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Annual Review of Faculty Performance

Questions concerning the annual review of faculty performance should be directed to the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty.

Faculty Activity Reports & Curricula Vitae
Submission Deadline – 24 February 2012

Merit Evaluation of Faculty
Submission Deadline – 23 March 2012

General Information

In accordance with the Regents Policy on Faculty Tenure (Section 7a. Review of Faculty Performance), the performance of each faculty member is to be reviewed annually through the unit merit review process and in light of the goals and expectations of the unit. The annual review of faculty performance is used for the purposes of faculty development, salary adjustment, and recognition of faculty through nominations and awards.

Review Period

The annual review of faculty performance conducted during academic year 2011/12 will cover spring semester 2011, summer 2011 (if applicable), and fall semester 2011 for all units (or fall semester 2011 only for new tenure-track appointments).

The standardized reporting period was implemented in 2009/10 to provide for consistency in the review period across the college, to enable review based on a complete semester of activity, to provide for better facilitation of the review process, and to bring the timetable of the annual appraisals of probationary faculty into alignment with the annual review of faculty performance.

Governing Documents
Required Materials
  • Faculty activity reports and curricula vitae
  • Unit written merit evaluation report
  • Unit merit review guidelines

Faculty Activity Reports & Curricula Vitae
Submission Deadline – 24 February 2012

The first step in the annual review of faculty performance is the preparation and submission of faculty activity reports and curricula vitae.

Faculty activity reports and current curricula vitae must be submitted for all faculty, including tenure-track faculty, tenured faculty, and annually renewable contract faculty. Faculty activity reports and curricula vitae also must be submitted for faculty not in residence for any portion of the academic year (e.g., faculty on approved single semester or sabbatical leaves, faculty on unpaid discretionary leaves, etc.).

Faculty activity reports and curricula vitae are due in the college no later than Friday, 24 February 2012. Materials must be submitted electronically as separate pdf files via the CLA projects drive (network drive P:).

Merit Evaluation of Faculty
Submission Deadline – 23 March 2012

Each academic unit shall conduct a merit evaluation of its faculty annually. A rigorous merit evaluation is a necessary step for ensuring a thorough and equitable assessment of faculty performance and merit. Materials must be submitted electronically pdf file(s) via the "FARS and Vitae" folder on the projects drive (P:).

Faculty performance is reviewed following unit merit review processes already in place, in light of the goals and expectations of the unit. The annual review is used for salary adjustment, faculty development, and recognition of faculty through nominations and awards. The annual review of faculty occurs regardless of the nature of the merit pool.

Written Report

Each unit shall prepare a written report on the evaluation of tenure-track, tenured, and annually renewable contract faculty, including faculty on approved single semester or sabbatical leaves, faculty on unpaid discretionary leaves, etc. Unit written reports are due in the college no later than 23 March 2012. and should be accompanied by the unit merit review guidelines. Materials must be submitted electronically via the CLA projects drive (network drive P:).

The unit written report should include a description of the unit process for assessing faculty performance; a general summary of the scholarly research and/or other creative work, teaching, and any particularly noteworthy service and outreach contributions of the faculty of the unit; a merit report or rankings (without salary recommendations); brief written evaluations (approximately one paragraph) of the performance of each faculty member in the unit; and the name(s) of faculty member(s) whose performance and contributions across the areas of teaching and advising, scholarly research and/or other creative work, and service and outreach, are deemed to be particularly exemplary and noteworthy during the review period. 

Merit Review Principles

For faculty activity during spring and fall semesters 2011, the following principles should govern faculty merit recommendations:

  • Merit rankings should recognize scholarly publications and other creative works of the faculty; teaching; and service to the unit, the college, the University, the community, and the profession.  Assessments of merit should reflect the quality and importance of the faculty member’s contributions, not only the quantity of those efforts.  Merit rankings should recognize interdisciplinary as well as disciplinary contributions.  Chairs should consult with the relevant chairs and directors of fields in which colleagues have been engaged in interdisciplinary activity in order to assess a colleague’s achievements outside the home unit.
  • Determinations about especially meritorious performance should reflect the department’s judgment about which faculty members have provided, and continue to provide, the most valued contributions to scholarly research and/or other creative work, teaching, and service.  “Most valued contributions” are defined as those contributions that have made, or that continue to make, a qualitative difference in the way that scholarly research and/or other creative work in a particular discipline is conducted; the ways in which teaching and advising in the unit are carried out; and the ways that the unit, college, University, and/or the faculty member’s field at large have been served because of that faculty member’s extraordinary activities.
  • In the case of tenured and tenure-track faculty members with joint appointments in more than one unit, the faculty member’s annual and merit review of scholarly research and/or other creative work, teaching, and service should be prepared by the chair of the faculty member’s tenure home in consultation with the chair(s) of other unit(s) where the faculty member’s appointment is held. The review should be conducted in accordance with CLA's guidelines on Faculty Joint Appointments - Tenured and Tenure-track Faculty.
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