These are interim guidelines. Final guidelines will be established after formal Academic Senate review. These guidelines apply to the Professor, Professor in Residence, and Acting Professor of Law series. These guidelines are to be used in addition to the policies, procedures, and exhibits provided in the Academic Personnel Manual (APM) and APM-UCD.
General Principles
All members of the Academic Senate are eligible for advancement at normative time for their rank and step. In formulating our criteria for recommending greater than 1.0-step advancements, we should aim to strike a balance between objectivity and flexibility. Our goal should be to clarify the criteria for greater than 1.0-step advancements without tying our hands to quantitative assessments that understate or overstate the total contributions of candidates. In all cases, chairs and deans should be encouraged to articulate in the department and dean’s letters the grounds for the advancement, beyond simple numerical tabulations of papers, citations, courses, and committees; for example, by describing the special impact or quality of the work, the awarding of prizes for achievement, or the scale and scope of the undertaking.
One-Step Advancement
A balanced record, appropriate for rank and step, with evidence of a meritorious record of accomplishments in all areas of review is rewarded with a 1.0-step advancement. All Academic Senate faculty can expect to advance, unless a major deficiency in their performance is determined. University and public service duties are expected to increase as faculty advance in rank and step.
One and a Half-Step Advancement
A 1.5-step advancement requires a meritorious record with outstanding achievement in at least one area of review (scholarly and creative activity, teaching, university and public service, professional competence and activities). However, outstanding achievement in one area may not qualify the candidate for 1.5-step advancement if performance in another area does not meet UC Davis standards.
Two-Step Advancement
A 2.0-step advancement will require a meritorious record in all three areas of review, with outstanding achievement in at least two areas. In most cases, one of those areas will be scholarly and creative activity; however, achievement in two other areas (teaching, university and public service, professional competence and activities) might warrant such unusual advancement.
Advancement greater than Two Steps
An advancement greater than 2.0 steps will be extremely rare. These advancements will require an exceptionally meritorious and balanced record, highlighted by extraordinary levels of achievement in two areas (including research and creative activity), and outstanding contributions in the third area.
Greater than One-Step Above-Scale Advancement
The criteria for merit increases are steep at this high rank. One-step advancement requires continued performance at levels commensurate with the expectations for an Above-Scale Professor. One and one-half-step advancement requires continued performance at levels commensurate with the expectations for an Above-Scale Professor, accompanied by outstanding achievement in one area. Two-step advancement requires continued performance at levels commensurate with the expectations for an Above-Scale Professor, accompanied by outstanding achievements in two areas. In most cases, one of those areas will be scholarly and creative activity; however, outstanding performance in two other areas (teaching, university and public service, professional competence and activities) might warrant such unusual advancement.