(b) UMES Policy and Procedures on Promotion
and Tenure of Faculty Campus Policy #‑ 1:
I.
INTRODUCTION
The
policy statement describes the criteria and procedures governing promotion and
tenure for faculty personnel at the
II. DEPARTMENTAL PROMOTION AND TENURE DOCUMENTS
Each
department shall be responsible for developing and adopting criteria for
appraising the qualities and performance of faculty members, including department
chairperson.
Promotion
in rank shall be based on merit and cannot be considered automatic or simply
the result of loyal service to the University for a number of years. Moreover,
successive reappointments or the completion of a specified period of service do
not confer a right to appointment with tenure, except as described in this
policy.
A. Criteria:
Criteria
used in making evaluations shall be based upon the mission of the
1. Instruction and Student Advising: The responsibility for the evaluation of the teaching
performance and advising of students rests on the primary academic unit, and
each such unit is required to develop appropriate measures. These measures
shall include systematic evaluation from students.
2.
Research and Scholarship: An
important factor in determining merit for appointment, retention, tenure, and
promotion shall be the faculty member's contributions in the form of research,
publications, and other professional or artistic activities. The nature of the
performance will vary from one discipline to another, but the general test to
be applied is the extent to which the faculty member is engaged effectively in
scholarly and creative activity. In fields where publication in recognized
journals and books is the primary activity, such publications will be the
primary measure of achievement. Evaluation of this work in the form of reviews,
or otherwise, by leaders in the field outside the University may be considered
important evidence of its value.
In
fields such as art, music, performance (theater and dance), fashion,
exhibitions/organizing shows, curating, judging, distinguished performance, or
direction shall be judged as creative activity. In agricultural sciences and
industrial technologies, patented inventions and discoveries may also evidence
creative work.
Other
measures of professional development are: participation in the activities of
professional and learned societies, professional service such as
consultantships, addresses before educational agencies and civic groups, and
workshops or other activities of scholarly or innovative nature.
3.
Service and Contributions to the University and Community: Contributions to the University may comprise
constructive committee service, service in elected faculty office,
administrative service, contributions to the extra‑curricular activities
of students, the development of new academic programs or courses, and the
organization of conferences, workshops or institutes.
Contributions
to the community shall consist of any donation of one's professional competence
for the benefit of the community.
When
being examined for the purpose of tenure or promotion, contributions to the University
or the community should be evaluated in terms of their effect upon the
advancement of the department, the institution, and/or the community.
B. Procedures:
1. The tasks of identifying and specifying
the elements or factors to be considered in evaluating a candidate, their
relative significance, and the techniques to be used, are to be carried out by
an elected three‑to‑five
member committee of the department. This committee shall develop a document
which sets forth procedures for reviewing the credentials of non‑tenured
persons for purposes of granting contract renewal and /or tenure.
2. The document developed by the committee
shall be discussed by the entire department in a meeting and approved by a vote
of departmental faculty. The document shall then be transmitted for approvals
by the Dean of the School and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will
subsequently submit it to the President for his/her review and final approval.
3. Copies of all departments’ documents shall
be made available in the library for examination by interested faculty.
III. PROCEDURES
FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE
A.
Initiation Procedures:
In
cases of mandatory tenure review, the department chairperson should inform the
faculty member, in writing, by May 15
of the fifth year of appointment for
an assistant professor, and by May 15
of the mandatory review year for an associate professor, that he or she is to
be considered for tenure and/or promotion. However, a faculty member may
receive consideration for promotion and/or tenure by requesting such
consideration by May 15 of any year
prior to his or her mandatory review year.
A
negative decision in a non‑mandatory tenure review shall not preclude the
faculty member's right to proceed toward a review for tenure in the mandatory
review year.
B.
Ad Hoc Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee:
By
November 1, the department
chairperson shall inform the Dean of the School of the composition of the ad
hoc departmental committee which will review candidates. The Dean shall in turn
so inform the Vice President for Academic Affairs by November 15. This ad hoc departmental committee shall consist of at
least three members, all of whom are
senior in rank to the individuals being considered. Where there are not enough
faculty of sufficient rank in a given department, faculty in an appropriate
field from outside the department upon the recommendation from the faculty
applying for tenure or promotion will be invited by the chair to serve on the
ad hoc committee.
1. Each candidate will submit a list of at
least five persons to serve on his
or her ad hoc committee by October 1,
to the departmental chairperson. The departmental chairperson will select three
committee members from among the persons suggested by the candidate. The
committee shall elect its own chairperson.
2. The faculty member under consideration
shall submit 4 copies of his/her dossier to the department chair by November 1 of the sixth year. The department chair shall forward these copies of the
dossier to the ad hoc departmental committee chair by November 10. The faculty member under consideration is responsible
for furnishing the ad hoc committee with such materials as are appropriate for
due consideration of his or her case.
