Dates & Procedures in the Notification of Review of
Probationary Faculty
In accordance with
AAUP standards (http://www.AAUP.org),
probationary faculty must be notified regarding the status of their
reappointment on or before the following dates:
|
Year
1 consultation: |
March
1 |
|
Year
2 reappointment decision: |
December
15 |
|
Year
3 & subsequent consultation or reappointment decisions: |
June
30* |
*Because of planning, an
earlier UW-Whitewater target date of the first Friday in February has been
established.
UWS Faculty
Personnel Rules [UWS 3.06 (1) (b)] require recommendations to be based on
evaluation of teaching, research, and professional and public service and
contribution to the institution. Evaluation of teaching must include both
student evaluations and peer judgment. Regents Policy 74-13 states:
In assessing teaching effectiveness, the Regents
believe that student evaluations are an important and useful source of evidence
which should be explicitly considered in reaching judgments. The Regents
assert, however, that student evaluation must not be a substitute for direct
peer judgment of teaching effectiveness through a variety of means such as
observation of teaching, assessment of syllabi, examinations, and other course
materials, and evaluation of contributions to development and strengthening of
departmental curriculum.
Student
assessments of instruction are to be conducted in time for use in the review.
Procedures which
must be followed are delineated in the Rules Governing Faculty Appointments
Under UWS 3, Wisconsin Administrative Code, III, C through III, G, as amended
and approved by the Board of Regents on April 2, 2004.
Please note the
following procedures:
Document of
Intent:
The faculty
member is responsible for submitting the Document of Intent, in accordance with
the deadlines specified in III, C, 3, b of the Personnel Rules. Once approved by the Department (III, C, 4,
a), the Document of Intent forms the basis of subsequent consultations and
reviews and becomes a part of the faculty member’s portfolio [Purple Book]. The portfolio [Purple Book] is a cumulative
record of the faculty member’s performance at UW-Whitewater [III, C, 3, a].
Notification
Procedures
Written notice of the Performance Consultation or Performance Review and
decision must be delivered to the probationary faculty member at least 20
days prior to the review [U H, Section VI-F, III
(2) (d)]. The notice should be hand delivered. For the Performance Review &
Decision--though not for the Performance Consultation--the Dean, Provost, and
Chancellor must review the materials and render a decision prior to the
notification deadline. The department is
thus urged to conduct the reviews as early in the academic year as possible.
At the time of
notification, the Chair should explain the review process, explain provisions
of the Open Meeting Law (UH, Section VI-K), answer questions, and refer the
faculty member to appropriate individuals if necessary.
After the review date
has been confirmed with the faculty member, the Chair posts the notice (See
Publication of Open Meeting Notices, UH, Section VI-K).
Reporting Procedures
Procedures differ for Performance Consultations and
for Performance Reviews.
Following a Performance Consultation, a summary of
the Consultation is written, and the probationary faculty member and Committee
members sign the document, stating that they have reviewed its contents. The summary is placed in the faculty member’s
Purple Book [III, C, 4 c (2)- III, C, 4, c (4)].
Following a Department Performance Review &
Decision, two documents are written: the
Report of Decision and Record of Review.
The Chair is responsible for
preparing and checking the Record of Review [III, C, 4, f, (1)] and the Report
of Decision (if applicable) [III, C, 4, f, (2), (a)] for accuracy and
completeness.
Following the performance review with Decision, the
Department submits the Report of Decision, which includes the standards-based
reasons supporting the decision, and the Notice of Review [III, C, 4, f] to the
dean. The Chair may also provide her/his
own statement to be forwarded with the Report of Decision. If such a statement is included, a copy must
be given to the faculty member. The Record of Review is not shared with the
probationary faculty member, but a copy is retained in the Department office
[III, C, 4, f, (1),
(b)].
If the decision is favorable, the Department will
deliver a copy of the Report of Decision, containing the decision and
standards-based reasons supporting the decision, to the faculty member within
14 calendar days of the review. The
department will also forward the portfolio to the Dean for review within 14
calendar days of the review. The
department will inform the faculty member of his/her rights to rebut any part
of the report (III, D), including subsequent reviews, as required by the review
schedule (Appendix C).
If the department
has recommended reappointment but the Chancellor has decided against
reappointment, the Dean shall, when directed by the Provost, deliver a copy of
the Report of Reappointment Recommendation to the faculty member with a notice
of non-reappointment drafted by the Provost and other documents as prescribed
in the UWW Faculty Personnel Rules [III, C, 8, c, (2)].
Notice of
non-reappointment must be delivered to the faculty member within 20 days of the
review.
If the department
decision is for non-reappointment, within 14 calendar days the department chair
shall deliver a copy of the Record of Department Decision to the faculty
member, containing a statement of the decision and the standards-based reasons
supporting the decision. The chair shall
inform the faculty member of the right to request reconsideration, which must
be filed within 10 calendar days of the receipt of the notice from the
department chair. Following the
reconsideration, the faculty member may file an appeal. The written request for an appeal must be
filed with the Chair of the Faculty Senate within 20 calendar days of the
notice that the reconsideration decision affirmed the negative or nonrenewal decision of the department (UWS 3.98, (1)). [For additional information, see III, 4, (2),
(c) and III, E (Appeals)].
Note: If a department makes a decision for
non-reappointment, the department Chair is advised to immediately consult with
the Dean to ascertain that there are no procedural errors. In any event, the Chair shall follow the
procedures and timeline given in III, C, 4, f, (2), (c).
Note: The personnel rules neither require nor
prohibit the inclusion of a statement from the Chair in reappointment
decisions. Chairs who wish to include a
statement may do so.
UW-Whitewater, Office of the Provost & Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Questions or Comments: schrankj@uww.edu
Phone: (262) 472-1055
Rev.7/16/07-jts
(262)-472-1672