Tenure Packets

So, I am working on my tenure packet. Yes, it is that time...FINALLY. I suppose I've got it pretty easy. I have a relatively recent colleague that kept his tenure packet who has graciously shared it with me. Also, we use a package named Digital Measures which makes creating our tenure packets relatively easily...as long as you keep it current. Fortunately, as long as you keep it relatively current, when you print out your final tenure packet from Digital Measures, you can download it as a Word document which you can then edit as necessary. This is great for being able to pop in those course evaluations and whatnot.

Despite all of this "help", it has taken me approximately 2 days of work and I am still not done yet. Hopefully I can finish this up tomorrow. But, in doing this, I have been amazed at the amount of "content" that I have in my packet. Various committees, journal publications, conference presentations, classes taught... I guess it really sneaks up on you. I think this is why it is so important to keep your Digital Measures, Vita, and any other tool(s) you might have at your disposal. Failure to do so will surely result in missed content which, for tenure purposes is not worth the risk.

At the end of the day, I think it is a worthwhile process to keep such documentation up to date. I think it helps you to determine where you might be light. If you have a lot of service and teaching but not a lot of research, it can be easily spotted if your documentation is up to date. So get on it. Get some pubs out there. Weak on service? Start volunteering for committees, tasks forces, etc. But without your documentation, you are only guessing as to how your accomplishments might be perceived.

So, keep your Vita, Digital Measures, etc up to date. File away in an organized way your publications and presentations. Keep your evaluations organized. You will appreciate your efforts later when you are going up for tenure. Next stop, full professor.