Faculty Handbook

December 1998
Are the tenure and promotion decisions synonymous?

They are two separate decisions.

The tenure decision reflects and recognizes a candidate’s potential long–term value to the institution as evidenced by professional performance and growth. Collegiality, professional integrity and willingness to accept and cooperate in assignments are also considered in tenure decisions. Indefinite tenure is granted for achievement not years in rank and, under normal circumstances, professorial faculty will be considered in their sixth year of service on a tenure track appointment.

Promotion from Assistant professor to Associate professor is based on evidence of the candidate’s

• demonstrated effectiveness in teaching, advising, and other assigned duties;
• achievement in scholarship and creative activity that establishes the individual as a significant contributor to the field or profession, with potential for distinction;
• and, appropriate institutional (department, college, university), public and professional service.

Promotion from Associate Professor to Professor is based upon evidence of the candidate’s:

• distinction in teaching, advising or other assigned duties as evidenced by continued development and sustained effectiveness in these areas;
• distinction in scholarship as evidenced in the candidate’s wide recognition and significant contributions to the field or profession;
• and, exemplary institutional, public, and/or professional service.

What is the review process?

• The candidate or Department Chair initiates the process.
• Department Chair or a designated faculty member works with the faculty member to prepare the dossier.
• Department Chair solicits letters of evaluation from outside reviewers, students or clientele; ensures that peer evaluation of teaching is completed; and makes sure all necessary material is included in dossier before forwarding to the Department Committee.
• Department P&T Committee meets, reviews, and makes recommendation to Department Chair.
• Department Chair writes letter of evaluation and recommendation.
• College P&T Committee meets and makes it’s recommendation to Dean.
• Candidate signs statement acknowledging that the open part of the dossier (based on whether or not the candidate has signed the Waiver of Access form) has been reviewed by the candidate and that the dossier is complete, accurate and current.
• Dean writes letter of evaluation and makes recommendation to Provost.
• Candidate is given the opportunity to review the Administrative Letters of Evaluation (letters from department and college P&T committees, Chair/head, Dean and other appropriate supervisors) and may add a written statement regarding these reviews.
• The Associate Provost for Academic Affairs reviews each dossier.
• The University Administrative Promotion and Tenure Committee, chaired by the Provost, reviews all dossiers that have received mixed recommendations at the unit or college level, and other dossiers that the Provost seeks input.
• The Provost and Executive Vice President makes the final decision on all promotion and tenure recommendations.
• Faculty not approved for promotion or tenure by the Provost and Executive Vice President may appeal to the President within two weeks of receipt of the letter announcing the decision. Extenuating circumstances, procedural irregularities that were not considered by the Provost and Executive Vice President, and factual errors in the evaluations are grounds for appeal.

What is the rejection percentage?

The usual rejection rate at the University level is 5–10%. However, one needs to recognize that some faculty leave the university before being evaluated by the P&T process, and some dossiers are stopped at the Department and College levels because of:

• early submission for promotion and/or tenure,
• lack of documentation of scholarship and positive impact,
• lack of demonstrated effectiveness and excellence in teaching and/or advising.

What is the potential for deferral if you go up for tenure early?

Deferral of a decision on tenure or promotion is very likely unless there is an agreement for early consideration of tenure or promotion when hired. A faculty member needs sufficient time to demonstrate effectiveness in teaching and success in scholarship while at OSU before applying. Because scholarship expectations include communication and validation by peers, sufficient time for these to occur is important.

What is the process of moving from non–tenure–track to tenure–track positions?

An individual cannot be promoted from a non–tenure–track position to a tenure–track position. A tenure–track position must be openly advertised and recruited. In special situations, the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity may waive the search process and allow a unit to directly hire an individual.

How is a faculty member promoted in a non–tenure track situation?

The process for promotion is the same as for a tenure–track faculty member.

If there are differing recommendations between a department head (or supervisor, if unit does not have a department head) and dean, who is invited to discuss the dossier with the University Committee?

The candidate’s dean and department head (or supervisor) are invited to discuss the case with the University Committee.

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

What should the Position Description contain?

The position description (PD) is different for each individual and should clearly define the expectations of the candidate’s position. However, all PD’s should contain the name of the faculty member, assigned department and college, FTE appointment, and percentages of allocated time of the appointment between Teaching, Advising and Other Assigned Duties; Scholarship; and Service. The introduction should be a statement of purpose of the position and a description of the environment in which it is carried out.

The second part of the position description has three parts – Teaching, Advising, and Other Assigned Duties; Scholarship; and Service. Each of these parts should contain a description of the expected activities and the assigned percentage of time for each.

The position description should be signed and dated by the faculty member, unit head, and immediate supervisor if different from the head. It is the option of the unit whether others should sign the position description.

Who is responsible for developing a position description?

It is the supervisor’s responsibility. However, it is suggested the faculty member take the initiative and he/she work with the supervisor in revising/finalizing the description.

If I did not have a previously written position description, how should I communicate past responsibilities?

The faculty member should write a brief narrative describing how the position has evolved, and outline major changes while at OSU. The narrative outlining the changes is important because it may impact the expectations and types of accomplishments of the faculty member.

What if the Position Description under which I was hired and my current Position Description are not the same?

