Northern Illinois University
Division of Academic Affairs
Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

Application Submission Process

Each college office must follow the steps below to submit tenure/promotion applications for tenure-track/tenured faculty, clinical faculty and research faculty:

1. Upload to the Teams site shared by each college and the Office of the Provost each cover sheet and application as one PDF file. Please note the cover sheet should not include the vote counts but only check marks to indicate a faculty member is being recommended or denied for tenure and/or promotion.
2. Upload each applicant's completed vote record sheet as a PDF file to the Teams site shared by the college and the Office of the Provost. The vote record sheet must include the actual number of votes (even if it is zero) for each category (Recommend, Deny and Abstain).
3. Upload to the Teams site shared by the college with the Office of the Provost the cover letter from the dean as a PDF file.

Documentation

Each application must contain the following documents:

• The completed cover sheet (PDF) must be on top of each application. Use the checklist (PDF) to make sure the cover sheet fields are correctly filled and submit the checklist along with the application to the Office of the Provost. Any relevant departmental or divisional correspondence should be attached at the end of each application. Applications should be assembled and submitted in the following order:
  1. Cover Sheet
  2. Part I (information to be supplied by the candidate)
  3. Part II (information to be supplied by the department chair in consultation with the personnel committee).
  4. Completed checklist
• Note: In the event of an early promotion/tenure and/or a disagreement in the recommendations, the department/school chair should write a letter explaining the circumstances and the letter should be placed before the cover sheet.
• The completed vote record sheet (PDF) must be submitted for each applicant but should not be attached to the application. Use the checklist (PDF) provided to make sure the vote record sheet fields are correctly filled and include the vote record sheet checklist along with the application submitted to the Office of the Provost. Original signatures, or certified digital signatures, indicating a vote count from the department personnel committee and the college council are required along with chair's and dean's recommendations and their original signatures or certified digital signatures.
  • Note: This vote record is confidential and is for the Office of the Provost. The vote record information is not routinely shared with the FSPC.
  • Please submit the vote record sheets separately from the applications for tenure and promotion.
• A cover letter from the dean listing all recommendations, all denials, any early promotions/tenures and the dean's comments should be included and placed separately in the Teams site.
  • Be sure to indicate if an application is considered early and/or short-track on the cover sheet and the vote record sheet.
• Denials must be accompanied by a letter from the dean stating the reasons for denial and confirming that the faculty member has been advised of their right to appeal and that all appropriate appeal procedures or review procedures have been followed.

Additional Notes

• Refereed and juried works must be identified as "Refereed" or "Juried" in application Part I document.
• All formal appeal materials must have pages sequentially numbered and tenure applications under appeal should also include progress toward tenure letters.

If you have any questions about this information not clarified at the department/college levels, please contact provost@niu.edu.