Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Faculty Affairs Office

Interim Review for Tenure-eligible Faculty

Feinberg's standard tenure probationary period (or "tenure clock") for faculty appointed to the Investigator career track is 9 years, typically beginning with your first appointment as an Assistant Professor (whether at Northwestern or a prior institution). To facilitate success in achieving tenure, Feinberg conducts a periodic interim review to offer actionable feedback from the school's Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (APT) committee and deans on your progress towards tenure.

  • Faculty who start their 9-year tenure clock at Feinberg can expect to receive two interim reviews, one at 3 years and one at 6 years into their tenure clock.
  • Faculty whose tenure clock at Feinberg is shorter than 9 years due to starting their faculty career at a prior institution may have an altered interim review schedule or only receive one interim review, dependent on the number of years remaining on their tenure clock.  

 

2024 Interim Review Timeline

Winter: Notification of Review
Tenure-eligible faculty invited for interim review in 2024 have already been notified

In the winter, the Faculty Affairs Office (FAO) notifies tenure-eligible faculty who will be included in the interim review process in the spring. 

View these informational slides for 2024.

April 1: Interim Review Packets Due to FAO

One of the goals of the interim review process is to make you familiar with documents that go into your promotion and tenure application later. The interim review packet is shorter than the promotion and tenure packet, but includes some of the same documents.

Faculty notified to do so should send an interim review packet containing the following documents to fao@northwestern.edu by April 1, 2024. For help in using the Feinberg Faculty Portal, consult Feinberg Faculty Portal: Guidance for Faculty.

  1. Interim Review Supplement
    • This document is only used in the interim review process and serves as an introductory cover sheet
    • This must be prepared using the Feinberg Faculty Portal; within the Portal, navigate to the Profile page and complete these sections:
      • Biographical Narratives: This is the same bio that appears on your public faculty profile. If there is additional context you wish to provide that shouldn't display publicly, you may add a bio in this section tagged as "Other." 
      • Mentor(s) or Mentoring Committee
    • Save your file using this file naming convention: LastName Interim Review Supplement (e.g., Simpson Interim Review Supplement)
  2. TE Interim Review Progress Report
    • This document is prepared manually using the template at the link above and is a short narrative summary (about one page) of your career progress, focusing especially on the last three years
    • Save your file using this file naming convention: LastName Progress Report (e.g., Simpson Progress Report)
  3. Feinberg Standard CV
    • This is the same CV format used for the promotion and tenure application
    • You may prepare it manually or using the Feinberg Faculty Portal
    • Save your file using this file naming convention: LastName CV (e.g., Simpson CV)
  4. Record of Teaching
    • This document is also included in the promotion and tenure application
    • You may prepare it manually or using the Feinberg Faculty Portal
    • Save your file using this file naming convention: LastName Teaching Record (e.g., Simpson Teaching Record)

September 1: Receive Summary of Feedback

During late spring and summer, your interim review materials will be reviewed by FAO (for completeness), the APT Committee, and Deans. Two APT Committee members independently review each candidate and evaluate the following areas, considering strengths and weaknesses:

  1. Scholarly / academic accomplishments
  2. Teaching
  3. Service
  4. External recognition
  5. Assessment of progress to date, including suggestions for addressing identified weaknesses

The committee members' evaluations are shared with the full APT committee and the Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs for discussion and additional comments.

By September 1, you will receive a summary of feedback from the interim review process. The feedback will be sent to you and your department chair as well as the mentoring committee chair named in the Interim Review Supplement document that you submitted as part of your packet.

September: Meet with Chair/Chief and mentors to align on action plan

During September, meet with your department chair or division chief and mentoring committee chair to go over the interim review summary report and the action plan it recommends.

  • If your action plan is in response to your 3-year review, implement and monitor your action plan throughout years 4-6 leading up to your 6-year review.
  • If your action plan is in response to your 6-year review, implement and monitor your action plan in years 7-8 in preparation for applying for tenure.