The Eight Year Clock (or “Tenure Clock”) shows an academic appointee’s cumulative years of service which count toward the 8 year limit.
The Eight Year Clock screen (in an appointee’s profile, accessed by searching on the Profiles page or by clicking an appointee’s name on the Appointments page) allows an administrator to view an appointee’s status as they progress toward tenure. If the appointee wants a year “off the clock,” the DA requests this through a procedure outside of Opus — the form is available on the website of the Academic Affairs and Personnel Office (AAPO). If it’s approved, AAPO will log the extra year on this screen, and the administrator can check back to verify that it went through.
This article tells you how to update information about the Eight Year Clock in Opus. The instructions assume you’re already logged into Opus and your permissions allow you to access the relevant features. For info about interface elements or a particular Opus page, check out the other articles on this support site — some of these articles are linked near the bottom of this page.
1. Open the Profiles Page
Navigate to the Profiles page by clicking "Jump To" and then "Profiles" near the top of the window. Don't be alarmed because it's blank — you still have to search.
The Profiles page with the Opus Top Menu and Jump To submenu. Click this image to view a larger version.
2. Search for Your Appointee
Enter the name of the appointee whose Eight Year Clock you want to update in the search field at the top. Use a last name<comma> first name format, or just use the last name. Find their name in the results that pop out below the search field, and click it — this will bring up their profile. As an alternative, you could have gone to the Appointments page, and clicked the appointee’s name there; this would also have brought up the Profiles page with their profile loaded.
3. Click the Edit Icon in the Table
Find the year with the information you want to edit and click the pencil icon at the far left of that row:
The Profiles page with the Eight Year Clock screen. Click this image to view a larger version.
Clicking the pencil icon opens the Eight Year Clock modal window:
The Profiles page with the Eight Year Clock modal window. Click this image to view a larger version.
If your permissions allow you to, you can update the values on the above screen. What you enter here will depend on university policy and how it applies to the appointee in question. Often the process is like this:
Faculty apply for time off the clock (TOC) with the Academic Affairs and Personnel Office (AAPO), outside of Opus.
If the TOC is approved, AAPO enters information for TOC credits on this screen.
If the TOC credit is used, AAPO or a department administrator enters information for TOC taken on this screen.
You should also keep in mind that:
Opus automatically calculates eligibility, which accounts for any TOC Taken (but not TOC Credited).
Only AAPO can edit the TOC Credited field, but school and department administrators can update the "taken" field.
AAPO should ensure the TOC Credited field represents the current total balance of TOC for all years of service.
Every appointee with an Eight Year Clock or Excellence Clock will get a new row on their clock tab in the Profiles page at the beginning of each academic year. Note that this assumes that all appointees are full-time, however this is often not the case. For appointees who should not have credit for a full year of service (e.g., if they're 50% time or below), Opus users will need to update this information each year in order for eligibility to calculate correctly.
See the article below for more information about working with this page.
See Also
What Do I Need to Do in Order to Ensure the Eligibility Calculations Are Correct?