Anyone here worried about being laid off?
Tenure Clock Extensions due to Coronvirus, Covid 19?
-
Sounds like you're advocating a case by case policy, which I support.
Many people demanding extensions don't realize that the extension may worsen inequality and actually hurt their prospects. Look, productive and more resourceful people are going to make better use of the extension than you if you're currently struggling. And then letter writers will compare them and you, which will not make things better for you.
Tenured here (Harland from above). So obviously this doesn't apply to me.
However, at many places, you can "update" your file until the final decision is made. So, sure, your letter writers get your file in late spring/early summer. And they won't update their letters.
However, you could have updates (awards, grants, pubs) between now and...
-Fall 2020 when your department votes
-Late fall when your dean gets your file
-Winter when the committee higher up gets your file
-Spring when your provost makes the call
Sure, if you think one more thing is going to make a difference, then you're probably not in good shape for tenure. But in the ~1 year between now and when your provost makes the call, lots can happen.
And this says nothing of the lower likelihood (assumed, who knows if that's the case) that a potential letter writer will agree. And that information also gets passed along (such that a low % of letter writers agreeing can be seen as a negative).
Again, I'm tenured, I'm not going to be affected either way. But I don't think it's true to say that a one extra year wouldn't affect the ones going up for tenure in the fall.
Exactly. Especially for those who will be submitting their package soon, I don't see how their existing research record would be affected by Covid-19. You can't start a project now and expect to publish it by July 1. For those who will come up for tenure in the future, a knee-jerk reaction at this time is also not warranted, since we still have time to figure out the appropriate policy. We should guarantee that the hardship will be given due consideration, but I don't see the case for an across-the-board one year extension at this point.
And I don't see how online teaching is making things hard. The first few classes, maybe. But overall, it might be a time saver, particularly because we are not hold to the same teaching quality and requirement as before.
I haven’t heard so at my university yet.
I don’t get across the board extensions. I think you should have to make a case, that is show hardship. -
I can see the angry grumbling now, "I would've had tenure if not for the 6 weeks of the coronavirus pandemic."
Conveniently, the people making that argument will ignore the other 5 years they spent not publishing or getting terrible evals. But, yeah, it was the half semester in 2020 that did them wrong.
-
it will be 6 months interruption and the aftermath... but it seems as if the extensions are done deal (check the spreadsheet), so there won't be any angry grumbling.
I can see the angry grumbling now, "I would've had tenure if not for the 6 weeks of the coronavirus pandemic."
Conveniently, the people making that argument will ignore the other 5 years they spent not publishing or getting terrible evals. But, yeah, it was the half semester in 2020 that did them wrong. -
Covid extension for everyone will be much like extending parental leaves to fathers -- the disruption is just vastly greater for TT faculty with kids, so it will exacerbate the advantage of the childless.
Maybe you should have thought of that before you went and got yourself knocked up.
-
No. What I choose to do with my free time has also been disrupted. You don’t get extra credit because you think your choice of what to do with your free time is better.
Covid extension for everyone will be much like extending parental leaves to fathers -- the disruption is just vastly greater for TT faculty with kids, so it will exacerbate the advantage of the childless.