The following is an example that demonstrates the rules of the tenure process for faculty at many universities. Present the logic of this business using a decision table. Write down any assumptions you have to make, and identify any rules discarded from the final decision table. 

A faculty member applies for tenure in his or her sixth year by submitting a portfolio summarizing his or her work. In rare circumstances, a faculty member can come up for tenure earlier than the sixth year, but only if the faculty member has the permission of the department chair and college dean. New professors who have worked at other universities before taking their current jobs rarely, if ever, start their new jobs with tenure. They are usually asked to undergo one probationary year during which they are evaluated; only then can they be granted tenure. Top administrators coming to a new university job, however, can often negotiate for retreat rights that enable them to become a tenured faculty member should their administrative post end. These retreat arrangements generally have to be approved by faculty. 

The tenure review process begins with an evaluation of the candidate’s portfolio by a committee of faculty within the candidate’s department. The committee then writes a recommendation on tenure and sends it to the department’s chairperson, who then makes a recommendation and passes the portfolio and recommendation to the next level, a college-wide faculty committee. This committee does the same as the department committee and passes its recommendation, the department’s recommendation, and the portfolio to the next level, a university-wide faculty committee. This committee does the same as the other two committees and passes everything to the provost (or sometimes the academic vice president). The provost then writes his or her own recommendation and passes everything to the president, the final decision maker. 

This process, from the time the candidate creates his or her portfolio until the time the president makes a decision, can take an entire academic year. The focus of the evaluation is on research, which could be grants, presentations, and publications, though preference is given for empirical research that has been published in top-ranked, refereed journals and where the publication makes a contribution to the field. The candidate must also do well in teaching and service (i.e., to the university, the community, or the discipline), but the primary emphasis is on research.