Tenure and Promotion Handbook

Item D: Letters from Tenured Members of the Department

See Faculty Manual §4.XI.4.(d).

1.   Individuals who have access to this item:

  • All those granted access to the dossier:
  • The initiator
  • The Associate Dean
  • Members of the Tenure and Promotion Committee
  • The Dean of the College
  • The President

2.   Participants in preparing this item, and role of each participant:

  • Initiator -
    • Encourages tenured members to observe the candidate's instruction during the spring semester prior to the year of the review as well as during the fall semester of the review year.
    • Solicits letters from the tenured members of the department
    • If the initiator is also a tenured member, prepares a letter for the dossier
  • Candidate -
    • Prepares portfolio of instructional materials for review by tenured members during the spring semester prior to the year of the review and during the fall semester of the review year
  • Tenured members of the department – Prepare letters

3.  Guidelines and suggestions:
·    Every tenured member of the department, including those on sabbatical or other leave, shall write a letter except in cases of a conflict of interest.  The initiator, in such case, shall ascertain the nature of the conflict of interest and enter a written statement of explanation in the dossier.  This statement should be included in lieu of the tenured member’s letter in the appropriate section of the dossier. 

  • If the initiator is also a tenured member of the department, the initiator should write a letter in his or her role as tenured member, separate from the initiator’s recommendation and summary (Item M). 
  • If the Associate Dean is also a tenured member of the department, the Associate Dean should write a letter in his or her role as a tenured member, separate from the Associate Dean’s recommendation (Item N).
  • If a faculty member has resigned tenure as part of a phased-in retirement agreement, that faculty member should notify the initiator that he or she is not eligible to write as a tenured member of the department.  However, depending on the nature of his or her current appointment, such a faculty member may contribute his or her opinion as a full-time, untenured member of the department.  The chair may also consult with the faculty member even if he or she does not currently hold a full-time appointment.
  • The initiator may encourage the tenured members to observe the candidate’s instruction during the spring prior to the year of the review
  • With the solicitation letter, the initiator should include:
    • The Faculty Manual “Standards for Faculty Evaluation” (Section 4.VII.A.1.-3.)
    • The candidate’s CV
    • The department’s Statement on Significant Professional Activities 

            The initiator may also wish to include:

    • The candidate’s current teaching schedule
    • A summary of key findings from the department’s most recent self-study (see below)
    • In cases of joint appointment, the joint statement of departmental expectations

  • Tenured faculty shall have access to copies of the student evaluations and the E&A quantitative summary of student evaluation results.
  • The initiator may wish to suggest that tenured members consider the needs and goals of the department as identified in the department’s most recent self-study in their evaluation of the candidate.  It may be helpful to provide a summary of key findings from the self-study with the initiator’s letter to the tenured members, or to make the full self-study readily available in some other form.
  • The content of each tenured member’s letter should be consistent with the vote cast by that member.  The letters should include a variety of evidence and provide concrete examples and illustrations to support the evaluation.
  • Tenured members of the department who are also serving as peer reviewers of the candidate’s teaching should prepare two separate items for the dossier:  the tenured member’s letter evaluating all three categories of faculty work, and the peer reviewer’s letter or form focusing on the candidate’s teaching alone.
  • The Faculty Manual indicates that letters from the tenured members of the department “shall be prepared in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Tenure and Promotion Committee.”  The above information in this document constitutes these guidelines. 

4.   Additional resources:

5.   Contact for questions or concerns:
      ·    Assistant Provost (x3004)

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