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Academic Personnel & Faculty

2026-27 Promotion and Tenure Clock Waiver: One Year Extension

Automatic Eligibility for Promotion/Tenure Clock Waiver – 2026–27 Faculty Cohort

We continue to receive feedback that faculty are concerned about the impact of federal policy changes on career progression, particularly for those scheduled for mandatory promotion and tenure review. In response—and as a follow-up to the automatic clock waivers offered to the 2025–26 cohort—new provisions are being implemented for the 2026–27 academic year.

Automatic Eligibility

Effective immediately, all meritorious faculty scheduled for mandatory promotion and tenure review in AY 2026–27, who have no more than three previously approved clock waivers, are automatically eligible for a waiver of the 2026–27 academic year.

Faculty who accept this waiver will have their mandatory review deferred to AY 2027–28 unless they choose to opt out.

Waivers should be initiated at the appointing unit level by June 30, 2026. Once initiated, waiver requests will follow the standard approval process in Workday, consistent with other automatic clock waivers (e.g., COVID-19 or becoming a parent).

Options for Faculty

Unit leaders are responsible for contacting each faculty member scheduled for mandatory promotion and tenure review in AY 2026–27 to confirm their preference:

  • Proceed with mandatory promotion review in 2026–27.
  • Waive AY 2026–27 and be considered for non-mandatory promotion in 2026–27.
  • Waive AY 2026–27 and defer mandatory promotion review to 2027–28 (default option).

This is an opt-out policy; if no preference is communicated, the default is deferral to AY 2027–28.

Important Notes

  • If a unit has already initiated the mandatory review process for a faculty member who chooses to defer, all related actions must stop immediately.
  • External reviewers should be notified that their letters are not required at this time.
  • Any completed steps in the review process will need to be repeated when the candidate is reviewed in AY 2027–28.

For questions, please contact the Office for Academic Personnel and Faculty Affairs and Operations at acadpers@uw.edu.