1.    All proposals for appointment, reappointment, or advancement in rank or salary of Assistant Professors shall be made in writing by the Chair of the department concerned and sent to the Dean of the Faculty for transmission to the President. They shall normally be made only after formal consultation (a formal vote taken at a meeting) with the Professors and Associate Professors having full or joint appointment in the department.

2.    All proposals concerned with the reappointment or advancement in rank or salary of Assistant Professors shall be presented by the President to the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. After consultation with this Committee, the President recommends to the Board of Trustees such action as he or she may deem proper.

3.    The normal initial appointment of an Assistant Professor is for a three-year term.

       An Assistant Professor may be recommended for reappointment for a second three-year term. He or she shall be notified not later than December first of the third year of his or her initial appointment whether or not the department recommends reappointment for a second three-year term. The Chair of the department shall submit to the Dean of the Faculty the department’s recommendation, and the material on which it is based, for consideration by the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Whatever the recommendation, the material submitted to the Dean of the Faculty shall include a written report evaluating the Assistant Professor’s performance and promise according to the criteria in paragraph 10 below and stating, in full, the grounds for the department’s recommendation.

       If the department’s recommendation is to reappoint, the Committee shall advise the President regarding the recommendation. If the department’s recommendation is not to reappoint, the Committee may either (a) let the department’s negative recommendation stand or (b) suggest that the department reconsider its recommendation in the light of any comments the Committee may offer. The department shall report to the Dean of the Faculty the results of such reconsideration.

4.    Normally an Assistant Professor shall not be appointed in that rank for more than a total of six years. If the Assistant Professor is reappointed for a second three-year term, he or she shall be notified, not later than November fifteenth of the sixth year of appointment, of the department’s intention to recommend or not to recommend promotion to Associate Professor.

       The Chair of the department shall submit to the Dean of the Faculty the department’s recommendation with respect to promotion, and the material on which it is based, for consideration by the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Whatever the recommendation, the material submitted to the Dean of the Faculty shall include a written report evaluating the Assistant Professor’s work and potential according to the criteria in 10 below and stating, in full, the grounds for the department’s recommendation. Candidates for promotion and advancement to tenure shall be invited to submit a written evaluation to the department concerning scholarship, teaching, and service to the University and a list of referees. This submission is entirely voluntary; failure to submit may in no way count against the candidate. It shall be considered in the department’s own evaluation of the candidate and shall be forwarded along with the department's recommendation to the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. A department that solicits letters from outside referees for use by the department itself shall take care to consult some referees suggested by the candidate. All letters received by the department shall be forwarded to the Committee on Appointments and Advancements.

       If the department’s recommendation is to promote, the Committee shall advise the President directly regarding the recommendation. If the department’s recommendation is not to promote, the Committee may either (a) let the department’s negative recommendation stand or (b) suggest that the department reconsider its recommendation in light of any comments the Committee may offer. The department shall report to the Dean of the Faculty the results of such reconsideration.

       When the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements rejects a departmental recommendation for reappointment or advancement, the Dean of the Faculty shall invite the candidate to a discussion of the case.

5.    Only under the following exceptional circumstances and on no more than one occasion may a department recommend an Assistant Professor for an additional appointment of up to three years beyond the normal total of six years: (a) where the type of scholarship in which the Assistant Professor is engaged requires an unusually long period of time to make an adequate scholarly reputation or (b) where for other extraordinary reasons an Assistant Professor has not had adequate opportunity to demonstrate his or her ability and potential as a teacher-scholar. Such an appointment shall not, however, in itself be construed as creating a presumption of eventual attainment of tenure.

6.    An Assistant Professor who becomes the parent of a child by birth or adoption will automatically be granted a one-year extension of term by the Dean of the Faculty, upon notification by the Assistant Professor’s department. The Assistant Professor’s service may be extended by one year for each child, including twins and other multiple births or adoptions. Extensions are available to (1) all Assistant Professors in the first term, before the final year of that term; (2) Assistant Professors in the final year of the first term who have been reappointed to a second term; and (3) Assistant Professors in the second term, before the final year of that term. Notifications of such extensions should be made by the Assistant Professor’s department in writing to the Dean of the Faculty as soon as possible after the childbirth and/or adoption, but in no case later than September fifteenth of the year in which a recommendation on the Assistant Professor’s reappointment or promotion to tenure must be made. Extensions on grounds of childbirth and/or adoption do not preclude an additional appointment according to the provisions of 5 above.

7.    If promotion to Associate Professor does not occur, the sixth year of appointment as Assistant Professor shall normally be considered terminal, unless additional appointment as Assistant Professor occurs as provided in 5 or 6 above, in which case the final year of additional appointment shall be considered terminal. One additional terminal year reappointment may be made. It should be based upon specific agreement in writing with the Faculty member for whom recommendation is made that such further appointment has no implications concerning promotion to tenure at Princeton.

8.    In judging and recommending Assistant Professors for further appointment, departments, without being bound by any rule of equivalence, shall take into account prior service at other academic institutions. Assistant Professors may request that a departmental decision on promotion to Associate Professor be made earlier than the sixth year in the rank. If the promotion is denied, the Assistant Professor must be reviewed again at the end of the regular appointment as in 4 above.

9.    Appointment to a Bicentennial Preceptorship is for a three-year term which replaces the remainder of the term of appointment as an Assistant Professor. An Assistant Professor, who is appointed as a Bicentennial Preceptor during the first three-year term, may later be appointed for a one-year or two-year term as Assistant Professor to complete six years in the rank, with possible appointment thereafter as provided in 5 and 6 above. No appointment to a Bicentennial Preceptorship shall be made which would come into effect later than the beginning of the fifth year of an Assistant Professorship.

       Appointment to a University Preceptorship is held concurrently with appointment as Assistant Professor, normally for a three-year term. However, a Preceptorship expires at the completion of the regular term as Assistant Professor or any extension of that term. In the event the recipient of a Preceptorship is promoted to tenure at any time during the term of the preceptorship, the recipient will continue to receive its benefits until the preceptorship expires.

10.   In judging and recommending Assistant Professors for advancement in rank or salary, or for further appointment, departments shall make the quality of scholarship and teaching primary considerations and service to the University community an important consideration.

11.   Chairs of departments are required to have annual reviews with Assistant Professors. Each such review is an important occasion in the career of the non-tenured faculty member, and the Chair should therefore prepare for the review by consulting with colleagues familiar with the teaching and research of the Faculty member. The Chair should, at the review, explain fully, frankly, and tactfully the department’s view concerning the Faculty member’s progress and prospects. If the Chair believes that departmental priorities or situations are, or are becoming, adverse to the prospects of a particular member, that information should be conveyed and its implications assessed.

       The third-year review of Assistant Professors should be especially frank and thorough. The Chair should appoint a subcommittee consisting of one or more tenured members of the department qualified to review the scholarly work and teaching of the candidate for reappointment. The subcommittee should report formally to the tenured members of the department. The candidate should be informed of useful criticism.