Procedures: Assembly of Tenure File
In the sixth year counted toward tenure or the year designated for tenure review in a shorter probationary period, information about the candidate’s performance and promise is assembled from the sources described below. The Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty requests and receives the materials for a file (the Tenure Review File) which will be used by the Faculty Status Council to guide its deliberations. For the purposes of these procedures, including appeals, any reference to the term “class days” shall mean all days upon which the offices of the College are open, excluding intervening weekends, academic calendar holidays, and the entire summer break. The Tenure Review File, which is made available to the candidate and the candidate’s Division Chair, includes the following items collected in this order:
ONE: Material from various offices to be received in the Office of the Academic Vice President not less than thirty (30) class days prior to the closure date of a candidate’s Tenure Review File.
- From the Dean of Curriculum and Student Learning, data from the candidate’s advising evaluations.
- Summary analyses from the Instructor Evaluation Questionnaires are received from the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. See Appendix C for the policies regarding the collection, processing, and use of the Instructor Evaluation Questionnaire. These materials are placed in the Tenure Review File and copied to the Division Chair.
- Any other documents determined by the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty to be relevant to the stated criteria for tenure are included. These materials shall include, when available, summaries of confidential interviews with students conducted by the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty or the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty’s designate, and must include survey data collected by the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty from graduates. The letter summarizing the conclusions of the probationary review (see below) and any related correspondence are also part of the Tenure Review File. These materials are placed in the Tenure Review File and copied to the Division Chair.
TWO: Material from the candidate:
The Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty shall request, in writing, that the candidate submit his or her materials for the Tenure Review File. All such material shall be prepared and submitted by the candidate. An essential element is the candidate’s statement describing her or his success in teaching and plans for improvement, service as advisor to students, scholarly or creative work, professional and on-campus activities, and plans for further growth. Course syllabi, copies of examinations, completed manuscripts, and similar items should be included as well. For a period of ten (10) class days prior to submitting his or her materials the candidate is free to review all of the previously collected materials contained in the Tenure Review File. In a written statement the candidate may address the content and recommendations already collected in the Tenure Review File. The candidate is responsible for the submission of the candidate’s materials to the Office of the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty not later than ten (10) class days after the deadline for the material in part ONE, above. The Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty will inform the candidate of this deadline at least by the start of the term in which the Tenure Review will occur.
THREE: Evaluative Letter from the Division Chair:
Upon the written request of the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty, the candidate’s Division Chair submits an evaluative letter describing the candidate’s contributions and performance as described and ordered by the tenure criteria published in the Faculty Manual . Although the letter is informed by contributions of the tenure team and the Program Chair, where applicable, the letter presents the Division Chair’s own judgment, with a clear recommendation that tenure be granted or denied. In arriving at his or her conclusions, the Division Chair:
- confers with the candidate’s designated tenure team, the Program Chair, and the Dean of Curriculum and Student Learning
- visits a variety of classes conducted by the candidate, including General Studies classes, where applicable
- interviews students familiar with the candidate’s teaching and advising (Note: interviews are conducted every fall and spring term during the two [2] years immediately prior to tenure consideration)
- reviews the candidate’s advising materials
- reviews all material in the candidate’s file (see Section One)
The Division Chair may request that tenured faculty in the division assist in the evaluation of the tenure candidate. Such assistance may include, but not be limited to: consultation, review of scholarship and other materials related to the College’s Tenure Review Standards, classroom observations, student interviews, and review of student evaluations (IEQ) and/or alumni surveys. Names of students interviewed are made known to the tenure candidate upon request, but the students’ responses are held in confidence from the candidate.
The Division Chair is responsible for this letter and its timely submission, due five (5) class days after the deadline established above for the candidate’s materials. Once the Division Chair has drafted the letter, each member of the tenure team and the Program Chair, where applicable, receive an electronic copy. If the Program Chair or any member of the tenure team wishes to submit an additional letter, that letter is due to the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty within five (5) class days of the deadline for the Division Chair’s letter, addressing the stated criteria for tenure. These written submissions, if any, from any tenure team members or the Program Chair are intended to be arguments developed from experience with the candidate. The candidate’s file is not available to members of the candidate’s tenure team or the Program Chair in preparing such a letter. If the candidate wishes, the candidate has ten (10) class days from deadline established for letters from tenure team members or the Program Chair to write a letter of reply to the Division Chair’s letter and to any letter added to the file from a member of the candidate’s tenure team or the Program Chair. The candidate’s letter of reply will be added to the Tenure Review File. After this ten (10) class day period no new materials may be added to the Tenure Review File. The Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty shall send a letter to the candidate and the Chair of the Faculty Status Council confirming that the Tenure Review File has been closed. This date of closure is thirty (30) class days from the submission deadline established for the Tenure Review File materials described in Part ONE, above.