Professoriate

The Professoriate are faculty members at the School of Medicine (SoM) who engage in scholarship, clinical care, and teaching that advances basic science and clinical medicine. The Professoriate Faculty are composed of four distinct lines: University Tenure Line (UTL), University Medical Line (UML), Non-Tenure Line –Research (NTLR) and Non-Tenure Line –Teaching (NTLT). A description of each line is available in the SoM Handbook Chapter 2.

The Dean’s Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) oversees and facilitates proactive administration of all aspects of policies and processes in partnership with departments related to faculty recruitments (hiring), appointments, reappointments, promotions and other faculty employment actions.

Faculty Affairs Administrators (FAAs) are local staff experts who guide, support and facilitate the academic review at the department level.

The purpose of the appointment, reappointment or promotion evaluation is to appraise, on the record to date, the candidate’s standing in their field. These actions are executed using the long form, a compendium of confidential documents describing the career and performance of the faculty member. Decisions on appointment, reappointment and promotion are subject to the exercise of professional and scholarly judgment and discretion by departmental faculty and academic leadership at the School and University levels.

• Information regarding the functional roles in the professoriate review process is available in the Appointments and Promotions (A&P) Roles.
• Additional detail on the levels of review is available in the Levels of Review – Professoriate document.
• Descriptions of each long form section are available in the Long Form Sections document.

Note: All Professoriate Faculty are identified for hire either via a national search or a search waiver. Following the positive outcome of a search action, an appointment long form will be prepared. An overview of the search process is available here.

The Long Form Review Process

Appointment, Reappointment and Promotion actions (long forms) are initiated at the departmental level, followed by review at the school level. The Faculty Affairs Administrator and departmental leadership work together on the Long Form for submission to the Dean’s Office of Academic Affairs (OAA).

Process: Launching the Action

1. If department leadership decides to initiate an action, the FAA should review the Lifecycle of Professoriate Actions document.
   1. If this is an appointment action, OAA will launch the action via email using our long form booklets, following approval of the search report / search waiver. A separate request to launch the action is not necessary.
2. For reappointments or promotions, submit the following via secure email to som-professoriate@stanford.edu. Available resource: Checklist- Professoriate Launch Request Reappt or Promo.
   1. Desired action (reappointment, promotion, term of years, continuing term, tenure)
   2. Current rank, line, department, division
   3. Candidate's name
   4. Candidate's current, dated CV
   5. All annual counseling documentation for the current term.
3. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Clarifications may be requested.
4. OAA will email the candidate, copying you, notifying them that their reappointment/promotion has been started. The notification from OAA is recognized by the University as the official start of the review process.
5. OAA will launch the action via email using ourlong form booklets. An outline of the steps involved is available in the Lifecycle of Professoriate Actions document.

Process: Referee, Trainee and Peer Comparison Grid Review

1. Review the Guidelines –Referee Grid, Trainee Grid, Comparison Peers document. The department chair, division chief, or faculty lead must assemble a list of the appropriate referees, trainees, and peer set, as applicable. The FAA will assist with collating evidence of referee achievement and stature in the field.
   1. To determine the minimum requirements for referees, trainees, and inclusion of the peer set, utilize the Overview Professoriate Long Form Document Requirements document.
2. Submit the following via secure email to som-professoriate@stanford.edu. Available resource: Checklist- Professoriate Referee, Trainee, Peer Grid Approval. Solicitation templates and the blank grid form can be found in the appropriate areas of the Faculty Affairs Resources.
   1. Candidate’s up-to-date CV
   2. A draft Referee Solicitation Letter (in word format)
   3. A draft Trainee Solicitation Letter (in word format)
   4. Referee Grid
   5. Trainee Grid
   6. Comparison Peer Grid (if applicable)
3. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested before OAA will issue approval for solicitation.
4. Following OAA approval of the grid(s), solicit letter writers and prepare the long form. An outline of the steps involved is available in the Lifecycle of Professoriate Actions document.

Process: Compiling the Long Form In Advance of Departmental Review

Long forms are compiled into a PDF booklet using the OAA templates emailed at time of launch. Each booklet includes directives regarding the required documents for the specific action. Descriptions of each long form section are available in the Long Form Sections document as well as within the booklets themselves. Long Form Instructions, Templates, Forms, and Guidelines can be found in the appropriate areas of the  Faculty Affairs Resources. Involvement requirements for joint and courtesy departments within SoM can be found in the Long Form Involvement by Appointment Type guide.

