• Promotion and Tenure Rules
• |
• Clinical Track Professors
• |
• Writing Track Professors

Retention and Promotion Rules for Clinical Track Professors

Introduction

This statement is to inform clinical track faculty members of the procedures and practices governing decisions on retention and promotion. Such procedures and practices are subject to any applicable regulations of the University of Missouri.

The term "clinical track faculty member" means an assistant clinical professor, associate clinical professor or clinical professor of law who has been placed on a clinical track pursuant to a vote of the law faculty (including all tenured, tenure track and clinical track faculty).

Promotion and Tenure Committee

The faculty's role is to make recommendations to the dean regarding the retention and promotion of clinical track faculty members. That role shall be carried out by the Tenure and Promotion Committee, which is composed of all tenured faculty members (including the dean) in the School of Law. In addition, the dean may appoint a Tenure and Promotion Subcommittee to aid in the administration of these rules.

Only tenured full professors shall be eligible to vote on recommendations for promotion to clinical professor of law.

Categories of Clinical Track Faculty Members

There are three categories on the clinical track: assistant clinical professor of law, associate clinical professor of law, and clinical professor of law.

The initial appointment of a faculty member to a clinical track position will ordinarily be at the rank of associate clinical professor of law. Persons who have less than three years of law practice or teaching experience may be appointed at the rank of assistant clinical professor of law, and persons who have extensive previous clinical law teaching experience may be appointed at the rank of clinical professor of law.

The initial appointment to any category on the clinical track shall be a term appointment for one year. A person hired as an assistant clinical professor of law shall be eligible for two additional one-year terms, followed by successive three-year terms. A person hired as an associate clinical professor of law shall be eligible for one additional one-year term, followed by successive three-year terms. A person hired as a clinical professor of law shall be eligible for a three-year term followed by successive three-year terms.

Retention at the expiration of any term described in this section is subject to the criteria for retention set forth in Paragraph 5, infra.

Nature of Appointment

1. Appointments to the clinical track are ordinarily for nine months, although the dean, based on curricular or other needs, may make a clinical track appointment for eleven months. An initial appointment for nine or eleven months may thereafter be changed at any time by the dean after consulting with the affected clinical track faculty member.
2. Clinical track faculty members on a nine month contract may be required to teach summer courses of a clinical nature in the sole discretion of the dean.
3. Clinical track faculty members have no expectation of or eligibility for continuous appointment (tenure).
4. Clinical track faculty members are eligible and are expected to participate in all faculty governance activities. Clinical track faculty members shall be eligible for summer research grants funded by the School of Law, but priority shall be given to tenure-track faculty members.
5. The contract of a clinical track faculty member who was hired principally to fulfill obligations under a grant shall be deemed to expire upon the termination of such grant.
6. A clinical track faculty member who was not hired principally to fulfill obligations under a grant shall be notified by June 1 if her or his contract is not to be renewed for the next academic year.
7. Clinical track faculty members may be dismissed for cause, subject to any applicable university regulations.

Criteria for Retention and Promotion

The two factors that are to be considered in retention and promotion decisions are quality of teaching and participation in activities designed to promote professional growth.

1. Teaching. The primary criterion for retention or promotion of clinical track faculty members shall be demonstrated teaching ability. In making this qualitative judgment the faculty may consider, among other factors, the extent to which the candidate has effectively:
   1. conducted individual student conferences, including critical review, evaluation and feedback of student work, to assist students in enhancing their individual abilities;
   2. conducted any classroom component of the clinical program;
   3. used and integrated various clinical teaching methods (e.g., simulations, live case experience, outplacements and seminars) to provide students with an understanding of the legal process and lawyering skills;
   4. engaged in professional advocacy and the practice of other client representation skills to provide students with a model of professional conduct;
   5. improved, through refinement, development or new application, clinical teaching methodology;
   6. fostered a successful learning environment, including being accessible to students, showing an interest and involvement in their development and welfare, and stimulating and inspiring students in their clinical studies;
   7. administered the clinical program where such is part of the clinical track faculty member’s assigned duties; and
   8. conducted nonclinical classroom courses (where appointed to do so by the dean).

   The faculty shall also consider: 1) student evaluations; (2) evaluations by colleagues, with particular weight given to evaluations by those who have significant experience teaching skills courses; and (3) information provided by others, such as former students, judges or lawyers, who have had the opportunity to observe the individual’s teaching.

