The tenure process and extending the tenure clock: The experience of faculty at one university

Tenure clock extension policies are increasingly available for faculty who need extra time granted on their 'clock' due to special circumstances, such as family responsibilities or health issues. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the formal policy has been available to faculty for over 10 years and is the focus of study by researchers at the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. The following report is informed by data collected through a campus-wide survey of faculty, as well as from the responses to questions during individual interviews with a sample of female faculty. The survey results suggest that in general, men are more likely to be satisfied with the tenure process, to understand the criteria to achieve tenure, and to feel supported by their department. At the same time, both men and women who used the tenure clock extension policy were equally less satisfied with the tenure process than their counterparts. In-depth interviews give voice to some of these findings. We hypothesize that the life event that led to extending the faculty members' clocks exacerbated their dissatisfaction with the process of achieving tenure. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).