In March 2020, Cornell’s academic leadership adopted a one-year automatic tenure clock extension due to COVID-19 related disruption. The administration has now refined the implementation of the COVID-19 tenure clock extension so that it is independent of and in addition to concurrent parental clock extensions. A one-year tenure clock extension has also been adopted for new faculty members joining the university starting the Fall 2020 semester. Similarly, faculty members starting at Cornell in the Spring of 2021 are eligible for a six month COVID-19 related tenure clock extension.
All COVID-19 tenure clock extensions are provided on an opt out basis: i.e. the extension and corresponding adjusted end date of the appointment will be implemented automatically for all eligible faculty, but an individual faculty member may choose to forego the extension after consultation with the department chair/school director/school dean.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Could you provide an example of how the COVID-19 tenure clock extension would work?
Most tenure-track faculty appointments are for two 3-year terms such that tenure has to be earned by the end of the 6th year of the initial appointment start date (following successful 3 year/reappointment and tenure reviews). The COVID-19 tenure clock extension provides you with an additional year within which to earn tenure. For example, if your appointment started on July 1, 2019, you would have originally anticipated completing your tenure review by June 30, 2025, assuming a positive reappointment after your first term. With the COVID-19 tenure clock extension, the time within which you would go up for tenure will be extended by one year, in this case to June 30, 2026. If your start date was any other date – August 1, Sept 1 or January 1, the COVID-19 tenure clock extension would be a full year based on that start date. - Does the COVID-19 tenure clock extension apply to the first reappointment (most commonly at the 3rd year) or does the extension apply to the full 6 year tenure clock?
Tenure clock extensions are typically applied to the appointment term in which work activities are disrupted. However, with the approval of the department chair or school director/dean, individuals in their first term of appointment may proceed with the reappointment review at the previously scheduled time and instead have the extension applied to the second appointment term (pending successful outcome of the reappointment review). - I have submitted the final dossier for my tenure review. Am I eligible for the extension?
No. Your upcoming review must take place as originally scheduled. - Is the COVID-19 tenure clock extension available if I am currently on a parental clock extension?
Yes. The COVID-19 tenure clock extension and the parental tenure clock extension are independent of each other. You may get one year for COVID-1o disruption and another for parental tenure clock extension. - Is opting out of the automatic extension my decision or is decided by my chair?
The COVID-19 tenure clock extension is an opt-out extension: it is granted automatically to all eligible faculty members. You can opt out and come up for tenure review according to your original date. Before you make this decision you must consult with your department chair to get advice on this issue. Whether you take the clock extension or opt out of it, your tenure will still be judged against the same standard of excellence and future promise. If you opt out of the extension, you will not be able to take the extension after the tenure process has been started or a decision is made. - Is there a deadline to opt out?
You should consult with your department chair/school director/school dean regarding dossier submission dates as this will determine when you need to make the decision to opt out if you choose. - Is it permissible to request a six-month extension, as opposed to a full year?
Yes. You may opt for a six month extension instead of the full year extension. Again, you should consult with your department chair/school director/school dean regarding timing. - Will the standard of review be affected by the decision of whether or not to opt out of the extension?
No. All tenure reviews are tied to the substantive tenure standard. They focus on whether the file demonstrates the excellence and unusual promise for future achievement that your discipline expects to see in a tenured faculty member’s scholarship, teaching and service. The presence or absence of clock extensions does not alter this standard of review. - What happens if significant COVID related disruptions continue beyond the one year period envisioned when the clock extension was originally authorized in March 2020?
The COVID-19 tenure clock extension was purposely sized to accommodate a very lengthy period of full disruption. Should severe and pervasive disruption continue even beyond this extended timeframe, the academic leadership may consider whether an additional clock extension for all junior faculty is appropriate. Absent that, individual faculty who have distinct and compelling circumstances may seek approval by the department chair, dean and provost for additional extensions of their individual tenure clock. - I started my employment at Cornell on July 1, 2020 or January 2021. Am I eligible for the COVID-19 extension?
Faculty members who joined Cornell in the Summer or Fall of 2020 (between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020) are eligible for a one-year COVID-19 related tenure clock extension, and their initial appointment terms will be increased by a year at the time of hire. Faculty members who joined Cornell in the Spring of 2021 (i.e. between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021) are eligible for a six month COVID-19 related tenure clock extension and their initial appointment term will be increased by six month at the time of hire.