The Faculty Senate further delegates to faculty in the Schools the authority to create procedures for annual review of faculty, subject to the following constraints: The procedure for annual review must be explicit. The Deans, department chairs, directors or other unit heads (hereafter to be referred to as “unit heads”) will base their reviews on the School’s criteria, the information included in the faculty’s annual reports and other relevant written documentation. Faculty members will be provided with a written narrative in each category of evaluation (teaching, service, research/creative activity, as applicable) and for the overall evaluation. This narrative shall identify the strengths of the faculty member in each of the areas of evaluation, and shall also propose areas in which improvement may be needed. Non-tenured faculty shall also be given a frank assessment of progress toward tenure, long-term contract, reappointment, and/or promotion, as applicable. Because reviews for tenure, promotion, or long-term contract consider the cumulative contributions a faculty member has made, successive positive annual evaluations do not necessarily preclude a negative decision for tenure, promotion or long-term contract.
Every faculty member is entitled to a face-to-face meeting with an appropriate unit head in which a detailed explanation of the evaluation and the possible ramifications with respect to tenure, long-term contract, reappointment, and/or promotion will be discussed. Each School shall follow its own specific procedures.
Annual reports should be due no later than February 1 of each year, and any face-to-face meetings shall be completed no later than March 1 of each year.
Appeals of Annual Evaluations
Every effort should be made to resolve disagreements within the school. To this end, Schools’ policies will include a process for appeal at the School level. At the end of the appeals process within the school, the Dean will provide his/her final written evaluation of the faculty member.
The faculty member may then write a dissent and appeal the Dean’s evaluation to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs who may sustain the Dean’s evaluation, or provide a new evaluation. The Executive Vice Chancellor’s decision (or review) may be appealed to the Faculty Board of Review.
