5.4 Guidelines for Tenured Faculty Performance Review

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Guidelines for Tenured Faculty Performance Review

1. Tenured faculty who have not received a comprehensive review (tenure or promotion) in the previous five years will be reviewed under the University Policy and Procedures for Tenured Faculty Performance Review (approved by the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees on May 29, 1998, and approved by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina System on September 11, 1998; and revised March 26, 2015). As noted in the UNC Charlotte Academic Procedure: Tenured Faculty Performance Review, the Department Chair, in cooperation with the faculty member, shall construct a Tenured Faculty Performance Review [hereinafter TFPR] file containing only: a) copies of the faculty member’s last five annual review letters from the Department Chair; b) a current curriculum vitae; (c) a current five-year plan and set of goals (see 3 below); and (d) an optional statement describing his or her professional accomplishments in teaching, research, and service (including part-time administrative responsibilities) related to his or her five-year plan. All post-tenure review evaluators, including Department Review Committee, Department Chairs, and Deans, are required to complete the UNC training module prior to review of a TFPR file.

2. Since the TFPR may replace the annual review in the year the TFPR is mandated, the Department Review Committee (DRC) as elected according to department, college and university procedures, may conduct the review of the faculty member’s five-year performance at the same time as the Department’s annual review that year. The DRC shall review the file and, in their advisory role in the department, shall meet with the Chair to report their findings. The report shall include an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the faculty member’s performance. This report shall conclude with one of the following findings:

“Exceeds Expectations:” The faculty member exceeds expectations.

“Meets Expectations:” The faculty member has no substantial and chronic performance deficiencies.

“Does Not Meet Expectations:” The faculty member has substantial and chronic performance deficiencies. The DRC shall state the faculty member’s primary responsibilities and describe the performance deficiencies in its report as they relate to the faculty member’s assigned duties and the goals established.

The standards for determining “Does Not Meet Expectations” shall be determined by the faculty in each unit, and, when approved by the Chair and Dean, and by the Provost, shall become part of the TFPR procedures for that department.

The Chair shall prepare his or her own recommendation and provide the faculty member being reviewed a copy of both the DRC report and the Chair’s recommendation. The Chair then shall meet with the reviewed faculty member to discuss these findings in each of the three areas of faculty performance as they relate to the stated goals of the Department, College and University and should indicate any needed improvement in any of these areas even if overall performance is deemed to be “satisfactory.” The DRC report, the Chair’s recommendation and any response from the faculty member shall be made a part of the faculty member’s permanent personnel record. Then, the Chair shall submit his or her recommendation to the Dean along with any addendum and/or additional materials the reviewed faculty member deems appropriate in response to the report of the DRC and/or the Chair’s recommendation.

3. The Five-Year Plan. Every faculty member must have a written plan in the three clearly identified areas of teaching, research and service over the five year period between their TFPR or since their most recent promotion, whichever is most recent. The five-year plan will be prepared by the faculty member. It may vary according to department expectations, but will include at a minimum a description of the faculty member’s plans for the five year period in the three areas noted above. It may also include specific performance goals during this period, timetables for meeting these goals and anticipated resources (grants, reassignment of duties, library, laboratory or other research resources, etc.) that will assist the faculty member in fulfilling their plans in each of the three areas noted above. The five-year plan may be revised and/or reevaluated by the faculty member and Chair annually at the time of the faculty member’s annual review.

The five-year plan will be reviewed by the departmental committee charged with annual review and the Chair in their annual evaluation of the faculty member. Adjustments to the plan may be made, as necessary, by the faculty member in consultation with the chair of his/her department to complement the professional activities of the faculty member in the areas of teaching, research and public service.

4. Timeline for TFPR. In April prior to the faculty member’s TFPR the Chair shall notify the faculty member of their pending TFPR during the coming academic year. The faculty member is encouraged to begin the preparations for the TFPR during the summer and continue preparations during the fall semester prior to their review. All materials for TFPR are due to the Dean’s office by the middle of March on a date to be determined on a yearly basis.

5. The Provost certifies decisions that the Dean has made regarding TFPR, except in the case that the Dean disagrees with the departmental decision. In that instance, the departmental and Dean’s recommendations are forwarded to the Provost for review.

6. The College Review Committee (CRC) is the forum for the faculty member requesting a review of the TFPR decision at the request of the Dean or of the faculty member being evaluated. In reviewing these requests, the CRC shall consider the criteria established by university, college, and departmental policies for faculty performance.

a. The Dean may request a review by the CRC if she or he believes that the Department’s recommendation either to mandate or not to mandate a development plan is inconsistent with university, college or departmental criteria for finding the faculty member’s performance “seriously deficient,” i.e., “Does Not Meet Expectations.”

b. The faculty member may request a review by the CRC if (1) he/she believes that the Department’s recommendation and/or the decision of the Dean is inconsistent with the university, college or departmental criteria or (2) if he/she believes there were substantial and serious violations of the current procedures. If discharge or other serious sanctions are imposed as a result of a seriously deficient post-tenure performance review, University regulations are the appeal procedures outlined in Section 8 of the “Tenure Policies, Regulations and Procedures of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.” For lesser actions, a faculty member may pursue an appeal through the UNC Charlotte “Procedures for Resolving Faculty Grievances Arising from Section 607(3) of The Code of the University of North Carolina.” Grievances may be filed after the Provost has certified the decisions regarding TFPR.

7. In its deliberations, the CRC will focus its review on: a) the documents made available to the DRC and Department Chair during the review process; b) the Department Review Committee’s report to the Department Chairand any addenda and/or other responses that the faculty member has given in response to the report of the DRC and/or the Chair (as applicable); c) the Chair’s report to the Dean (as applicable); and d) the Dean’s report to the Provost (as applicable).

8. The CRC may consult with or interview the faculty member under review, the Department Chair, and members of the DRC if the CRC deems necessary.

9. The CRC will submit an advisory report of its recommendations regarding the review to the Dean and the Provost.

Addenda

1. These guidelines may be adjusted by each department and the Dean’s Office in accordance with departmental governing policies and structures.
2. During the implementation phase of this new policy, the calendar for “five-year” plan for each professor will be dependent on their next scheduled TFPR. During this phase, certain faculty member’s plans will be two-year, three-year, or four-year plans according to their next scheduled TFPR.
3. Faculty returning from full-time administrative positions will create a five-year plan in consultation with the department chair at the time they return to full-time, non-administrative faculty status.

TFPR Checklist