Progress Reviews of Untenured Faculty

 

Progress and Reappointment Reviews of Untenured Regular and Special Title Series Faculty

Faculty peer mentoring should be an ongoing process and probationary faculty should receive regular performance feedback through the annual FMER process. However, the optional Two-Year review and the required Third-Year and Fourth-Year progress reviews provide probationary faculty with more in-depth and detailed feedback. These reviews constitute a major assessment of the faculty member's record of achievement and, when completed on time, they give probationary faculty members time to address any areas of deficiency prior to preparing their sixth-year dossier for tenure and promotoin review.

Department chairs are required by Administrative Regulation AR3:10 on Faculty Performance Review to conduct progress reviews of untenured regular and special series faculty members in the second and fourth years of their probationary period. The College has received permission from the Provost’s Office to follow a different procedure, namely, to require a third year progress review for all untenured regular and special title series faculty and to give them the option of doing a second year review. The third year review constitutes a major assessment of the faculty person's record of achievement. The written input of senior faculty in the department is required. This review provides for a mid-cycle evaluation that gives chairs a greater period of faculty performance on which to judge achievement and junior faculty enough time before the sixth year review to address areas of deficiency.

Untenured professors are on two year contracts until they receive tenure. Departments must conduct reappointment reviews of untenured faculty members in any semester that their contracts run out (typically the spring semester of the second or fourth year), even if no progress review is scheduled for them that semester. The only exception is when a faculty member's tenure application has been considered the prior semester.  If a progress review is scheduled for a semester in which a reappointment review is required, one review can serve as both.  If no progress review is scheduled for this semester, the chair must conduct a reappointment review (detailed here).  Please note: whenever current FMER materials are used as part of a progress or reappointment review, the faculty person shall be given the opportunity to update them.

 

Second Year Progress Review

A second year progress review is optional, but highly recommended.  It should be conducted in a tenure stream faculty’s person’s fourth semester of service only if he or she has elected to undergo it. If a faculty member, in consultation with their department chair, decides to opt out of the second year review, they should complete this waiver and submit it to the Associate Dean of Faculty by February 1, 2023.  All second year faculty, however, must undergo a reappointment review in their fourth semester.  We will treat the required reappointment review and the second year progress review as one if the latter has been requested.   If a second year progress review has been declined, the chair should conduct a reappointment review.  Progress review materials and reappointment letters are due in the dean's office by April 5, 2023.

The responsibilities of the chair in conducting a second year progress review that is also a reappointment review are as follows:

1. Prepare a dossier that includes:

  • Copies of all previous two-page chair's FMER rating sheets
  • CV
  • Research Statement
  • Teaching Portfolio (teaching statement, updated FMER teaching reporting form, course syllabi, TCE results for review period, peer teaching observations)
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement 
  • Any other materials that the chair and candidate deem appropriate
  • Departmental P&T Guidelines
  • Note: the dossier may include items from the candidate's most recent FMER, however, the candidate must have the opportunity to revise them prior to their inclusion

2. Once the dossier is complete, invite all tenured regular and special title series departmental faculty to review the dossier and call a meeting of these faculty members to discuss it.

3.Write a review summary that includes a recommendation to reappoint the candidate. If the chair decides that a terminal reappointment should be issued, they should follow the guidelines for that process. Guidelines for the review summary can be found on the Department Chairs' Teams Site.

4. Meet with the faculty person to communicate and discuss the review results. The candidate should be given a copy of the chair's review summary.

5.Submit the progress review dossier and the chair's review summary to the dean for review and formal response. 

 

Third Year Progress Review

Third year progress reviews are mandatory in the College of Arts and Sciences. They should be conducted in an untenured faculty member’s sixth semester of service.

The responsibilities of the chair in conducting a third year review are as follows:

1. Prepare a progress review dossier that includes in order:

  • Copies of all previous two-page chair's FMER rating sheets
  • CV
  • Research Statement
  • Teaching Portfolio (teaching statement, updated FMER teaching reporting form, course syllabi, TCE results for review period, peer teaching observations)
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement 
  • Any other materials that the chair and candidate deem appropriate
  • Departmental P&T Guidelines
  • Note: the dossier may include items from the candidate's most recent FMER, however, the candidate must have the opportunity to revise them prior to their inclusion

2. Make the dossier available to tenured regular and special title series departmental faculty and call a meeting of these faculty to discuss the dossier. Solicit verbal comments from tenured faculty and obtain written assessments from at least three senior faculty.

3. Prepare a review summary. While the summary may borrow from the language used in the chair's comment section of the FMER, the content of the review summary should amplify and extend those remarks. If the faculty member is up for reappointment, include a recommendation to reappoint in the summary. Guidelines for the review summary can be found on the Chairs' Sharepoint site.

4. Meet with the faculty person to communicate and discuss the review results. The candidate should be given copies of the chair's review summary and each letter of evaluation obtained from senior faculty within the department.

5. Submit to the dean for her review and formal response a single document that includes in order:

  • The chair's review summary 
  • The three supporting faculty letters
  • The progress review dossier

Third year progress review materials are due in the dean's office no later than April 5, 2023.

 

Fourth Year Progress Review

Fourth year progress reviews are mandatory. Normally, a fourth year progress review will coincide with and be the same as a reappointment review.  Combined fourth year progress-reappointment reviews are conducted in an untenured faculty person’s eighth semester of service.  Any person in the eighth semester of service who is not undergoing a fourth year progress review must still undergo a self-standing reappointment review (see guidelines for reappointment reviews).

The responsibilities of the chair in conducting a combined fourth year progress-reappointment review are as follows:

1. Prepare a progress review dossier that includes:

  • Copies of all previous two-page chair's FMER rating sheets
  • CV
  • Research Statement
  • Teaching Portfolio (teaching statement, updated FMER teaching reporting form, course syllabi, TCE results for review period, peer teaching observations)
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement 
  • Any other materials that the chair and candidate deem appropriate
  • Departmental P&T Guidelines
  • Note: the dossier may include items from the candidate's most recent FMER, however, the candidate must have the opportunity to revise them prior to their inclusion

2. Once the dossier is complete, invite all tenured regular and special title series departmental faculty to review the dossier and call a meeting of these faculty members to discuss it.

3. Write a review summary that includes a recommendation to reappoint the candidate. If the chair decides that a terminal reappointment should be issued, they should follow the guidelines for that process. Guidelines for the review summary can be found on the Chairs' Sharepoint site.

4. Meet with the faculty person to communicate and discuss the review results. The candidate should be given a copy of the chair's review summary.

5. Submit to the dean for review and formal response one document that includes in order the chairs review summary and the reappointment/progress review dossier.

Progress review materials are due in the dean's office no later than April 5, 2023.