Academic affairs policies serve as the foundation of shared governance between the
faculty and administration at the University of North Texas, ensuring transparency,
consistency, and accountability in academic decision-making. These policies provide
a framework for faculty, administrators, and governance bodies to collaborate in shaping
institutional priorities and maintaining excellence.
Shared governance is a critical aspect of UNT’s commitment to faculty engagement in policy development and decision-making. The Faculty Senate plays a key role in reviewing and recommending policy changes. Faculty members can participate in governance by communicating with their Senators and representatives on committees such as the Faculty Policy Oversight Committee.
This section provides information on academic affairs policies that have been updated recently. Faculty members are encouraged to review these changes to stay informed about key developments affecting teaching, research, tenure, promotion, and other academic matters. The Office of the Provost at UNT issues policy memos to communicate changes and provide additional context for recently updated policies.
UNT's success and progress depend on the exceptional work of our tenure-system faculty members who set high academic standards and carry out their work at a premier level. The culmination of this hard work is the awarding of tenure and promotion for achieving excellence in teaching, research, and service. As one embarks on the journey toward tenure and/or promotion, we encourage faculty members and those administrators and staff professionals who support them to attend one of our periodic P&T workshops moderated by senior academic administrators such as UNT's provost and president.
Of course, it is also important to review carefully the promotion and tenure process, guidelines, and deadlines as provided on this website and within one's college or school. Please contact the applicable college, school, and department for specific guidelines related to the promotion and tenure process, application and resources.
Faculty development leave is authorized for the general purpose of increasing the
value of the recipient's sustained contribution to the university by providing the
individual an opportunity for professional growth. Development leave may be granted,
upon application, for study, research, writing, field observations, or other suitable
purposes. Developmental leave provides opportunities for additional training and improving
skills. The Faculty Development Leave Policy is explained fully in UNT Policy 06.010.
NOTE: The Faculty Development Leave application process will be facilitated through the FIS Workflow beginning with the 2025-2026 application cycle.
Faculty members interested in applying for Development Leave for the 2025-2026 academic year should submit their requests now. The application process is initiated by emailing Academic Resources (academic.resources@unt.edu) with your EMPLID and EUID. It's important to complete the entire application process in the FIS Workflow by September. Applicants will receive notification of the outcome following the Board of Regents meeting in February of the subsequent year.
All faculty submitting FDL along with a Fulbright application should notify UNT's Fulbright Scholar Liaison at Fulbright@unt.edu.
For further inquiries or assistance with academic affairs policies or need a consultation, faculty members may contact Faculty Success.
For access to all current UNT policies see the UNT Policy Manual.
University of North Texas 
