George Mason University      
   
 
Extension of Probationary Period/Tenure-Clock Policies

 

Tenure-Clock Extension for New Parents

approved by the Faculty Senate May 2, 2007

A tenure track faculty member who becomes the parent of a child by birth or by adoption will be entitled to a one-year automatic extension of the term in which she or he is currently employed. This extension will be granted automatically upon the faculty member’s notifying in writing the chair of the department or the dean/director of the college, school or institute in which the faculty member serves.  The faculty member should make the request within one year of the child’s arrival in the family and prior to September 1 of the academic year in which the tenure decision would have been made.

A faculty member is limited to one automatic extension of term during the time she or he is serving in tenure track status.  A faculty member who declines to request an extension remains eligible for later extensions up to the two-year maximum.  Multiple births or multiple adoptions at the same time result in the same one-year extension right as single births or adoptions.  At the time of tenure consideration, a faculty member who has received an extension or extensions will be considered using the same tenure criteria as those applied to other faculty in the college, school, or institute.   Extensions due to parenthood are independent of study leaves.

 


Tenure-Clock Extension for Military Service

approved by the Faculty Senate January 23, 2008

A tenure track faculty member who is also a member of the U.S. military and is called to active duty for a minimum of four months will be entitled to an automatic extension of the term in which she or he is currently employed.  The extension will last for the duration of the active duty assignment, rounded to the nearest year.  Therefore, an active duty assignment lasting between 4 through 15 months will earn a one-year extension, 16 through 27 months will earn a two-year extension, etc. Any extension beyond two years would require further discussion with the appropriate department chair and Dean.  This extension will be granted automatically upon the faculty member’s notifying in writing the chair of the department or the dean/director of the college, school or institute in which the faculty member serves.  The faculty member should make the request prior to entering active duty and prior to September 1 of the academic year in which the tenure decision would have been made.

 


Tenure-Clock Extension for Serious Illness

approved by the Faculty Senate March 5, 2008

Extension of the probationary period for tenure track faculty member will be approved for circumstances that have a significant impact on the faculty member’s productivity, such as serious personal illness or a major illness of a member of the faculty member’s immediate family, under the following conditions and definitions. Serious personal illness or illness within the immediate family will be defined according to the Department of Labor’s criteria for family and medical leave, already used by the university. Certification of illness by a physician is required and will be handled by Human Resources. Once certification of the illness has been approved by Human Resources, the faculty member can delay the tenure clock (extension of the probationary period) by notifying, in writing, the chair of the department or the dean/director of the college, school or institute in which the faculty member serves. The request must be made within three months of certification of sick or family leave by Human Resources. Probationary period extensions will be granted in one-year increments, with the maximum probationary period extension being a cumulative total of two years. An extension beyond one year will require discussion with the appropriate department chair and Dean. At the time of tenure consideration, a faculty member will be considered using the same criteria as those applied to other faculty in the college school or institute. 

 

 


 

 
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