Section III.A.6-7: Procedures for Promotion Reviews - College of Arts and Sciences

VI. PROCEDURES FOR PROMOTION REVIEWS

The president of the College is responsible for promotion decisions, and the decision is based on the recommendations of the dean of the college, the Committee on Promotion and Tenure, and the department of the promotion candidate. At each level, a recommendation is based on the candidate’s accomplishments in teaching, scholarship and/or creative activity, and service to the college and the profession. The sequence of steps in the evaluation is as follows.

1. The associate dean, in consultation with the department chair (or surrogate) and the faculty member under review, solicits external reviews of the candidate’s scholarship, creative activity, and/or professional contributions. The reviewers will be experts in the candidate’s area(s) of scholarship and/or creative activity, and may include no more than one expert outside of academia.
   
   1. The identities of the reviewers and the contents of their letters are confidential with respect to the candidate, unless the College is compelled by legal action to breach confidentiality.
   2. Normally, the promotion file will contain at least three external reviews.  In some cases it may be appropriate to have more than three reviewers. When possible, there should be at least one external reviewer from peer or aspirant liberal arts colleges. Normally, external reviewers will be full professors at other institutions.
   3. In the letter of solicitation for external reviewers, the associate dean will provide guidance for the external reviewers by explaining in detail the College’s criteria for evaluating scholarship, creative activity, and/or professional contributions.
   4. The following individuals should not normally be chosen to serve as reviewers: (i) the candidate’s doctoral and postdoctoral mentors, (ii) individuals who have served as coauthors, collaborators, or co-investigators on research or artistic projects, and (iii) individuals with whom the candidate has had an intimate personal relationship.
2. The candidate prepares a file containing the following material. In all cases, materials to be included should date from the time tenure was awarded.
   
   1. current curriculum vitae,
   2. a statement of teaching philosophy that includes
      1. a list of all courses taught in the past six years or since tenure, whichever is less, and their enrollments,
      2. responses to any issues revealed in teaching evaluations,
      3. description and evaluation of new pedagogical approaches or developments, and
      4. future plans,
   3. student teaching evaluations from the past six years or since tenure, whichever is less. Faculty may exclude evaluations for one course section from each triennial review period, constituting no more than two excluded courses,
   4. materials from the past six years or since tenure that allow an evaluation of the candidate’s pedagogical approach, such as course syllabi, assignments and exams,
   5. a statement of scholarship and/or creative activity that provides an overview of the candidate’s professional trajectory since achieving tenure and future plans. The statement should be accessible to non-specialists such as faculty members in other disciplines, the dean, and the president,
   6. copies of publicly shared and reviewed work since tenure related to the candidate’s expertise,
   7. a statement of service that includes
      
      1. reflection on the role service (broadly defined) has played in their professional development since tenure,
      2. contributions made to the College, to the life of the College, to the candidate’s profession and/or to the community at large. Candidates may indicate whether the service was elected, appointed or voluntary, and should indicate whether the service was compensated (e.g. course release or stipend),
      3. a count of all advisees for the previous six years, indicating pre-major, major, and other advisees,
   8. other material that may be relevant to an assessment of teaching professional development, and service, such as (i) evaluations of teaching by peers, former students, or alumni, (ii) published reviews of the candidate’s work, (iii) research grants and research proposals that have been peer-reviewed, (iv) works in progress, and (v) letters from chairs of interdisciplinary programs in which the candidate has participated.
3. The department chair (or surrogate) convenes a meeting of the tenured members of the department (who are not on leave) to assess the candidate’s teaching, scholarship and/or creative activity, and service since the time of tenure. The assessment is based on the candidate’s review file and on the external review letters. The department chair or surrogate submits to the dean a letter that includes a summary of the departmental discussion and a specific recommendation about promotion.
   
   1. All tenured department members are asked to affirm, by their signature, that they have read the letter and that it accurately summarizes the departmental discussion. For this purpose, emeriti faculty are not considered to be tenured department members. If a tenured department member believes that the letter does not accurately summarize the department discussion, he or she must submit an individual letter. Any such letters become part of the candidate’s file and are seen by the candidate, who is entitled to submit a response.
   2. The candidate has an opportunity to read the department letter and within one week will acknowledge in writing the receipt of the letter. This acknowledgement is also an opportunity for the candidate to correct any factual errors contained in the letter. This response becomes a part of the review file.
4. The associate dean prepares a full promotion review file that includes only the following. No other material, such as unsolicited letters from interested individuals, may be added to the file at this point.
   
   1. The candidate’s review file
   2. The external review letters
   3. The department recommendation letter and any response from the candidate
   4. Tenure letters from the CPT, dean, and president
5. The Committee on Promotion and Tenure makes a promotion recommendation to the dean, based exclusively on the material in the promotion review file. The dean of the College is present, as a non-voting observer, for the deliberations of the CPT.
   
