Use of Annual and Third Year Reviews

Use of Annual and Third-Year Reviews

Question: What can unit guidelines specify about the use of annual reviews or third year reviews when a candidate is being reviewed for tenure?

In the P&T Guidelines it says:

...Annual and three-year reviews will not be part of the dossier, but may be consulted by any of the reviewing bodies without violating the obligation to notify the candidate or earlier reviewers.

In IU policy it says:

…The dossier constructed in consultation with the candidate provides the evidence upon which the tenure decision is to be made. If additional information is sought or received during the review of the dossier at any level, the candidate and all previous committees and reviewers must be notified and given the opportunity to respond to the additional information. The information and the responses shall then become part of the dossier.

In IU Indianapolis Faculty Guide it says:

…Limitation on the Use of the [third-year] review.

The thrust of the review shall be to help the tenure-probationary faculty member to succeed. The review and its findings shall not be used by the department chair or the school dean, or the Chief Academic Officer, as the basis for a tenure decision, a pre-tenure decision, a reappointment or non-reappointment decision, or any personnel action of like kind. The tenure-probationary faculty member is not limited in the use of the review.

And,

…Tenure Review

The tenure review involves separate and independent evaluations and is distinctly different in form and substance from either annual review or reappointment recommendations. The annual reviews are predictive, but they do not constitute a cumulative record indicative of the results of the separate tenure review. The three-year review does provide a multi-year assessment, and should provide specific feedback in time for the candidate to take corrective action if needed prior to the tenure review. The tenure review is a multi-level review, conducted at the primary, unit, campus, and university levels.

Therefore:

Candidates may include their third year reviews in their own materials. They may do so either when they upload the original dossier, or, at their choice later in the process, in the “supplemental materials” folder. This may be relevant if comments from reviewers show misunderstanding of the candidate's conditions or pace.

Reviewers (committees or administrators) may request copies of the third year reviews for individual cases. If they do so, they must notify candidates that they are doing so. They should attach whatever reviews are included as an appendix to their particular report.

Office of Academic Affairs strongly urges that committees NOT use third-year reviews, as their intent is formative.

Either the candidate or reviewers may consult annual reviews. However, both are cautioned that annual accomplishments are not the same as the cumulative record, and trajectory is the primary assessment for tenure. Whether or not someone was assessed as "excellent" in any given year does not determine whether they are "excellent" for purposes of tenure or promotion.

For questions about specific cases, contact ude[dot]ui[at]rhdaca. About the rule in general, contact the IFC Faculty Affairs Committee.

Reviewed and revised: 7/2023.