Campus Academic Personnel Manual
000-099 | General
100-199 | Recruitment
200-299 | Records
300-399 | Faculty Administrators
400-499 | Senate Faculty Review
500-799 | Non-Senate Academics
800-899 | Compensation
900-999 | Benefits & Privileges
407.690 | Overlapping Steps
Responsible Office/Party: UCSC Academic Personnel Office
Last Revised Date: 1/23/2025
*This policy applies to the following title series: Professor, Teaching Professor (Professor of Teaching), Astronomer, Agronomist, Adjunct Professor, Professional Research, and Project (e.g. Scientist). Note that only senate faculty title series are eligible for tenure or security of employment.*
Contents
A. Guidelines for Use of Overlapping Steps
- An appointee is expected to make normal progress through the steps of each rank so that after two years of service at Step 4, an Assistant Professor is assumed to be ready for promotion to Associate Professor, Step 1. An Associate Professor is assumed to be ready for promotion to Professor, Step 1, after two years of service at Associate Professor, Step 3. This is the normal course of events, as described in APM 220-17 and CAPM 400.220-9.d.
- Deviations from normal progress occur when it is appropriate for an appointee to be moved to an overlapping step instead of being promoted to the next rank. It is generally assumed that these overlapping steps will only be used for appointees hired at or advanced to the higher steps; for example, Assistant Professors appointed at Steps 3 or 4 or Associate Professors appointed at or promoted to Steps 2 or 3. The situations in which service in an overlapping step may be considered are discussed below.
B. Assistant Professor Rank
- Use of Assistant Professor, Step 5:
While advancement to tenure is considered normal after two years at Step 4, many faculty now enter the professoriate at steps above Assistant Professor, Step 1, and may require additional time to generate the necessary record to support a positive tenure decision. A merit to Assistant Professor, Step 5, may be recommended if the new material in the file subsequent to appointment or last advancement is not sufficient to warrant promotion but clearly indicates accomplishments sufficient to warrant a merit increase. - Promotion from Assistant Professor, Step 5:
Service at Assistant Professor, Step 5 does not count in lieu of service at the Associate Professor rank on the Santa Cruz campus. Normal promotion from Assistant Professor, Step 5, will be to Associate Professor, Step 1, with an additional step of off-scale salary (using the difference between Associate, Step 1 and Step 2). Promotion from Assistant Professor, Step 5 to Associate Professor, Step 2 shall only occur as an acceleration, and will include an additional step of off-scale salary (using the difference between Associate Step 2 and Step 3). The additional salary will offset the loss of on-scale salary caused by using the lower step. Additionally, any applicable campus salary practice in cases demonstrating outstanding achievement may result in further off-scale salary increase.
Normative time at Associate Professor, Steps 1-3 is two years, regardless of any prior service at Assistant Professor, Step 5. - Reappointment and salary increase in lieu of merit for Assistant Professor, Step 5:
A faculty member at the rank and step of Assistant Professor, Step 5, with less than seven years (19 quarters) of service will not be automatically placed on the CALL for promotion to tenure. Instead, reappointment and a salary increase as Assistant Professor, Step 5, may be recommended if the new material in the file subsequent to appointment or last advancement is not sufficient to warrant promotion but clearly indicates accomplishments sufficient to warrant a merit increase. - Use of Assistant Professor, Step 6:
Assistant Professor, Step 6 is not used on the Santa Cruz campus.
C. Associate Professor Rank
- Use of Associate Professor, Step 4:
While advancement to Professor is considered normal after two years at Step 3, faculty who enter the Associate Professor rank at Step 2 or 3 may not be ready for promotion after two years at Step 3, and may require the additional time to generate the necessary record to support a positive promotion decision. A merit to Associate Professor, Step 4, may be recommended if the new material in the file subsequent to appointment or last advancement is not sufficient to warrant promotion but clearly indicates accomplishments sufficient to warrant a merit increase. - Promotion from Associate Professor, Step 4:
A maximum of three years of service at Associate Professor, Step 4, may count “in lieu” of service at Professor, Step 1. In those instances of service at Associate Professor, Step 4, followed by service at Professor, Step 1, the normal period of combined service is three years. Service in excess of three years will not count in lieu of service at the Professor rank. Normal promotion from Associate Professor, Step 4, with less than three years of service will be to Professor, Step 1, with time served as Associate Professor, Step 4, counting in lieu of service in calculating eligibility for merit to Professor, Step 2. - Salary Increases for Associate Professor, Step 4:
A faculty member who is on the CALL for promotion may not present a record of performance in all three areas sufficient to merit promotion to Professor. In those cases where the faculty member’s performance, apart from the deficiency, is excellent, the Department may wish to recommend a modest off-scale salary increase of one-third or two-thirds of a step. This recommendation must be accompanied by an assessment of the faculty member’s future prospects for advancement. When the faculty member is again on the CALL for promotion, if there is no remediation of the deficiency that precludes a positive recommendation for promotion, and their performance otherwise continues to be excellent, the Department may wish to recommend a further modest salary increase of one-third or two-thirds of a step in recognition of the faculty member’s overall performance over the review period. - Use of Associate Professor, Step 5:
Associate Professor, Step 5 is not used on the Santa Cruz campus.
D. Review Materials
Review materials submitted by the candidate for advancement to the next rank may not be resubmitted for review for advancement within the next rank, except in the cases of advancement to Professor, Step 6 or Professor, Above Scale. For example, material reviewed while Associate Professor, Step 4, resulting in promotion to Professor, Step 1, cannot be used for merit advancement from Professor, Step 1 to Step 2, even if the time at Associate Professor, Step 4, is counted in lieu of service at Professor, Step 1. Similarly, review materials submitted for promotion to Associate Professor may not again be used for step advancement in the Associate Professor rank.
E. Authority
Refer to the Delegation of Authority Chart for determining authority for merit and promotion actions.
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