Pandemic-Related Tenure Timeline Extensions in Higher Education in the United States: Prevalence and Associated Characteristics

Abstract

Many universities implemented pandemic-related tenure timeline extensions in response to productivity disruptions. However, little is known about the availability, nature, or uptake of these extensions, including which faculty were most likely to extend their timeline. Tenure-track faculty in the United States (n = 385, 64.4% women, 35.3% identifying with a National Institutes of Health-designated racial/ethnic minority group, 73.0% with children, 33.8% with non-child caregiving) completed a survey about their personal/career/institution characteristics, their institution’s pandemic extension policy (if any), and whether they extended their timeline. Overall, 94.0% reported that their institutions provided either an extension, unless faculty opted out, or an extension that could be requested. Most respondents (60.0%) elected to extend their tenure timeline due to the pandemic. Significantly greater proportions of respondents taking an extension were men (77.2%), identified with a NIH-designated racial/ethnic minority group (75.7%), reported non-child caregiving (86.3%), and had previously taken at least one timeline extension (82.4%). Pandemic-related extensions in tenure and promotion dossiers will be common, though they may not fully account for more than a year of disruption and may exacerbate disparities. Consequently, effective preparation for evaluating dossiers and other mitigation strategies are needed, to prevent the loss of faculty members who offer great value to their institutions.