Post-Tenure Review Policies & Procedures

I. Standards - The Faculty Handbook sets out the criteria for the evaluation of faculty as:

possession of the professional education, experience, and degrees appropriate or necessary for their duties; conscientious and effective teaching with proper command of the material of their fields, and helpfulness to their students; significant contributions to their fields through research and scholarly or creative activity, and through professional service; and responsible participation in College governance. (III. B. 2.)

For the purposes of post-tenure review, we assume that questions concerning the first criterion, “possession of the professional education” etc. will have been met at the time of the award of tenure. Post-tenure reviews will focus on the three categories: teaching, scholarship, and service. Units may choose to do scheduled reviews. The policies below under II. 1-3 shall apply for unscheduled reviews; all other policies shall apply for both scheduled and unscheduled reviews.

II. Procedures - In order to implement the “Policy on Post-Tenure Review” the Faculty of Arts and Sciences adopts the following:

1. The initial request for a Post-Tenure Review may be initiated by the Dean of Arts & Sciences, Department Chair, or, in the case of a faculty member with a joint appointment in an interdisciplinary program, by the Program These requests must be initiated within 60 days of the time annual merit evaluations are submitted to the Dean’s office.
2. The request for a Review must be based on a faculty member’s having merit evaluations that have been persistently and significantly lower than those of the large majority of other members of his or her department over a three year period and lower than what can be reasonably expected of a faculty member who is actively engaged in teaching, research, and Having the lowest merit evaluations in a department, especially in a small department, would not, by itself, be sufficient cause for a Review.
3. The Dean of Arts & Sciences and the Chair, or the Dean of Arts & Sciences, Chair, and Director in the case of a joint appointment in an interdisciplinary program, will discuss the case and determine if there are temporary, extenuating circumstances that account for the faculty member’s low merit evaluations. The final decision on whether or not there should be a Post Tenure Review rests with the Dean of Arts & Sciences.
4. The Post-Tenure Review will be carried out by the appropriate faculty review committee of the Department and the Chair will report the results of the Review to the Dean of Arts & In the case of a faculty member with a joint appointment in an interdisciplinary program, the Review would be jointly carried out by the appropriate faculty review committee of the Department and Program and the Chair and the Director will report the results to the Dean of Arts & Sciences.
5. Post-tenure reviews will cover six years. Post-tenure reviews consist of a narrative describing the accomplishments of the faculty member in teaching, scholarship, and service. The report should point out any special circumstances that contributed to the performance.

III. Findings and Results - When a post-tenure review finds a faculty member’s “overall performance record is unsatisfactory,” the faculty member must prepare a “performance plan to address the areas/s of deficiency.” A preliminary and final assessment will take place to assess the progress on the performance plan. The Arts and Sciences standards for unsatisfactory overall performance, the contents of a performance plan, and follow-up reviews are as follows:

1. A finding of Unsatisfactory Overall Performance represents a judgment based on all three categories: teaching, research, and service.
2. A finding of Unsatisfactory Overall Performance may result from either (i) unsatisfactory teaching or (ii) a deficiency in scholarship or service that is not outweighed by strong performance in both of the other categories.
3. Performance Plans may contain plans for long-term professional development and must contain specific goals that can be evaluated within the time frame specified for a follow- up review as in the “Policy on Post-Tenure Review” and further specified in the procedures given below.
4. A preliminary assessment will take place during the second semester after an individual performance plan is in place (not counting the semester in which the plan is approved) and a final assessment will take place during the fourth semester after an approved individual improvement plan is in place (not counting the semester in which the plan in approved).
5. If either the preliminary or final assessment conducted by the department, or department and program, and the dean suggests disciplinary action might be taken against the faculty member, the Retention, Promotion, and Tenure Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will review the file and make a recommendation to the Dean of Arts & Sciences before the file is forwarded to the Provost.
6. If, as the result of either the preliminary or final assessment, the relevant department or program committee, the chair or director, and the dean determine that overall performance continues to be unsatisfactory, the Dean of Arts & Sciences will recommend to the Provost that disciplinary action be taken. Where the appropriate committee, the department chair or program director, if any, and/or the Dean of Arts & Sciences disagree, the reports shall be forwarded to the Provost for decision.
7. Incompetence or neglect of duty in teaching is adequate cause for termination as delineated in Section III.B.6.a. of the Faculty Handbook.