The ad hoc committee is also charged to exercise all due diligence in obtaining
documentation of the person's performance. All documentation gathered by the ad
hoc committee shall be held in confidence.
3. The ad hoc departmental review
committee shall forward its recommendation and all supporting materials‑‑both
those furnished by the applicant and those obtained by the committee‑‑
to the department chairperson by December
15. If the review committee's recommendation is negative, the candidate is
so informed by the department chairperson and the review is terminated. If the
committee's recommendation is positive, the department chairperson shall attach
his or her own recommendation to the ad hoc committee's recommendation and
forward both, along with all supporting materials, to the Dean of the School by
January 10. The Dean shall review
the departmental recommendations and attach his or her recommendation, and
forward all materials to the Vice President for Academic Affairs by January 30. The candidate's complete
file will be transmitted by the Vice President for Academic Affairs to the UMES
Faculty Promotion and Tenure Review Committee by February 7. The UMES Faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee will
transmit its recommendations to the Vice President for Academic Affairs by April 1.
4.
The candidate’s dossier and all
recommendations shall be placed in the Human Resources for review by the
candidate for a period of two weeks (April
1 to 15). No additional supporting documents can be introduced by the
candidate during this period except for a response to a negative information in
the dossier that the candidate has not been privileged to respond.
C. UMES Faculty Promotion and Tenure
Review Committee:
1. Membership:
By
the end of the month of October, the
Vice President for Academic Affairs shall hold a meeting of the UMES faculty to
elect members to the UMES Promotion and Tenure Review Committee. This committee
shall consist of seven members,
elected from tenured full and associate professors not having administrative
responsibilities. Department chairpersons, however, will be eligible to serve. At least three
of the seven member committee will be full professors who, in cases of
candidates for promotion to full professor will deliberate and vote separately
from, and instead of, the full committee. The election of committee members
shall be by secret ballot, with each faculty member voting for three committee
candidates, one full professor, and two associate professors. Ballots shall be
counted by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Chairperson of the
UMES Senate. The three committee candidates (one full and two associate
professors) receiving the‑most votes are elected to the committee. From
among the next seven candidates receiving the most votes, the Vice President
for Academic Affairs will select the remaining four members of the committee.
The committee shall elect its own chairperson. No candidate who is up for
promotion or department chair whose candidate is up for promotion and/or tenure
can serve on the UMES Promotion and Tenure Review Committee.
2. Procedures:
The
UMES Faculty Promotion and Tenure Review committee shall review every case
forwarded to it by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Upon receiving the
materials and recommendations from all levels, the Committee is charged to
exercise due diligence in obtaining any additional materials required for
evaluation. Upon its review of all materials, the committee shall submit its
report and recommendation to the vice President for Academic Affairs by April 1 for review and recommendation.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs recommendation along with pertinent
materials shall be transmitted to the President for a final decision by May 10. The President's final decision
shall be communicated promptly to the candidate in writing by May 30 or as stated in the USM policy. If the President's decision is negative, then
the letter to the candidate shall specify the reasons for the decision and
shall notify the candidate of the appeal procedures contained in Part IV of
this policy.
D. Notification:
A
negative recommendation regarding a candidate for promotion and/or tenure from
the ad hoc departmental review committee shall be conveyed to the candidate, in
writing, by the department chairperson. If, following a positive recommendation
by the ad hoc departmental committee, subsequent review at any level yields a
negative recommendation, then the responsible official at that level
(department chairperson, the dean, the chairperson of the UMES Faculty
Promotion and Tenure Review Committee, or the Vice President for Academic
Affairs) shall notify the candidate of that fact in writing within five working days of forwarding the
recommendation to the next level of review. The notification to the candidate
shall (a) identify the level that produced the recommendation, and (b) provide
a summary of the reasons for the negative recommendation. The candidate shall
be entitled to respond in writing to any negative recommendation, and the
candidate's written response, if submitted within five working days, shall be included in the candidate's file for
consideration at each subsequent level of review.
IV. APPEALS
PROCEDURES
A. It is the task of the
committees specified in the promotion and tenure procedures outlined above to conduct
as objective an inquiry into the substantive qualifications of the candidates
as possible, to adhere to the prescribed procedures, and to render impartial
recommendations and decisions.