Note: If the primary department is not within the SoM, the review of the action should follow the format and guidelines of the primary School. In such cases where the SoM joint FTE >0%, then that file must be reviewed and approved by the department and the school. Policies for appointments, reappointments and promotions for joint appointments (> 0%) are described in the University Faculty Handbook, Chapter 2.6.2(4)a.

1. To determine the required documents for the action, download the Overview Professoriate Long Form Document Requirements document. This information will mirror the information included in the booklet.
2. From the candidate, obtain the candidate’s current and dated CV, candidate’s statement, transcript, trainee list, relevant evaluations (as applicable).
   • It is permitted to ask the candidate for a list of up to three suggested referees (external or internal), who will be considered by the faculty lead but may or may not be included in the final list to solicit. The candidate should not know the identities of the referees ultimately solicited.
3. Solicit the referee and trainee letters following OAA approval of the Referee, Trainee and Peer Comparison grids. Retain a copy of a referee solicitation, including the Guidelines for Application of Criteria, and a trainee solicitation letter. Include the solicitation documents in the long form PDF.
4. Solicit the Clinical Care Evaluations (Clinical Excellence Survey (CES)), if applicable. Include the documents in the long form PDF.
5. Obtain copies of the relevant evaluations (didactic teaching, clinical teaching (MedHubs)) and the 360 Evaluation and Feedback report, if applicable (see Flowchart to determine when to include a 360 Evaluation in the long form). Include the documents in the long form PDF.
6. Obtain the sections of the long form written by faculty leadership: the Narrative Report on the Candidate (by Faculty Long Form Lead); Draft Counseling Memo- if applicable (by Chair or Division Chief). Include the documents in the long form PDF.
7. Generate a draft Long Form Signature Page; Billet Information Grid. Include the document in the long form PDF.
8. Collate and upload the remaining required documents (including but not limited to all referee and trainee letters, received declinations; Search Report or Search Waiver Documentation (if applicable) and the Notification to Candidate of Action (if applicable). Include the documents in the long form PDF.
9. Follow departmental procedure to facilitate review by evaluation committee or evaluation unit.
   • Available Resources: Guide to the A&P Voting Process and Guide to Roles and Conflicts in A&P.
10. Follow departmental procedure to facilitate review by departmental A&P Committee  or eligible voting faculty.
    • Available Resources: Guide to the A&P Voting Process and Guide to Roles and Conflicts in A&P.

Process: Finalizing the Long Form Following Departmental Review

1. Follow departmental procedure to facilitate review by departmental leadership.
2. Coordinate editing of sections of the long form written by faculty leadership (as appropriate): the Narrative Report on the Candidate (by Faculty Long Form Lead); Draft Counseling Memo- if applicable (by Chair or Division Chief). Include the documents in the long form PDF.
3. Obtain the Transmittal Memo from the Chair. Include the document in the long form PDF.
4. Finalize the Long Form Signature Page and generate the Summary of Votes and Voting Practices and the Summary of Evaluation Process (if applicable). Include the documents in the long form PDF.
5. Coordinate review by secondary SoM department (courtesy or joint appointments).
   • If the joint (0% or with FTE) department is not within SoM, their review of the action will wait until SoM review is completed. 
   • Like courtesy appointments within SoM, courtesy departments outside of SoM can be involved in the review prior to SoM review completion (if they choose to participate in the review instead of submitting a FASA transaction).
6. Email som-professoriate@stanford.edu confirming the long form is ready for OAA review.
7. OAA staff review the long form and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
8. Following OAA acceptance of the long form, the action will be added to the next available school-level committee agenda. The committee schedule is available here. The school committee recommendation will be shared following the meeting.

Reminder: Additional information about the school and university review process is available in the Levels of Review – Professoriate document and the Lifecycle of Professoriate Actions document.

Other Changes to the Academic Appointment

Although appointments, reappointments and promotions are reviewed as a long form, amendments (changes) to Professoriate responsibilities are largely processed in the Faculty and Academic Staff Appointments (FASA) system. Guidance for using FASA is available here and in the FASA Reference Guide. Please communicate when requests are urgent and relate to payroll cycles.

Process: Courtesy Appointments and Reappointments; Joint Appointments and Reappointments

These actions are processed in FASA unless included in the long form action.