2. Participation in Activities Designed to Promote Professional Growth. Clinical track faculty members are expected to participate in activities designed to promote their growth as professionals. Such activities may include research and publication, but unlike tenure track faculty members there is no publication requirement. Further, clinical track faculty members who choose to publish need not do so in the traditional law review format. They may satisfy the requirements of this section by publishing, for example, bar journal articles or other significant writings.

In addition to publication, clinical track faculty members may satisfy the requirements of this section through activities connected to their teaching or to renewing their knowledge in order to enrich their teaching. Such activities might include, for example, leadership roles at workshops designed to improve their knowledge of current trends in the teaching or the practice of law; researching and evaluating new methods of clinical teaching; obtaining grants to fund clinical teaching programs at the School of Law; pro bono or legal aid work; participation as a speaker at continuing legal education programs or programs for legal educators; and active participation on national, state or local bar committees or national organizations of clinical teachers.

A clinical track faculty member who is uncertain whether certain activities will satisfy the requirements of this section may obtain a determination from the dean or from a Tenure and Promotion Subcommittee appointed by the dean. Such request and any approval shall be in writing.

Retention and Promotion Decisions

1. To justify the renewal in rank of the contract of an assistant or associate clinical professor of law, such person must have demonstrated a high degree of competence with respect to the criteria for retention and promotion (Paragraph 5, supra) and must have demonstrated a high likelihood of achieving promotion to clinical professor of law.
2. To justify the renewal in rank of the contract of a clinical professor of law, such person must have demonstrated excellence with respect to the criteria for retention and promotion.
3. To justify a promotion from assistant to associate clinical professor of law, the candidate must demonstrate a high degree of competence with respect to the criteria for retention and promotion.
4. To justify a promotion from associate clinical professor to clinical professor of law, the candidate must demonstrate excellence with respect to the criteria for retention and promotion.

Schedules for Promotion

A person appointed as an assistant clinical professor of law ordinarily will be considered for promotion to associate clinical professor of law during the third year of employment, with the promotion to be effective at the beginning of the following academic year. Such a person ordinarily will be considered for promotion to clinical professor of law during the fifth year of employment as an associate clinical professor of law, with the promotion to be effective at the beginning of the following academic year.

A person appointed as an associate clinical professor of law ordinarily will be considered for promotion to clinical professor of law during their seventh year of employment, with the promotion to be effective at the beginning of the following academic year.

The promotion decisions described above may be made earlier or later.

Process

1. At least once each year, the dean shall meet with each clinical track faculty member regarding her or his progress toward retention and/or promotion.
2. The Tenure and Promotion Committee shall make recommendations regarding retention at a meeting to be convened during the winter (second) semester of any year in which a clinical track faculty member’s contract will expire. After such meeting, the dean shall convey to the candidate concerned the general content of the Committee’s discussion and shall in particular inform the candidate of any matters that were perceived as weaknesses.

The Tenure and Promotion Committee shall make recommendations regarding promotion at a meeting to be convened during the fall semester of the year preceding the year in which the promotion would be effective. After such meeting, the dean shall convey to the candidate concerned the general content of the Committee’s discussion and shall in particular inform the candidate of any matters that were perceived as weaknesses.

In exceptional circumstances, the Tenure and Promotion Committee may meet at other times to discuss retention and/or promotion and make such recommendations as it deems appropriate. For example, the Committee may determine to consider an early recommendation for promotion or for appointment to a longer term contract. The candidate shall be given 30-days advance notice of such a meeting.

With regard to any meeting of the Tenure and Promotion Committee, the candidate shall be given the opportunity to present his or her views and to provide any further relevant information either in writing or by appearing personally.

Committee Recommendations on Promotion

The Tenure and Promotion Committee shall make its recommendations regarding retention and promotion to the dean. The dean shall then forward the recommendation and the dean’s recommendation to the Provost, who shall make the final decision.

Legal Research and Writing

Persons hired to direct the legal research and writing program may be placed on the clinical track. In such event, such persons shall be appointed, retained and promoted as are other clinical track faculty members. However, the criteria for retention and promotion shall be appropriately tailored to the circumstances of legal research and writing and the terms "clinic" and "clinical" as used herein shall be deemed to refer to the appropriate aspects of legal research and writing.