Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#290 GOOD PRACTICE IN TENURE EVALUATION

Folks:

The posting below is the summary section of a new report, GOOD
PRACTICE IN TENURE EVALUATION Advice for Tenured Faculty, Department
Chairs, and Academic MORE , A Joint Project of Council on Education,
The American Association of University Professors, and United
Educators Insurance Risk Retention Group, The full report is
available free on-line at;
www.acent.edu/bookstore/

Regards,

Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: The Academic Department in a Multidisciplinary Context

Tomorrow's Academic Careers

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GOOD PRACTICE IN TENURE EVALUATION

SUMMARY

Practical suggestions for the tenure evaluation process fall into
four major themes. These suggestions speak to various
audiences-notably department chairs, senior faculty who in
participate evaluating tenure-faculty, and academic administrators.

Clarity in Standards and Procedures for Tenure Evaluation:

Institutions should ensure that their stated criteria for tenure
match the criteria that, in actual practice, the institutions apply.
Department chairs and other responsible administration should clearly
communicate all criteria, including any special requirements
applicable within a department or a college, to a tenure-track
faculty member early in his or her career at the institution. When
the tenure review occurs, complications can arise if positive
developments (such as the acceptance of a book for publication) or
negative allegations (such as harassment charges) come to light.
Institutions should anticipate these possibilities and develop
procedures in advance for handling them. Another potential source of
difficulty lies in the personal opinions expressed to those
responsible for conducting the review. An institution should adopt a
consistent approach to handling private letters and conversations,
outside the normal review process, concerning the merits of a tenure
candidate.

Consistency in Tenure Decisions:

Tenure decisions must be consistent over time among candidates with
different personal characteristics-such as race, gender, disability
and national origin. Protections in law and institutional policy
against discrimination apply with full force to the tenure process.
Consistency also requires that the formal evaluations of a single
individual over time reflect a coherent set of expectations and a
consistent analysis of the individual's performance. Department
chairs and other colleagues should not convey excessive optimism
about a candidate's prospects for tenure. A negative tenure decision
should not be the first criticism the individual receives. Everyone
who participates in reviews must scrupulously follow tenure policies
and procedures, and administrators should take special care when
reviewing candidates from their own disciplines.

Candor in the Evaluation of Tenure-Track Faculty:

The department chair or other responsible administration should
clearly explain to every tenure-track faculty member the standards
for reappointment and tenure and the cycle for evaluations of his or
her progress in meeting these requirements. Periodic evaluations
should be candid and expressed in plain English. They should include
specific examples illustrating the quality of performance,
constructive criticism of any potential areas for improvement, and
practical guidance for future efforts.

Caring for Unsuccessful Candidates:

Faculty and administration must treat an unsuccessful tenure
candidate with professionalism and decency. The person responsible
for conveying the disappointing news should use compassion, and
colleagues should take care not to isolate the person socially.
Active efforts to assist the candidate in relocating to another
position redound to the mutual benefit of the individual and the
institution.

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