1. Refer to the SoM FASA User Reference Guide: Professoriate Actions Supplement for detailed instructions.
2. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
3. Review by the Provost office (via FASA) is required. Edits or clarifications may be requested.

Process: New Parent Appointment Extensions

This action is processed in FASA.

1. Refer to the SoM FASA User Reference Guide: Professoriate Actions Supplement for detailed instructions.
   • Utilize the New Parent Extension Form found in Faculty Affairs Resources.
2. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
3. Review by the Provost office (via FASA) is required. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
4. If approved, a formal letter of approval will come from the Provost.

Process: Addenda to Offer Letters

There may be circumstances that lead to a change in the appointment parameters of a Professoriate faculty member. Such changes are recorded and managed via an addendum letter. Examples include permanent effort allocations changes (over 10% of effort changing distribution between scholarship, clinical care, teaching/mentoring, administration outside of a long form review), addition/subtraction of Administrative Assignments, changes to a faculty member’s full time equivalent (FTE) following exceptional provostial approval and other ad hoc items that change parameters of the original offer letter and relate to a commitment.

1. Review the original offer letter and confirm the changes with departmental leadership.
2. Utilizing the templates in the  Faculty Affairs Resources, submit the following via secure email to som-professoriate@stanford.edu and Faculty Compensation (som-facultycomp_review@stanford.edu).
   1. Draft Addendum Letter (in word format)
   2. PAF (Faculty- Personnel Action Form)
3. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested. Following OAA approval, Faculty Compensation will finalize their review.
4. Faculty Compensation will review and approve the addendum letter. Edits or clarifications may be requested. Once approved, Faculty Compensation will release the approved letter to you via secure email.

Process: Terminations/Resignations

This action is processed in FASA.

1. Refer to the SoM FASA User Reference Guide: Professoriate Actions Supplement for detailed instructions.
2. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
3. Review by the Provost office (via FASA) is required. Edits or clarifications may be requested.

Requesting Exceptions to Policy

Circumstances may warrant requesting an exception to policy. The University Handbook provides University-wide policies governing Professoriate faculty. The SoM Handbook provides additional School-specific policy detail governing Professoriate faculty.

Process: Appointment Extensions during Long Form Review

This action is processed in FASA.

1. If the candidate’s term date is approaching and the long form remains under review, submit a FASA transaction requesting an extension of 3 or 6 months. Delay submitting the FASA extension request until the final month of the candidate’s current appointment term.
2. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
   1. If the faculty member’s tenure clock will be impacted by the proposed extension, additional steps will be taken by OAA to confirm the faculty member’s acknowledgment that they will not acquire tenure by length of service.
3. Review by the Provost office (via FASA) is required. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
4. If approved, a formal letter of approval will come from the Provost.

Process: Tenure Clock and Appointment Extensions due to another reason

If the action is supported by the Dean, the request is submitted to the Provost by OAA. Once the Provost has approved, the department may initiate the FASA action.

1. Review the SoM FASA User Reference Guide: Professoriate Actions Supplement for detailed instructions.
2. Submit the following via secure email to som-professoriate@stanford.edu.
   1. A Chair’s Transmittal Memo including a very detailed and compelling explanation for the need.
3. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
   1. If the faculty member’s tenure clock will be impacted by the proposed extension, additional steps will be taken by OAA to confirm the faculty member’s acknowledgment that they will not acquire tenure by length of service.
4. The exceptional request will be reviewed by the Dean and the Provost.
5. If approved, you will be directed to submit a FASA transaction requesting the extension for the corresponding period of time. Attachment to include:
   1. A department chair’s memo to the faculty member notifying them of the extension request and containing the candidate’s acknowledgment of it.
6. If approved, a formal letter of approval will come from the Provost.

Process: Other Exceptions to Policy

If the action is supported by the Dean, the request is submitted to the Provost by OAA. We recommend consultation with OAA and the Vice Dean in advance of submission. Exceptions to policy undergo a thorough review and are rarely approved.

1. Submit the following via secure email to som-professoriate@stanford.edu.
   1. A Chair’s Transmittal Memo including a very detailed and compelling explanation for the need. The benefit to the candidate, program, school and university should be highlighted. Any realignment of duties/service for the period should be outlined (similar to what is needed for a leave request).
2. OAA staff review the request and confer with the Vice Dean. Edits or clarifications may be requested.
3. The exceptional request will be reviewed by the Dean and the Provost.
4. If approved, a formal letter of approval will come from the Provost.