Approved: December 20, 2013
Tenure-leading probationary faculty shall undergo a comprehensive Mid-tenure Review. This review typically occurs during the third year of their probationary period. The purpose of the Mid-tenure Review is to provide both summative and formative feedback to the faculty member including specific recommendations intended to position the probationary faculty member for a successful promotion and tenure review, and, thus, a successful future as a scholar. While not necessary in most circumstances, the Peer Review Committee may consult with the pre-tenure faculty member in identifying a “content expert” in the faculty member’s scholarly field. It is preferable that this content expert is from within the department, but this person may be from another unit within the university. The content expert should not assist with the writing of the Mid-tenure Review letter and must not be a signatory. If there is a need for a content expert, ideally the Peer Review Committee will identify that need prior to the Mid-tenure Review.
The Mid-tenure review file is submitted in addition to the annual report of faculty accomplishments (submitted through Activity Insight). The Mid-tenure Review file will be organized as a formal tenure file. It must contain the following:
- Current curriculum vitae
- Current job description
- Copy of each annual performance evaluation and annual Peer Review evaluation
- 1 to 2 page statement of five year goals in research, teaching, extension/outreach, and service (as applicable) and most important contributions/impacts tied to each goal
- 1 to 2 page statement of philosophy of research and scholarship and most important research/scholarship contributions
- 1 to 2 page statement of philosophy of teaching or extension and most important teaching or extension contributions (those engaged in outreach activities without an extension appointment may include a separate statement describing the philosophy and contributions in outreach)
- 1 to 2 page statement of philosophy of service and most important service contributions
- Tabled summary of teaching evaluations to-date (for those with teaching appointments)
The Mid-tenure Review file will be turned in to the Office Supervisor by no later than January 15th of the pre-tenured faculty member’s third year. Two independent evaluations occur at the Mid-tenure Review. First, after reviewing the materials, the Peer Review Committee will send a letter to the pre-tenured faculty member with a copy to the Department Chair and the faculty member’s personnel file. This letter will provide summative feedback about the faculty member’s cumulative performance and formative feedback designed to assist the faculty member as she/he moves toward tenure, promotion and the establishment of a productive career. The letter will include a) a clear statement of the Committee’s judgment about the faculty member’s satisfactory progress toward tenure; b) evaluative feedback about the faculty member’s work, achievements, and impacts; and c) specific recommendations intended to position the probationary faculty member for successful promotion and tenure review. On receipt of this letter, the pre-tenured faculty member can request a meeting with the Peer Review Committee to discuss the contents of the letter. This Mid-tenure Review and the resulting letter take the place of the annual peer review of the pre-tenured faculty member for that year.
Second, the Department Chair conducts an independent evaluation of the pre-tenure file and annual report of faculty accomplishments. The Chair writes a letter to the pre-tenure faculty member that both provides a clear evaluation of the faculty member’s annual performance as well as evaluative feedback about the faculty member’s cumulative performance since their appointment on their tenure leading line. This letter takes the place of the Chair’s annual evaluation for that year and will include all the required elements necessary for the annual evaluation, including evaluation of the faculty member’s overall performance using the approved annual evaluation rubric.
Both the Peer Review Committee’s Mid-tenure Review letter and the Chair’s Mid-tenure Review letter are included in the faculty member’s promotion and tenure dossier as the annual evaluation letters of the year in which they have their mid-tenure review.