A faculty member applies in writing to the Dean/Director when he/she feels ready for consideration for promotion to a higher rank. Dean/Director can also initiate the motion and may notify the faculty member whom he/she thinks has demonstrated scholarship that deserves consideration for promotion to a higher rank. The following are the requirements to be fulfilled before a promotion can be considered.
For promotions to the rank of Associate Professor, obtaining the habilitation (Doçentlik) from the Inter-University Council is a necessity for those eligible for this examination. It is very important that faculty members must prepare and pursue their plans to receive their Doçent title from the Inter-University Council as soon as possible.
Inter-University Council application for Associate Professorship requires receiving the diploma equivalency. The documents needed to obtain diploma equivalency are given in Appendix 14. Since this process takes a long time, faculty members should start the diploma equivalency process as soon as they can. For any questions or request for support, the APDD Office may be contacted.
When the Dean/Director supports the candidacy of a faculty member for promotion, the faculty member submits the following by using the web-based tool in Koç University Faculty Information System (KUFIS) along with an official letter to be considered for promotion:
The research statement should summarize previous research activities and achievements and discuss research plans and agenda for the coming years.
The teaching statement should summarize the personal views of the faculty member on teaching and teaching approaches used by him/her.
The teaching dossier contains relevant material such as lecture notes, readers, syllabi, sample exams, essays and term projects for courses taught within the current contract period. The material submitted by the faculty covers the current contract period.
The outside reviewers are expected to be internationally accomplished scholars who are normally not the PhD advisers or close collaborators of the applicant. The Dean may write to such individuals for additional information to assist in forming his/her decision.
The Dean/Director finalizes a list of external reviewers which may include the names given by the applicant as well as new names of prominent scholars in the field of the applicant. A typical list of external reviewers includes 12 reviewers: six reviewers from the list submitted by the applicant and another six reviewers added by the Dean/Director who may consult other relevant faculty members across the university in formulating his/her as needed. The Dean/ Director may in some cases also request additional reports from three Koç University faculty members of a rank higher to that of the applicant.
The recommendation of the Dean/Director to initiate the promotion process and the list of reviewers are first discussed and evaluated extensively at a face-to-face promotion-initiation review meeting with the President, the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), and the Vice President for Research and Development (VPRD). Prior to the meeting, the material submitted by the faculty member and the evaluation of the Dean/Director are shared with the President, VPAA and VPRD.
In cases where a unanimous positive decision cannot be reached at the promotion initiation-review meeting, President requests Vice Presidents and the Dean/Director to separately submit to him/her their individual written evaluations and recommendations. President subsequently makes a final evaluation as to whether or not to move forward with the promotion process, based on the material submitted by the faculty member and in consideration of all the reports.
For promotion to the rank of Associate Professor, when a unanimous positive decision is reached to initiate the promotion process at the promotion-initiation-meeting, or when the President decides to initiate the promotion process based on his evaluation of the separate reports from the Dean/Director, VPAA & VPRD, the promotion process and the request for letters of reference are initiated. Note that, the initiation for promotion must also be paired with a new faculty position announcement.
For promotion to the rank of Professor, when a unanimous positive decision is reached to initiate the promotion process at the promotion-initiation-meeting, or when the President decides to initiate the promotion process based on his evaluation of the separate reports from the Dean/Director, VPAA & VPRD, the case is brought to the University Executive Council which must officially vote to approve the initiation of the promotion process and the list of reviewers.
Once the promotion process is initiated, Dean/Director writes a solicitation letter to the finalized external reviewers requesting their opinion on the suitability for the promotion in hand. A sample letter is attached in Appendix 11. Along with the letter, Dean/Director sends to the reviewers the CV and representative articles of the applicant. The Dean requests the reference letters from reviewers at least 1 month in advance for promotions to the rank of Assistant Professor and at least 2 months in advance for promotions to the rank of Professor.
Subsequent to his/her reception of the external letters, the Dean/Director forms his/her own assessment based on the expert opinions of the external reviewers. The Dean/Director brings his/her personal recommendation for or against promotion for discussion at a face-to-face promotion-evaluation-review meeting of the Dean/Director with the President, the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), and the Vice President for Research and Development (VPRD). Prior to the meeting, the letters and the dossier are shared with the President, VPAA and VPRD. The letters and the recommendations of the Dean/Director are subsequently discussed at a meeting of the President, the two Vice Presidents, and the Dean/Director. If sufficient number of letters are not received and/or if a unanimous recommendation for promotion is not evident, the case is not presented to the University Executive Council. In such cases, the applicant can reapply for promotion after waiting for a period of a minimum of 12 months.
If a unanimous recommendation for promotion is evident, the case is taken to the University Executive Council. For promotion to the rank of Associate Professor, the Executive Council makes a recommendation to the President regarding the promotion. For promotion to the rank of Professor, the University Executive Council must officially vote to approve the promotion.
In cases where a unanimous decision cannot be reached at the promotion evaluation-review meeting, President requests Vice Presidents and the Dean/Director to separately submit to him/her their individual written evaluations and recommendations. President subsequently makes a final evaluation as to whether or not to move forward with the promotion process, based on the material submitted by the faculty member opinion of the University Executive Council and in consideration of all the reports.
The promotion decision is then subsequently presented to the Board of Trustees for their final approval.
A faculty member is authorized to use his/her new title immediately after the approval by the Board of Trustees.
The contracts of Assistant Professors are renewed for a four-year period and Associate Professors are renewed for a five-year period.
In cases where the application of a faculty member for consideration for promotion is not supported by the Dean/Director, the faculty member may request his/her case to be nevertheless considered at a meeting of the President, the two Vice Presidents, and the Dean/Director.