The possibility of an acceleration, or as The CALL puts it, “[a]dvancement in step in advance of eligibility or to a higher step than normal,” usually occurs after the candidate has produced some extraordinary achievement, won some major award, received some outstanding recognition in their field, or been extraordinarily productive. Well-substantiated requests, demonstrating above-and-beyond contributions to research, the campus, and/or the wider academic community, best support these actions. An accelerated merit increase action should only come up when the importance of recent achievements in the current review period, since the last action, are deemed sufficient to request an interruption to the normal merit cycle.

The review process for a proposed acceleration depends on the number of years proposed and the candidate’s rank. Proposed acceleration of one step or more will always be reviewed by CAP, regardless of the step or rank involved. All accelerated promotions and accelerations to or over Step VI, Initial Above Scale, and Further Above Scale are rare and require CAP review. 

An acceleration should not be proposed to correct a perceived inequity in rank or step. In these instances, the faculty member should consider a Merit Equity Review (MER). 

The review process should contain a detailed, stand-alone justification for the acceleration, evaluated at every step, from the candidate’s self-statement to the departmental deliberation/vote to the Chair’s and Dean’s letters. Too often, acceleration cases are based on a shared sense of the “overall wonderfulness” of the candidate. While it may be true, the University already expects ongoing excellence as a matter of course for on-time merits. For an acceleration, CAP must make an assessment based on specific achievements and/or recognitions since the last action that are deemed to be extraordinary. 

Bear in mind, most CAP members will not be from your field, and each field has its own standards, benchmarks, and formal validations. As such, attention must be given to the descriptive detail and disciplinary context within which the achievements that are the basis for a requested acceleration are understood as extraordinary.

For CAP, the question is simple and the same in each and every acceleration case: what specific achievements are the basis for the acceleration, and does the dossier support their recognition as truly extraordinary?

Last Updated: October 27, 2026