Tenure Reduction Program and Tenure Relinquishment Applications

HR’s website with a general overview, information, and forms for faculty retirement options.

CAS process (more detail on HR’s website):

Faculty member reviews retirement information and options (TRP options, employee benefits, emeritus status process), discusses plans with department head and ASU associate director or designee, and reviews ORP retired participant information, if applicable. Faculty member may contact ASU staff about retirement questions (who can then forward to dean’s office or HR Benefits, if needed).
Faculty member completes the TRP Application, and works with ASU staff to obtain department head review and signature. CAS no longer uses an addendum, and this simple form is the only submission to the dean’s office. Please note that the typical effective date of tenure reduction or relinquishment is at the end of a term (December 15^th, March 15^th, or June 15^th). If a different date is desired, please draft a brief explanation for the dean to review with the application. Faculty member may apply up to three years before their retirement date (within the term) and can request no more than five years of part-time employment.
To submit the signed TRP application, ASU staff will review application for completeness and accuracy and email it to the relevant divisional associate dean, Jesse Grimmer in AY 24-25, and the ASU associate director.
The dean’s office will review the application for accuracy and completeness. The associate divisional dean will then review and approve the application, and the dean’s office will forward it to HR Benefits for processing.
Once approved by HR & OtP, the faculty member will receive an email from HR Ops with the approval and official Letter of Agreement (LOA) to sign within 60 days. Once the signed letter is returned, it will be forwarded to the ASU and should be saved in the faculty member’s department file. The 6% salary increase for participation in the TRP program will be processed by Central HR and will take effect the term after the agreement is signed but no earlier than three years from the anticipated retirement date.

That concludes the initial TRP application process. When the official retirement date is close:

Once the faculty member is ready to retire, they should submit a letter of intent to retire to the department head and ASU associate director. A faculty member may, at their option, bring forward their designated retirement date. No faculty member is allowed to extend their employment at the University beyond their originally designated retirement date in the Letter of Agreement.
If the retirement date decision is different than original LOA, HR Benefits returns an amendment letter to the faculty member that revises the start and end dates of the TRP.
When the faculty member’s letter of intent to retire has been submitted to the ASU, ASU submits a request to CBO HR for a termination PRF to University Payroll and a Separation Form to end the faculty member's tenured position.
ASU submits a request to CBO HR to create a PRF to end any awards or stipends, if applicable. Awards and stipends are not automatically rolled onto the faculty member's final salary. Discuss and secure approval from the Office of the Provost for any post-retirement salary adjustments.
The faculty member should discuss TRP assignments and schedule with their department head and ASU associate director. Assignments are at the discretion of the department head, should benefit the department, and follow the minimum enrollment policy.
If in TRP program, prior to the term(s) faculty member is scheduled to teach, ASU requests that CBO HR submits an instructional post-retirement reappointment PRF to University HR noting the course name and number on the form.
ASU tracks the number of TRP assignments faculty member has served. The dean’s office will request TRP assignments from ASUs everyyear for central tracking.
When five TRP appointments are completed or the five-year TRP timeline expires, HR will generate a PRF to terminate the faculty member's TRP position and copy the department on this action.

ASU tracks the number of TRP assignments faculty member has served. Jules Jones in the dean’s office will request TRP assignments from ASUs every January for central tracking.
When five TRP appointments are completed or the five-year TRP timeline expires, HR will generate a PRF to terminate the faculty member's TRP position and copy the department on this action.

Table summarizing the process:

Responsible Party	Process	Timeline
Faculty member, ASU, and Dean’s office	Submit signed TRP application to HR	At least one term but not more than three years prior to expected retirement
Central HR	TRP letter of agreement sent to Faculty member	Upon receipt of TRP application and addendum
Faculty member	Return signed LOA to HR	Must be returned within 60 days of receipt of LOA
Central HR	Initiate 6% salary increase	After receipt of signed LOA
Faculty member/ASU	At retirement, submit retirement letter to Department/Dean’s office/HR	Within three years of the date stated on LOA
ASU/CBO*	*Prepare PRF to terminate tenured position/Separation Form	Upon receipt of retirement letter
Central HR	Send amendment letter if retirement date is different than LOA	Upon receipt of retirement letter and PRF from ASU/Dept/Dean
Central HR	Prepare PRF(s) to initiate TRP position(s)	Upon receipt of retirement letter and PRF from ASU/Department/Dean
ASU	Submit PRF to HR when faculty member starts TRP assignment(s)	At least one term/semester before assignment begins
Central HR	Review any PRFs from Department/Dean and submit to Payroll	Upon receipt of PRF