Case Types

APBears supports a variety of review actions for candidates in the following title series:

  • Professor

  • Professor of Law

  • Teaching Professor

  • Adjunct Professor

  • Professor in Residence

  • Professor of Clinical “X” (i.e., Optometry)

  • HS Clinical Professor

  • HS Clinical Instructor

  • Unit 18 Lecturers 

  • Curator

  • Agronomist

Functionality for additional series (e.g., Professional Researchers or Librarians) may be added in the future. The system will automatically filter available case actions based on the candidate’s series, rank and step. 

Available Case Types

  • Appointment (do not use for adding new 0% FTE or moving existing FTE to another unit. These actions can be brought forward as FTE Change cases)

  • Reappointment

  • Mid-career

  • Final Appraisal (This case type can be used for title series that do not award tenure, but still require a final appraisal.)

  • Tenure (This case type can be used for review actions that propose a candidate to receive tenure.)

  • Merit

  • Promotion

  • Merit to Step VI

  • Merit to Above Scale

  • 5-year review

  • Mandatory Review (This case type can be used if the Vice Provost mandates a review for an individual with a certain effective date)

  • Salary Increase (Use this case type for Retention actions that include a proposal for a change in salary)

  • Termination

  • Endowed Chair Appointment/ Reappointment

  • Excellence Review 

  • Continuing Lecturer Merit Case

  • Continuing Lecturer Promotion Case

  • Senior Continuing Lecturer Merit Case

  • FTE Change (including adding new 0% FTE or moving existing FTE to another unit)

Threshold Review Cases

Threshold cases are major career milestones that require a comprehensive review of a faculty member’s record. Unlike standard merit reviews, these cases look at achievements spanning back to the last major "threshold" rather than just the period since the last review to determine if a significant advancement or promotion is warranted. The Department Chairs and Analyst section provides guidance for correctly calculating these review periods. The types of cases categorized as "threshold" include:

  • Appointment

  • Mid-Career

  • Final Appraisal

  • Tenure

  • Promotion

  • Merit to Step VI

  • Merit to Above Scale

Special Handling in APBears

Because of the high stakes involved in these reviews, the APBears system includes specific workflows for Department Analysts and faculty:

  • Expanded Faculty Access: Department Analysts must use the Reviewers tab to grant case access to faculty members and departmental ad hoc committees (beyond just the Department Chair).

  • Fairness Safeguards: For some threshold cases, a "Candidate Clock" is triggered. This allows the candidate to view redacted versions of confidential materials—such as external letters and the departmental ad hoc committee report—before the departmental faculty meeting and vote. The candidate has five business days (seven calendar days) to review and, if desired, upload a response to the materials shared.