Copies of all position descriptions and/or a chronological narrative description must accompany the dossier so the various reviewers can analyze the impact of the changes on the candidate’s performance.

If my teaching obligation is a greater percentage of effort than my research (or, that of my colleagues), how will that enter into the P&T deliberations?

The position description serves as the basis for which the evaluation is made. Candidates are not evaluated on the expectations of other faculty in the department or college.

If I lead canoe trips for the experimental college (or participation in another avocation interest), should I include it?

It may be documented in the service portion of the position description and vita.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT

What is the candidate statement?

The candidate statement is an opportunity to describe the candidate’s teaching philosophy and significance of her/his scholarship. It should describe how the faculty member has met the expectations for Teaching, Advising and Other Assigned Duties; Scholarship; and Service outlined in the Position Description. The candidate statement is limited to three pages.

How do you document impact?

Impact is usually evidenced by adoption of practices and educational material by learners, success of students, effectiveness and utilization of research, and other scholarly and creative work.

SCHOLARSHIP AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY

What is the definition of Scholarship and Creative Activity?

Scholarship is original intellectual work which is communicated and the significance is validated by peers. Scholarship may emerge from teaching, research or other responsibilities.

Scholarship may take many forms including, but not limited to:

• research contributing to a body of knowledge;
• development of new technology, materials or methods;
• integration of knowledge or technology leading to new interpretations or applications;
• creation and interpretation in the arts.

What are examples of Creative Activity?

Creativity is needed in all aspects of scholarship: research, development, integration of knowledge and the arts. Examples include developing new measurement methods and procedures; solving a problem is a unique way; and creating works of art. Peers determine the degree of creativity.

What are examples of Scholarship and Creative Activity for an administrator?

Examples of scholarship may include efforts to increase and retain students, research and development of processes that lead to more effective administration, and design of effective faculty and staff development models. However, whatever the topic, in order for it to be considered as scholarship, it must meet the definition cited above.

What are evidences of validation of scholarship by peers?

Usually the evidence is demonstrated by adoption of the individual’s scholarship, documented impact on students and clientele, and/or recognition of the individual’s work through peer–reviewed and/or juried journals, presentations, and exhibits.

What percentage is enough for Scholarship?

Faculty will generally have scholarly expectations ranging from 15% to as high as 90%.

I have a major research grant that has not yet yielded many publications, but hopefully will in the near future. How is that fact considered?

In general, this is creative work in process but will not be considered scholarship until the research results are shared and validated by peers. However, in some disciplines where grant proposals are screened by peers and are highly competitive, the receipt of a major grant may be considered a component of scholarship.

EXTERNAL/PEER EVALUATIONS

What are the criteria for selection of outside reviewers?

The individuals selected should be leaders in the candidate’s field or discipline. They should be equal to or above the rank for which the faculty member is being considered. They should have a regional, national, or international reputation, depending on the assigned responsibilities and peer audience. The dossier is strengthened if some of the external reviewers have experience in evaluating dossiers and can credibly comment about the likelihood of the candidate being promoted and/or tenured at the reviewer’s institution.

They should not be co–authors, co–presenters, major professor, co–PI’s, or team teachers. They also should not be close personal friends or family.

The faculty member is asked to submit a list of suggested reviewers and the unit leader is obligated to select at least three names from the list and add other names that are appropriate. There should only be five to eight outside reviewers.

What is an effective external letter of evaluation?

The letter of evaluation from an external reviewer should focus on the significance of the candidate’s scholarly contributions and the impact of the work on the field. The evaluation must be credible, unbiased and candid. It should be from an individual who is a leader in the field and perceived to be unbiased.

How should Peer Evaluation of Teaching be handled?

Experienced faculty (Associate or Full Professors) should regularly conduct peer evaluation of teaching over the period that the candidate is being considered for promotion and/or tenure. The candidate should be involved in the process by providing course outlines, syllabi, texts, assigned readings, examinations, and class materials. Classroom observations should be planned with the candidate.

What is confidential – What do the waivers mean?

If a faculty member signs the Waiver of Access, he/she will not have access to the solicited letters of evaluation. The faculty member will have access to letters of evaluation and recommendation from the immediate supervisor (if different than Department Head), summary letter of student and/or clientele evaluation, Department P&T Committee, Department Chair, College P&T Committee, and Dean.

How are unsigned letters handled?

Unsigned letters will not be placed in the dossier and are not considered in any part of the review process.

STUDENT EVALUATIONS

How should I summarize the results from the Student Assessment of Teaching instrument?

The results should be organized by the courses taught and should then be presented chronologically for each course taught. Also, the results should be compared to department or college average, as appropriate, for courses taught at the same level (100, 200...). Do not include copies of the Student Assessment of Teaching instrument in the dossier.

How should the Student Letters of Evaluation be prepared?

The tenure unit supervisor should select a group of representative students (i.e., former and current undergraduate and graduate students, as appropriate) to serve as the student evaluation committee. The students should have access to the candidate’s Position Description, Candidate Statement, and Promotion and Tenure Vita. They should obtain input from a random but representative sample of other students through interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys. The committee prepares a letter summarizing their evaluation of the candidate’s effectiveness in teaching and advising. The letter must not be prepared by a faculty member or administrator.

If you teach both undergraduate and graduate students, do you need student evaluations for both groups?

Yes, the student evaluations should be separate.