms CES as scholarship.

KEY COMPONENTS

• Toolkit Development:
  • Institution-wide affirmation that CES is scholarship (now in Faculty Code).
  • Unit-level criteria with discipline-specific examples and peer review pathways.
  • Reviewer support (rubrics, templates, inclusion of community partners).
  • Faculty resources (dossier templates, impact measurement tools, sample narratives).
  • Iterative assessment to refine criteria over time.
• Evaluation Criteria:
  • Scholarly rigor, partnership quality, product diversity, evidence of impact, and integration across mission areas.
• Recognizing Diverse Scholarly Products:
  • Academic: Peer-reviewed articles, books, grants, exhibitions.
  • Applied: Policies, reports, designs, educational materials.
  • Community: Co-created projects, public forums, creative works.

RESOURCES & NEXT STEPS 

• Development of a web-based CES resource page and toolkit (Winter 2026).
• Faculty development materials, mentoring programs, and anti-bias guidance.
• Examples from peer institutions and professional organizations.

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