   1. The assessment of a candidate’s scholarly and/or creative activity is based on work that has been published, submitted for publication, otherwise publicly shared and critically reviewed, displayed, and/or performed at the time the file is submitted to the dean. However, a candidate may add relevant material to the file that becomes available after this date, including letters of acceptance from publishers, published critical reviews of exhibitions or performances, reviews of submitted articles, books, or grant proposals, and notifications of honors and awards.
   2. At its discretion, the CPT may ask the department chair or surrogate to meet with the committee to answer clarifying questions.
   3. If the recommendation of the CPT differs from the recommendation of the department, the CPT letter will clearly explain the rationale for the differing recommendation, and a copy of this letter will be sent to the department chair or surrogate.
   4. The candidate will receive a copy of the CPT letter to the dean at the same time as the dean.
6. The dean of the College makes a promotion recommendation to the president, based on the full promotion review file and the recommendation of the CPT.
   1. If the recommendation of the dean differs from the recommendation of the CPT, the dean will discuss with the CPT the rationale for the differing recommendation, and this discussion will occur prior to submitting the letter to the president.
   2. The candidate and the members of the CPT will receive a copy of dean’s letter to the president.
   3. If the dean recommends against promotion, the candidate has 10 days from the receipt of the dean’s letter to submit a written request to the dean for a grievance procedure. Any grievance must be based on (a) discrimination, (b) specific violations of academic freedom, or (c) the failure of the review process to follow the stated procedures. The dean will refer the grievance to a committee composed of three recent past chairs of the CPT who are not directly involved in the case. The Grievance Committee will assess the merits of the grievance and submit a recommendation to the president and will provide copies of their report to the dean and to the members of the CPT.

VII. CPT ASSESSMENT OF PROMOTION FILES

In its assessment of a candidate’s case for promotion, the CPT considers the same three areas as it considers in tenure reviews: teaching, scholarship and/or creative work, and service. Excellence in teaching is essential to a recommendation in favor of promotion. Candidates for promotion are also expected to continue a trajectory of substantive scholarly and/or creative work and substantive service. The College acknowledges that patterns of strength across service and scholarly and/or creative work can vary both between candidates and over time for a single candidate; however, candidates must demonstrate excellence in at least one of the two. Assessment criteria remain the same regardless of the time of application.

1. Teaching
   A candidate for promotion must demonstrate excellence in teaching during the post-tenure period. For details of how the CPT assesses excellence in teaching, refer to section III.A.5.A.
   
   
2. Scholarship and/or Creative Activity
   A candidate for promotion must demonstrate a record of accomplishment in scholarly and/or creative activity during the post-tenure period that indicates a strong likelihood of continuing into the future. In addition to the scholarly and/or creative activities outlined in section III.A.5.B, the CPT also recognizes and values taking risks and pursuing new areas of scholarly and/or creative activity post-tenure. Professional activities that are publicly shared, subject to critical or peer review, and facilitate the exchange of discipline-based ideas within a scholarly or public community are included within scholarly and/or creative activity. This includes, but is not limited to: interdisciplinary collaboration, activity related to the development of pedagogy, undergraduate involvement in research, activities that advance equity and inclusion, the communication and/or collaboration of scholarly and/or creative activity beyond academia (e.g., governmental agencies, nonprofit agencies, the professional and/or creative arts community), editing professional publications and/or creative collections, contributing to invited publications, activities conducted with the support of grants earned, and the pursuit of grants through a competitive or peer-reviewed process. These professional activities represent a broadening of recognized scholarly and/or creative activities after post tenure, not an additional requirement for promotion.
   
   
3. College and Professional Service
   Tenured professors serve an essential role in the operation and vision of the college. The CPT’s assessment of a candidate’s post-tenure service activity is based on the candidate’s statement regarding their institutional and professional service and on an assessment of the quality and quantity of the candidate’s service contained in the departmental letter. These service categories represent a broadening of recognized service activities post-tenure, not an additional requirement for promotion.
   1. “Service contributions to the College” would include official roles such as chairing departments or programs; serving on standing or ad-hoc committees, steering committees, search committees, developmental review committees, scholarship selection committees, Faculty Council, task forces, and the like; serving as Faculty Clerk or Secretary; directing symposia; developing and leading off-campus programs; academic advising; and similar formal service. Such service contributions are of particular importance to the operation of the College.
   2. “Contributions to the life of the College” would include more unofficial roles such as mentoring students or other faculty, advising a student-led organization, regularly attending campus events (cultural, athletic, academic), and other community-building activities.
   3. “Contributions to the candidate’s profession” would include such activities as organizing a conference, writing promotion letters, editing or reviewing for a scholarly journal, or serving in an official capacity in a professional organization.
   4. “Contributions to the community at large” would include such things as public relations activities, volunteer work, and other situations in which candidates apply their professional skills outside of academic communities.

   Some service contributions may overlap significantly with scholarship and candidates may choose to categorize them as such. Candidates may note whether the service was elected, appointed, or voluntary, and should indicate whether the service was accompanied by a course release or other form of compensation.

   Service that demonstrates leadership and initiative, and service that promotes equity and inclusion, are especially valued. While recognizing that the quality and quantity of service may fluctuate over time, the CPT values indications that significant service will continue into the future.

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