Merit Policy Requirements
Title:
Merit Policy Requirements
Approved by Faculty of Arts & Sciences:
February 6, 2024
Approved by Personnel Policy Committee:
April 11, 2024
- Anyone who will be participating in merit review of one or more colleagues must consult available resources – website and training provided by A&S – prior to beginning the review, to minimize bias in the process.
- Evaluation criteria must reflect different levels of performance under the contracted professional expectations for TTE and TF faculty within the unit.
- Program directors and department chairs lead the merit review process, but procedures must include at least one other faculty member. The merit review committee shall not be anonymous.
- The chair or program director must report annually to the department or program faculty on aggregate evaluation results (e.g., the average evaluation score). Every faculty member will have access to their own merit scores.
- All merit review policies and procedures must include mechanisms for transparency and feedback to faculty on evaluations and avenues for improvement.
- Each unit must have an appeals process for merit review. Concerns about equity or bias, as well as misinterpretation of evidence, are grounds for an appeal. Faculty have the choice to initiate an appeal via either (a) an internal appeals process, or (b) a process that is external to the department or program and led by the relevant Vice-Dean. Regardless of which avenue for appeal is chosen initially, that appeal process must be concluded before a second process can be initiated. All appeals require a written explanation.
- Each unit ould develop its own internal appeals process
- The external appeals process will be the same for all units and is outlined as follows: To initiate an external appeal, a faculty member should contact their Vice-Dean. Upon receipt of an appeal, the Vice-Dean and A&S Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will consult with appropriate parties (Chair, departmental or program committee, and/or others) as part of their review of the appeal. The faculty member and their Chair/Program Director must be notified of the decision of the Vice- and Associate Dean within a week of receipt of the appeal.
- Merit scores for each unit must show a distribution of scores that reflects the range of faculty accomplishment. The entire range need not be used. But if two annual reports reflect substantially different levels of accomplishment, then those two annual reports should receive different scores. Departments and programs should reserve the maximum score for outstanding accomplishment.