B. A faculty member has the
right to appeal recommendations and decisions. Grounds for appeal shall be
procedural rather than substantive (e.g. was the decision conscientiously
arrived at? Was all available evidence bearing on the relevant performance of
the candidate sought out and considered? Was there adequate deliberation by
department over the evidence in the light of the relevant standards? Was
irrelevant and improper information included in consideration? Was the decision
an exercise of professional academic judgment?). In addition to the above,
procedural violations include, but are not limited to the following:
1. If,
upon receipt of a person's application for promotion or tenure, a department
chairperson fails to impanel a departmental ad hoc committee in adequate time
to obtain data on the person;
2. If the
candidate is not given sufficient opportunity to present material in support of
the application;
3. If the candidate's rights of
confidentiality are violated;
4. If evidence of discriminatory practices
was presented;
5. If the
various review sources fail to exercise due diligence in obtaining materials
for assessment;
6. If
violation or failure to follow the published guidelines, including the
procedures and criteria listed in this document, occurs.
C. Appeals shall observe the following sequence of events:
1. Following
notification of a negative decision by either the ad hoc departmental review
committee or the President the candidate shall be entitled to appeal in
accordance with the procedure outlined below.
2. The
candidate must file a formal notice of appeal in writing with the Vice
President for Academic Affairs within ten
days of receipt of notification of negative decision. The notice of appeal
and the factual contentions supporting each ground.
3. As
soon as practical after receipt of the notice of appeal and in no event more
than five working days thereafter,
the Vice President for Academic Affairs shall conduct an informal meeting with
the candidate to review the grounds for appeal and determine whether the appeal
can be satisfactorily resolved without formal proceedings. No records or
minutes of the meeting shall be taken or preserved, and the discussion shall be
confidential between the parties. Should the appeal not be resolved informally
at that stage and should the candidate elect to pursue the appeal, the
candidate shall promptly inform the Vice President for Academic Affairs at or within three working days after the
meeting. The Vice President for Academic Affairs shall promptly impanel an
Appeals Committee consisting of three tenured faculty members who are senior in
rank to the candidate and who have no prior direct involvement in the
candidate's application for promotion and/or tenure. The basic function of the
Appeals Committee shall be to determine whether adequate consideration was
given to the case. The term "adequate consideration" refers to
procedural issues, as explained above. The Appeals Committee is to contact the
Vice President for Academic Affairs, who must supply explanation of the
procedures followed and materials used in coming to his or her decision. The
Appeals Committee is also charged to exercise all due diligence in obtaining
further information relative to the specific procedural questions involved.
Similarly, the Appeals Committee shall compare the procedures used at all
levels with established departmental and institutional procedures to determine
whether such procedures were properly carried out. In considering the merits of
a particular appeal, the Appeals Committee should distinguish between minor or
technical procedural variations which have not adversely influenced the
evaluation process and those procedural deviations which may have prejudiced
adequate consideration of the candidate’s credentials.
5.
Upon the receipt
of recommendation from the Appeals committee, the president shall inform the
candidate of his/her decision on the appeal, within 15 working days. If the President decides that the case is to be
reconsidered, no new substantive material may be presented except that which
was omitted through procedural error, if applicable. After the case has been
reconsidered, with procedures amended, all parties shall be informed of the
results of such reconsideration. The process shall then continue as though not modified
by the appeals procedure.
The
initiation of the Appeals Procedure does not operate to dislodge or delay any
formal notification dealing with contract non‑retention or tenure denial
actions.
V.
CANDIDATE EVALUATION CRITERIA
The
candidate should satisfy the requirements of the USM Policy on Appointment,
Rank and Tenure of Faculty. However, the President can make an exception for
faculty who has attained national distinction for comparable professional
activity or research. Promotion and or tenure to any rank shall meet the
following criteria:
1) The
earned doctorate, or recognized terminal degree in the field of specialization
from a regionally accredited or internationally reputable foreign institution.
In extraordinary circumstances, the president, after consultation with the
appropriate faculty committee at the institution, may waive the criterion of
the earned doctorate.
2) A
minimum of three years of full‑time university/college teaching
experience at UMES at the current rank.
3) Evidence of effective teaching.
4) Evidence
of scholarly contribution in the area of specialization including, but not
limited to, activities such as research, publication, participation in programs
of professional societies, or professionally recognized performance in the
arts.
5) Participation
in the activities of the department, school and university levels including, but
not limited to, such activities as performing assigned administrative duties,
assuming committee responsibilities, effective academic advising of students,
working actively with student organizations and evidencing interest in external
community activities related to the faculty member's area of specialization.
VI. REVIEW
OF DOCUMENT
The
UMES Policy and Procedures on Promotion and Tenure of Faculty shall be subject
to periodic review by the UMES Senate.
VII. APPLICABILITY
Except
as provided in section III of the University Policy on Appointment, Rank and
Tenure of Faculty, the provisions in this policy document shall apply to all
individuals who are employed as faculty members at the University of Maryland
Eastern Shore as of July 1, 2003 and individuals whose faculty appointment
become effective on or after July 1, 2003.