407.690 - Overlapping Steps

UCSC:APO:CAPM rev:04/22

*This policy applies to the following title series: Professor, Teaching Professor (LSOE), Astronomer, Adjunct Professor, Professional Research, and Project (e.g. Scientist). Note that only senate faculty title series are eligible for tenure or security of employment.

A. GUIDELINES FOR USE OF OVERLAPPING STEPS

  1. A faculty member is expected to make normal progress through the steps of each rank so that after two years of service at Step 4, an Assistant Professor is assumed to be ready for promotion to Associate Professor, Step 1. An Associate Professor is assumed to be ready for promotion to Professor, Step 1, after two years of service at Associate Professor, Step 3. This is the normal course of events, as described in APM 220-17 and CAPM 400.220-9.d.

  2. Deviations from normal progress occur when it is appropriate for a faculty member to be moved to an overlapping step instead of being promoted to the next rank. It is generally assumed that these overlapping steps will only be used for faculty appointed at or advanced to the higher steps; for example, Assistant Professors appointed at Steps 3 or 4 or Associate Professors appointed at or promoted to Steps 2 or 3. The situations in which service in an overlapping step may be considered are discussed below.

B. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR RANK

  1. Use of Assistant Professor, Step 5:
    While advancement to tenure is considered normal after two years at Step 4, many faculty now enter the professoriate at steps above Assistant Professor, Step 1, and may require additional time to generate the necessary record to support a positive tenure decision. A merit to Assistant Professor, Step 5, may be recommended if the new material in the file subsequent to appointment or last advancement is not sufficient to warrant promotion but clearly indicates accomplishments sufficient to warrant a merit increase.

  2. “In lieu” of service at the next rank:
    A maximum of two years of service at Assistant Professor, Step 5, may count “in lieu” of service at Associate Professor, Step 1. In those instances of service at Assistant Professor, Step 5, followed by service at Associate Professor, Step 1, the normal period of combined service is two years. Service in excess of two years at Step 5 will not count in lieu of service at the Associate Professor rank. Normal promotion from Assistant Professor, Step 5, with less than two years of service will be to Associate Professor, Step 1, with time served as Assistant Professor, Step 5, counting in lieu of service in calculating eligibility for merit to Associate Professor, Step 2.

  3. Reappointment and salary increase in lieu of merit for Assistant Professor, Step 5:
    A faculty member at the rank and step of Assistant Professor, Step 5, with less than seven years (19 quarters) of service will not be automatically placed on the CALL for promotion to tenure. Instead, reappointment and a salary increase as Assistant Professor, Step 5, may be recommended if the new material in the file subsequent to appointment or last advancement is not sufficient to warrant promotion but clearly indicates accomplishments sufficient to warrant a merit increase.

C. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR RANK

  1. Use of Associate Professor, Step 4:
    While advancement to Professor is considered normal after two years at Step 3, faculty who enter the Associate Professor rank at Step 2 or 3 may not be ready for promotion after two years at Step 3, and may require the additional time to generate the necessary record to support a positive promotion decision. A merit to Associate Professor, Step 4, may be recommended if the new material in the file subsequent to appointment or last advancement is not sufficient to warrant promotion but clearly indicates accomplishments sufficient to warrant a merit increase.

  2. “In lieu” of service at the next rank:
    A maximum of three years of service at Associate Professor, Step 4, may count “in lieu” of service at Professor, Step 1. In those instances of service at Associate Professor, Step 4, followed by service at Professor, Step 1, the normal period of combined service is three years. Service in excess of three years will not count in lieu of service at the Professor rank. Normal promotion from Associate Professor, Step 4, with less than three years of service will be to Professor, Step 1, with time served as Associate Professor, Step 4, counting in lieu of service in calculating eligibility for merit to Professor, Step 2.

  3. Salary Increases for Associate Professor, Step 4:
    A faculty member who is on the CALL for promotion may not present a record of performance in all three areas sufficient to merit promotion to Professor. In those cases where the faculty member's performance, apart from the deficiency, is extraordinary, the Department may wish to recommend a modest off-scale salary increase of one-third or two-thirds of a step. This recommendation must be accompanied by an assessment of the faculty member's future prospects for advancement. When the faculty member is again on the CALL for promotion, if there is no remediation of the deficiency that precludes a positive recommendation for promotion, and their performance otherwise continues to be extraordinary, the Department may wish to recommend a further modest salary increase of one-third or two-thirds of a step in recognition of the faculty member's overall performance over the review period.

D. REVIEW MATERIALS

Review materials submitted by the candidate for promotion advancement to the next rank may not be resubmitted for review for advancement in the next rank, except in the cases of advancement to Professor, Step 6 or Professor, Above Scale. For example, material reviewed while Associate Professor, Step 4, resulting in promotion to Professor, Step 1, cannot be used for merit advancement from Professor, Step 1 to Step 2, even if the time at Associate Professor, Step 4, is counted in lieu of service at Professor, Step 1. Similarly, review materials submitted for promotion to Associate Professor may not again be used for step advancement in the Associate Professor rank.

E. AUTHORITY

Refer to the Delegation of Authority Chart for determining authority for merit and promotion actions.