Retention, Tenure, & Promotion (RTP)

Pursuant to the CFA-CSU collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and University Policies, probationary faculty must undergo peer and administrative review of their record to attain tenure, and all tenure line faculty must undergo peer and administrative review to advance in rank, from assistant to associate and to full professor. This page provides resources to assist faculty in organizing and packaging the materials that demonstrate their accomplishments for reviewers.

Dossiers are assembled and reviewed online via eFaculty. Faculty update their materials in the area called Faculty180. This archive is open to faculty members at all times throughout the year.

University Personnel - Faculty Services provides the timelines, platform, help with using the platform, and management of all faculty evaluations. Our team's focus is on helping system users and fostering compliance with policies and the CBA. To find assistance with building a strong case for reviewers, or "crafting your argument," take advantage of the resources at the Center for Faculty Excellence and Teaching Innovation (CFETI) Retention, Tenure and Promotion Pages. The Center for Faculty Development is a one-stop shop for help with the soft skills of faculty evaluations.

Current Cycle

If your department has RTP Guidelines, you may find the current version at this link:

RTP in eFaculty

The "What Goes Where? Guide" provides assistance with preparing materials in eFaculty for all faculty periodic evaluations and performance reviews. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on creating the dossier for RTP.

Visit the eFaculty Training and Help web page to find guides, QuickTips, and other resources.

Faculty Services has two videos to assist faculty as they undergo performance reviews in eFaculty. Part 1 provides an overview of the RTP process and the governing policies surrounding RTP. Part 2 provides a walkthrough of the eFaculty interface and provides examples of uploading materials to dossiers.

eFaculty Open Labs

Faculty Services periodically holds open lab sessions to assist faculty with preparing materials in eFaculty. Please follow the eFaculty Training and Help page to find the next open lab or drop-in session. If you have any questions or would like to receive a Google Calendar invite to a session, please email eFaculty@sjsu.edu.

University Policies Governing RTP

Special COVID Information

SJSU made adjustments to help faculty navigate the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to their career development and success. Review-related adaptations include:

SOTE/SOLATEs
University Policy S20-4 [pdf] allows all faculty instructors to withdraw any Spring 2020 SOTE/SOLATE evaluations from the Working Personnel Action File (or Dossier) for any future periodic evaluation or performance review.

Direct Observations of Teaching (Peer Observations)
Direct observations of teaching conducted in Spring 2020 are valid and should be used in future evaluations. If a scheduled observation were not made, Chairs may provide a memo to the faculty to inform reviewers that an observation in spring 2020 was not conducted due to COVID-19; faculty may upload the memo in place of the direct observation.

Accounting for the Impacts of COVID-19 in Future Reviews
University Policy S15-8 (2.3.6) asks candidates to account for resources needed for career success relative to those provided and available for their work. It obligates reviewers to calibrate their ratings of achievements to the provision of necessary resources. Further, S15-8 was amended (3.1.1) to compel committees and evaluators to adjust their analysis of the levels of achievement by considering "the trajectory of each candidate’s professional development prior to the disruption and determine whether that trajectory would normally have allowed the faculty member to meet the policy standards." Faculty adversely affected by COVID-19 are encouraged to work with the CFD to build their case within the dossier.

The Provost issued a memorandum required to be placed in periodic evaluation packets and performance review dossiers. UP - FS uploads the document in the review interface of eFaculty:

Resources for Reviewers

Reviewers may use the following links and forms: