College of Arts and Sciences: Public Policy Policies on Faculty Personnel Actions

Unit Policy

Title

College of Arts and Sciences: Public Policy Policies on Faculty Personnel Actions

Introduction

Purpose

This document outlines the standards, criteria, and procedures governing faculty personnel actions — including appointment, reappointment, promotion, and tenure — for the Department of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It covers both tenure-track and fixed-term teaching faculty, detailing expectations in research, teaching, advising, mentoring, and service for each rank and promotion pathway.

Scope

This policy document applies to all faculty in the Department of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including tenure-track and tenured faculty (assistant, associate, and full professors) as well as fixed-term teaching track faculty (teaching assistant professors, teaching associate professors, and teaching professors).

PART I. Policies for tenure-track and tenured faculty

I. Introduction

The principal aims of the UNC Department of Public Policy are to produce interdisciplinary knowledge and improve understanding of public policy. These aims are furthered by the scholarly activity of the faculty, the teaching, advising, and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students, and the mentoring of junior faculty. In hiring and promoting faculty, UNC Public Policy seeks to maintain its high standards of research, teaching, and mentoring. Our collegial community encourages service to the Department, the University, the profession, the state, the nation, and the world; as appropriate, it also encourages engagement with groups outside academia. All appointment, reappointment, and promotion take place within the context of UNC Public Policy and CAS needs and resources.

The UNC Department of Public Policy adheres to the University's Policy Statement on Non-Discrimination and the University's Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct Including Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment, Sexual Violence, Interpersonal Violence and Stalking, which contain mandatory reporting requirements for designated "Responsible Employees." The policy strongly encourages all other employees to report any prohibited discrimination, harassment, or related misconduct, including prohibited conduct in the context of employment decisions (e.g., hiring and promotion) to the University's Equal Opportunity & Compliance Office (https://eoc.unc.edu/report-an-incident/).

II. Confidentiality and Academic Personnel Process

Confidentiality is a core feature of our faculty personnel processes. It grounds the ability of our faculty to provide comprehensive and honest feedback to aid in making collective, deliberative decisions about hiring, appointment, reappointment, tenure, promotion, and post-tenure review. Peer review is at the core of our personnel process, and confidentiality during the peer review process promotes meaningful and credible peer review.

All faculty members should refrain from discussing specific information shared or discussed during the peer review process at every level, including review of any candidate files, participation on search, appointment, reappointment, tenure and promotion and post-tenure review committees, and discussions during personnel committee and faculty meetings to consider candidates for appointment, reappointment, tenure, and promotion. While faculty members are free to provide their own professional input to their peers, it is the role of the Chair/Dean to communicate to candidates their decision and the feedback of other faculty members shared during the peer review process. Faculty members should be aware that their feedback may need to be shared with a candidate, but this communication should be done in a consistent and appropriate manner by the Chair/Dean.

All the Department's policies are subject to those set forth in the following University publications. The most recent edition of each document takes precedence.

  1. The Code, Board of Governors, UNC
  2. Trustee Policies and Regulations Governing Academic Tenure in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
  3. The Faculty Code of University Government, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
  4. Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct Including Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment, Sexual Violence, Interpersonal Violence and Stalking.
  5. Personnel Policies for Academic Personnel, Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost
  6. College of Arts & Sciences Chair’s Manual 
  7. Memorandum from the Dean on Peer Faculty Teaching Observations for Tenure, Promotion and Post-Tenure Review, August 21, 2012. 
  8. The Office of Academic Personnel, a unit of the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, is responsible for administration of personnel policies, guidelines, and procedures related to faculty. This office has responsibility for reviewing and approving faculty appointments, reappointments, job changes, and salary actions. This office provides guidance and interpretation related to faculty specific personnel policies. Additionally, they manage and support the faculty appointment, promotion and tenure process.
  9. A Summary and Analysis of Written Guidelines for Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness at UNC-Chapel Hill (2/18)

This Department of Public Policy document is supplemental to, and subject to, the policies found in the above publications. Each faculty member has the responsibility to become familiar with these policies and provisions.

III. Standards

The UNC Department of Public Policy, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill continually aspire to enhance their academic stature. Such stature is achieved primarily through the continual recruitment, reappointment, promotion, and retention of outstanding faculty.

Excellence in research, teaching, advising, and mentoring, and a commitment to service are important areas of evaluation of faculty by the UNC Department of Public Policy.

As a public university, we recognize the importance of faculty engagement. Engagement may be embedded in one or more aspects of a faculty member's research, teaching, and service activities. Faculty engagement refers to scholarly, creative, pedagogical, and service activities directed toward persons and groups outside UNC-Chapel Hill and outside the usual spheres of professional academic work. Such activities typically take the form of collaborative interactions, include partners outside the University, and seek to enhance the "public good" of the state, nation, or wider world.

When present, engagement should be recognized as a significant component of a faculty member's professional achievements. Engagement may play a more prominent role at different phases of a faculty member's career, and it should be supported at any phase if it is consistent with our department's practices and priorities. However, faculty whose work does not include engaged activities should not be denied tenure or promotion on those grounds.

Interdisciplinary public policy research provides opportunities for creating knowledge in new and unanticipated ways, often representing cutting-edge scholarship and teaching. Since many challenges and problems require skills and perspectives from multiple academic and professional disciplines, evidence of innovative inter- and cross-disciplinary research, teaching, and service should therefore be valued in a candidate's promotion and tenure.

The Department may recommend a candidate for promotion and/or permanent tenure before the expiration of his or her probationary term if the quality of the candidate's record meets the standards and makes a compelling case for an early recommendation. A candidate's prior record in a tenure track or equivalent position at another institution of higher education may form part of a compelling case for an early recommendation.

Prerequisite to the appointment or reappointment of any candidate is the continuing need by the Department, College and University for the services that he or she, as a scholar-teacher in a field, is qualified to carry out. An appointment to a tenure-track position is based on the belief that the appointment meets a continuing need. However, where this need is found not to exist, or has disappeared or may disappear, or where program change or curtailment of funding obliges the University to discontinue support, appointment or reappointment is precluded.

General Standards.

The following standards will be employed in evaluations for reappointment, promotion, and tenure:

  1. A demonstrated commitment to, and achievement of, research excellence is required for consideration for tenure and/or promotions in rank.
  2. A demonstrated commitment to, and achievement of, teaching, advising, and mentoring excellence is required for consideration of tenure decisions and/or promotions in rank, and while its presence without the other general standards also being met will not bring tenure or promotion, its absence is sufficient to deny tenure or promotion.
  3. Service to the Department, University, community, state, nation, and world, and to one's academic profession is a further, additional consideration in the overall assessment of a faculty colleague. Service is not a substitute for excellence in research and excellence in teaching.

A. Standards of Research

The UNC Department of Public Policy expects its faculty to be actively involved throughout their careers in achieving scholarly research excellence.

Scholarship is understood as the development and dissemination of knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of public policy. The scholar does this through the conduct of funded and unfunded research.

The central result of scholarship is publication. The UNC Department of Public Policy requires such publication as an obvious way of extending knowledge and of sharing the fruits of scholarly thought and investigation with a wider audience that can be both critical and appreciative. The scholar does this through publication of refereed articles, book chapters, reports, and monographs as well as through presentation of papers at academic and professional meetings and at other universities and institutions. Scholarly materials shall be understood to include all scholarly publications and manuscripts accepted or submitted for publication. The editing of scholarly journals or series, and other such contributions to professional literature should be considered. Finally, quality in publication and research or scholarly writing takes precedence over quantity, but research volume should be substantial and appropriate to the level of academic advancement.

A person's record of funded research projects, as well as other research projects, is also considered. In some cases, the ability to generate research funds by one's own initiative in applications for grants is external evidence that peers have judged the research program to be significant, and have confidence in the research skills and potential of the investigator. Even though the ability to command grant-support is a positive factor, it will not usually be a deciding factor in making judgments affecting advancement.

Engaged scholarship refers to research on projects that include collaborative interactions with partners outside the University and outside the usual spheres of professional academic work, such as state, national, or international agencies or non-governmental organizations involved in policy formulation or program implementation. To satisfy the criterion for engaged scholarship, the faculty member's work must meet rigorous standards. In the Department of Public Policy, the criteria for evaluating the quality of engaged scholarship include the contribution of that scholarship to either the academic discipline or professional field of public policy as evaluated by experts in the field.

The UNC Department of Public Policy recognizes faculty who conduct or publish their research digitally for their innovation and for moving beyond traditional formats. The standard for excellence is the same for digital and non-digital work and may include influence on a scholarly field, rigorous peer reviews, or other evaluation by experts in the matter. The overall quality and contribution of the work must be measured against the University's long-standing high standards, which should be independent of the mode or medium of publication.

Public Policy is by its very nature an interdisciplinary field. Consequently, the research of faculty engaged in innovative interdisciplinary research shall be given formal consideration and due credit, and the overall quality and contribution of the interdisciplinary work should be measured through appropriate means against the University's well-established high standards. For faculty with interdisciplinary interests hired within the Department of Public Policy, the main criteria for review and judgment continue to be the quality and quantity of scholarly contribution to the field of public policy and closely related bodies of disciplinary scholarship. In the case of joint appointments, reviews must include multi-departmental evaluations. For faculty hired as joint appointees, the main criteria for review and judgment of a faculty member's scholarly work shall encompass work across the units of appointment and related interdisciplinary work, assessed by appropriate high standards.

B. Standards of Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring

Standards of Teaching

The UNC Department of Public Policy expects and encourages teaching of the highest quality. Although it is not possible to enumerate here all criteria of highly effective teaching, such teachers prepare their courses with skill. They responsibly formulate the objectives of their courses and use imaginative pedagogical methods to achieve their goals. Effective teachers engage their students, stimulate their interests, broaden their perspectives, and improve their thinking. To the extent that it is possible, they also make their students active rather than passive participants in the learning process. Excellent teachers demonstrate substantial accomplishment and high standards of work, grade all work fairly, and base what they teach on evidence and sound method. They are resourceful and reflective, continuously striving to improve learning outcomes for their students. In addition, where appropriate, such teachers conscientiously provide advice and guidance to both graduate and undergraduate students on an individual basis, direct theses, and dissertations, and serve on committees that critically examine and evaluate such research projects. In short, the Department expects colleagues to be generously involved in teaching and training.

The Department will take a multi-modal approach to assessing excellence in teaching, considering course design (e.g., syllabi and assignments), measures of student satisfaction, engaged teaching, technological innovation, and interdisciplinary teaching. Standard student evaluations of teaching will be used alongside peer evaluations. Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) will be used responsibly, mindful of potential measurement and equity biases. The following guidelines will be followed regarding the use of student teaching evaluations.

  1. SETs will be used as evidence of student satisfaction with the course and teaching rather than as a metric for effective teaching given the fact that SETs do not evaluate student learning.
  2. SETs will be used with caution when the response rate is low because student responses may not be representative.
  3. SETs should not be used for comparison across faculty and courses. Evaluations should be used primarily to evaluate patterns of student satisfaction with an instructor, and ideally an instructor's course, over time.
  4. Because the mean student evaluation score can be significantly skewed by outlier responses, the median scores should be reported.
  5. The use of qualitative comments from SETs should be interpreted with appropriate caution, as this is the component of SETs that can have negativity bias. Comments should be interpreted along with patterns in the overall quantitative scores.

In addition to traditional classroom teaching, the Department values pedagogical innovation, interdisciplinary teaching, and experiential education. One prominent area of pedagogical innovation is the integration of digital technologies within the traditional classroom as well as online. When faculty members employ new technologies to enhance teaching and learning, evaluation of teaching excellence should include assessments of this use.

Experiential education refers to pedagogical practices that typically take students outside the traditional classroom. Such teaching may include courses that help students engage with non-academic communities, participate in service-learning programs, or interact with public schools and government policymakers. To satisfy the criterion for experiential education and for engaged teaching to be considered in evaluations for reappointment, promotion, and tenure, the faculty member's courses should include analytical and reflective components and carry academic credit. Such teaching should be evaluated by students, by academic peers, and by individuals who participate in these courses from a position outside the University.

Evaluation of teaching excellence also should consider faculty contributions to different forms of interdisciplinary teaching. Such endeavors greatly enhance the intellectual life of the University and provide a sense of common purpose and community among students and faculty. All levels and forms of interdisciplinary teaching should therefore be considered, including: interdisciplinary teaching within one's home unit; participation in team-taught, multidisciplinary courses that transcend the Department and unit boundaries; and involvement in cross-disciplinary learning experiences outside the University. As with all forms of teaching, rigorous standards of evaluation should be applied.

The Center for Faculty Excellence has resources on teaching and learning.

Standards of Advising and Mentoring

Like teaching, advising, and mentoring involve investing time and sharing expertise to enhance another's knowledge and skills. Given the vital learning opportunity such experiences offer to our students—not to mention the considerable time and effort required of the faculty member—the Department of Public Policy believes that excellence in faculty work in advising and mentoring should be affirmed. All levels and forms of faculty advising, and mentoring should therefore be considered: undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, and peer faculty mentoring. Assistant and associate professors without permanent tenure will undertake fewer advising and mentoring activities than will associate professors with tenure and professors.

Effective advisors and mentors engage in active listening, provide constructive feedback, facilitate opportunities, work with advisees/mentees to set and reach goals, and communicate consistently. The scope of advising and mentoring activities to be considered in faculty personnel decisions is best determined by the individual faculty member in question. In the Department of Public Policy, we appreciate that advising and mentoring take different forms depending on faculty member rank, discipline, and expertise. Activities that may be considered include, but are not limited to:

  • Advising honors theses, MA theses/capstones, Ph.D. dissertations.
  • Supervising student research projects, either through programs such as SURF and Burch, or through regular interaction outside of an official program.
  • Involving students in faculty research projects.
  • Writing letters of recommendation for students or junior faculty.
  • Meeting regularly with a particular student or set of students (e.g., as part of a research group).
  • Reviewing student or peer work outside of a course-based assignment.
  • Supervising a student group.
  • Speaking at student events or student group meetings.

Tenured faculty members should mentor junior faculty members, either through the Junior Faculty Mentoring Program or in a more informal capacity.

Evaluating advising and mentoring will be done holistically. Faculty are not required, but have the opportunity to solicit and include any of the following inputs in the review process: lists of publications or presentations with mentees; examples of advisees'/mentees' work or accomplishments; survey-based feedback from advisees/mentees (e.g., questions added to course evaluations, a department-wide advising/mentoring survey); or other evidence of impactful advising or mentoring.

Knowledge produced by a diversity of people can lead to better outcomes. As such, the department places value on advising and mentoring activities that involve historically underrepresented and first-generation college populations. The Department recognizes that faculty from groups historically underrepresented in academia are sought out to provide informal advising, mentoring, and support to individuals and groups from these populations. Candidates are encouraged to describe this service so that it can be recognized in the review process.

As the Department of Public Policy values interdisciplinary approaches in research and teaching, advising and mentoring students in other units will also be valued, particularly for faculty with appointments or roles in other units.

C. Standards of Service

A service assignment should be pursued diligently, imaginatively, and responsibly, with concern for deadlines and appropriate results. Conscientious and efficient performance combined with collegiality, tact, and resourcefulness bring credit to the individual and the Department and will be recognized.

Assistant and associate professors without permanent tenure are expected to undertake those service functions the Department Chair may assign. Although they should focus primarily on teaching and research, untenured members of the Department will be called upon to perform a number of service activities such as serving on departmental or appropriate University committees, and participation in professional association and scholarly publication review activities. Associate professors with tenure and professors may be expected to undertake a wider range of service functions.

Engaged service refers to activities that are informed by the faculty member's scholarly expertise and include interactions with groups and projects outside the professional and scholarly organizations of academia. In the Department of Public Policy, we value engaged service related to the faculty member's professional expertise, such as serving on external advisory boards or steering committees, or assisting state, national, or international agencies and non-governmental organizations that provide services in the public interest.

Groups and communities increasingly connect and identify themselves through online resources, electronic networks, virtual spaces, and social media. Therefore, in the Department of Public Policy, faculty service involving digital technologies may be recognized as an important contribution to academic life and to communities outside the University. Candidates for promotion or tenure should help articulate the nature of their contribution in this area.

Faculty may be involved in interdisciplinary service in one, two, or more units, depending on the nature of their appointment(s) or interdisciplinary approach. In cases of interdisciplinary service, the Department, the other units involved, and the faculty member will establish standards and expectations clarifying the extent of service expected. These standards and expectations shall be reviewed, evaluated and, if necessary, modified on a regular basis. The same general standards of evaluation shall be employed for interdisciplinary service as for service within a single unit.

IV. Criteria for Specific Personnel Actions

The projected needs and resources of the Department, the College, and the University shall be considered in recommending initial appointments, reappointments, promotions to associate professor with tenure, and promotion to full professor.

A. Instructor with Special Provision

The candidate approved by the Department to be recommended for an appointment as an assistant professor but who, when approved, is still completing a doctoral dissertation, will be recommended for an appointment as instructor for one year with the special provision that upon conferral of the doctorate he or she will be reappointed at the rank of assistant professor, and with the further provision that the effective date of his or her appointment at the rank of assistant professor will be retroactive to the effective date of his or her current appointment as instructor, or to the July 1 or January 1 immediately preceding the date of conferral. Such an appointment will carry the title "instructor with special provision."

B. Assistant Professor

The rank of assistant professor denotes a tenure-track position, with an initial appointment for four years, the possibility of reappointment for three additional years, and a review for the conferral of tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor.

1. Standards for initial appointment

Clear promise of excellence in teaching and scholarship and completion of all requirements for the doctorate or other terminal degree and the degree's conferral are required.

2. Reappointment for a second probationary term

The initial review and recommendation for reappointment occur by the end of the third year of the initial probationary appointment. For an assistant professor already serving in the Department, reappointment is based on evidence of (a) a demonstrated commitment to, and promise of or achievement of, research excellence, (b) a demonstrated commitment to, and promise of or achievement of, teaching, advising, and mentoring excellence, and (c) appropriate service to the Department.

C. Associate Professor

Initial appointment to a rank of associate professor may be with or without tenure. Promotion to associate professor always confers tenure. Except as otherwise provided under University policy, tenure is a permanent commitment by the Department, the College, and the University. Recommendation for tenure requires a judgment not only about the past and present achievements of the candidate but also about his or her potential for future achievements. While emphasizing proven excellence in research and teaching (and advising and mentoring), the Department remains very much concerned, in questions of tenure, that a person shows promise of continuing achievement in all areas: research, teaching/advising/mentoring, and service. A recommendation for promotion and/or tenure by the Department Chair requires a careful assessment informed by outside references about the qualifications of the candidate and the professional judgment of the assembled full professors; the professional judgment of the tenured associate professors is also considered.

In evaluating past performance, present achievements, and promise for the future, the following factors will be considered:

  1. A demonstrated commitment to, and achievement of, research excellence as evidenced by the scholar's relative standing within the public policy and/or related disciplinary-based academic community for the rank of associate professor with tenure is required.
  2. A demonstrated commitment to, and achievement of, teaching, advising, and mentoring excellence. While the presence of teaching, advising, and mentoring excellence without the other general standards also being met will not bring tenure or promotion, its absence is sufficient to deny tenure or promotion.
  3. The candidate's service to the Department, University, community, state, nation, and world, and to his or her academic profession is a further, additional consideration in the overall assessment. The candidate must be recognized as a helpful and valued colleague. Service is not a substitute for excellence in research and excellence in teaching, advising, and mentoring.

The Department will decide whether to recommend tenure following an initial appointment as an associate professor based on the criteria outlined above for promotion to associate professor. With written advance approval of the Dean, an associate professor appointed from outside the Department may be recommended for an initial appointment with tenure if the quality of the candidate's record meets the standards.

D. Full Professor

Appointment to the rank of full professor confers tenure. A candidate for full professor should have made significant contributions in the field beyond those expected of an associate professor with tenure.

Recommendation for promotion to the rank of full professor requires a judgment not only about the past and present achievements of the candidate but about his or her potential for future achievements. A recommendation for promotion to full professor by the Department Chair requires a careful assessment informed by outside references about the qualifications of the candidate and the professional judgment of the full professors.

In evaluating past performance, present achievements, and promise for the future, the following factors will be considered:

  1. A demonstrated commitment to, and achievement of, research excellence, as appropriate to certain disciplines, sufficient to have gained significant recognition in the field for the rank of full professor, is required.
  2. A demonstrated commitment to, and achievement of, teaching, advising, and mentoring excellence. While the presence of teaching, advising, and mentoring excellence without the other general standards also being met will not bring tenure or promotion, its absence is sufficient to deny tenure or promotion.
  3. The candidate must have a record of service that demonstrates the capacity for constructive contributions to the Department and the University; a similar demonstration of capacity for such contributions to the community, state, nation, and world is also valued. Service is not a substitute for excellence in research and excellence in teaching, advising, and mentoring.

E. Full Joint Tenure-Track and Tenured Appointments

In order to be recommended for a joint tenure-track or tenured appointment in the Department of Public Policy, a faculty member must meet the standards for the rank for which he or she is being considered and must simultaneously meet the standards for the same rank in another department, so that he or she may hold the same rank in both departments. A joint tenure-track or tenured appointment in the Department of Public Policy is an honor and not a right or extended as a courtesy. The projected needs and resources of each of the departments and the University shall be considered in initiating or approving joint tenure-track or tenured appointments. Policies pertaining to these appointments differ from those for appointments across departments or units in which the faculty member holds a tenure-track or tenured appointment in one of the departments or units and holds a fixed term (i.e., adjunct) appointment in another.

F. General Recruiting Procedures

The Department of Public Policy follows University and College recruiting policies and procedures.

V. Summary of Procedural Steps in Appointments, Reappointments, and Promotion (not applicable for fixed-term appointments)

Policies identified here are supplemental to, and subject to, the policies found in the most recent versions of the publications listed in the Introduction.

Letters of recommendation.

Outside letters of evaluation constitute an important part of the appointment, promotion, and tenure packet. A minimum of four letters of evaluation is required.

For appointments of assistant professors and instructors with special provision, these letters should be preferably from outside the institution, and preferably from research universities with very high research activity (RU/VH institutions). They may include letters from mentors and other individuals more closely connected to the candidate.

In the case of promotion and tenure packets, it is required that all four of the outside letters of evaluation be from outside the institution, and that all be from individuals independent of the candidate. Two of the four letters must be from a list of names provided by the candidate and two of the four from individuals selected by the Department Chair. Ideally, all the letters should come from individuals at research universities with very high research activity (RU/VH institutions). If, in the Chair's view, the most appropriate reviewer is from a university or other institution that is not a research university with very high research activity (RU/VH institutions), the Chair's letter should provide an explanation for the choice of reviewer. The goal is to obtain a letter from the person who will give the most discriminating review and unbiased assessment of the individual's national and international reputation. Therefore, the request from the Department Chair to prospective writers of outside letters of evaluation should be phrased neutrally and should not solicit an affirmative response or recommendation.

The letters may not be from individuals who have worked directly with the candidate, e.g., as a collaborator, mentor, previous coworker, or former dissertation chair, but may be from individuals who know the candidate through professional interactions, e.g., having reviewed the candidate's publications or served on review committees together. In addition to the minimum four required independent letters, any number of additional letters from any responsible source may also be submitted. These may be from individuals within the institution with whom the candidate has collaborated or from former colleagues, collaborators, mentors, or other individuals connected with the candidate.

All letters of evaluation that are received must be made an official part of any appointment, promotion, and tenure package and must be part of the evaluation process of the candidate under consideration. In the appointment/promotion packet, each outside letter should have a designation in its upper right-hand corner indicating whether the writer of the letter was suggested by the candidate or was chosen by the Department Chair.

The dossier.

The Department of Public Policy will employ the guide provided by the Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Committee of the University in completing the candidate's dossier for review for faculty reappointments, promotions, and tenure.

Notification.

Untenured assistant and associate professors should be notified in writing at least three months prior to the start of the scheduled review. Tenured associate professors should be notified in writing at least six months prior to the start of the scheduled review because that scheduled review also constitutes the University's post tenure review which requires six months' notice. The notification should include the requirements for the dossier the faculty member must submit for evaluation.

Timing of review.

Except as expressly limited, promotion in rank may be made at any time during a faculty member's employment once the candidate has had sufficient time in rank to meet the mark according to standards outlined in the Department's Personnel Policy.

Review and consultation.

Proceedings for promotion to associate professor with tenure or to full professor are initiated by recommendation of the Department Chair "after consultation with the assembled full professors of that department" (Trustees' Policies and Regulations Governing Academic Tenure, May, 2004, p. 5). Any department charged with evaluating a candidate and making a recommendation regarding reappointment of an assistant professor, conferral of tenure and promotion to associate professor or promotion to full professor may utilize an ad hoc or special committee to review the candidate and present a report to the assembled voting faculty. If this committee prepares a written evaluation of the candidate, that report must be included in the candidate's dossier. The Department's assembled voting faculty must include at least four full professors.

The Personnel Committee

Recommendations to the Department Chair regarding all personnel decisions involving initial appointment, reappointment, and promotion and tenure of faculty holding tenure-track positions, are made by the Personnel Committee. The Personnel Committee consists of all tenured full professors and tenured associate professors on the core faculty (including full professors and associate professors holding tenured joint appointments in Public Policy). Associate Professors on the Personnel Committee may vote only on appointments and reappointments for positions less senior to their own, including reappointment of assistant professors, promotion of assistant professors to the rank of associate professor, instructors, and fixed term appointments. The vote of the full professors and tenured associate professors on the Personnel Committee will be noted separately to the Dean.

The Standing Advisory Committee

If a department has fewer than four full professors, a Standing Advisory Committee including additional full professors shall be named by the Dean of the College in consultation with the Chair to advise the Chair in personnel matters. The Dean has appointed six full professors to the Standing Advisory Committee.

The Promotion Review Committee

For each individual who is a candidate for reappointment, promotion, or award of tenure, the Chair shall appoint a Promotion Review Committee (PRC) for that individual consisting of at least two members of the Personnel Committee (one of whom normally will chair it) and up to two additional faculty members who may or may not be a member(s) of the Personnel Committee but who are distinctively qualified to evaluate the qualifications of the individual in question and who is/are at a rank senior to that of the candidate.

The Promotion Review Committee will be responsible for recommending to the Chair outside reviewers from whom letters should be sought; observing the candidate's teaching, including class evaluations as required by the Dean's office (and where appropriate, soliciting input from students whose research the candidate has directed); reviewing the candidates' research, teaching, and University professional service; reviewing all other materials appropriate to the decision, including those provided by the candidate; reviewing and summarizing outside letters and other recommendations received; and preparing a written evaluation and recommendation for consideration by the Personnel Committee and the Chair. The Chair will also solicit the input of any other UNC academic unit in which the individual holds a joint or adjunct appointment and provide these materials to the Promotion Review Committee for its consideration.

The departmental vote must be recorded and reported by rank and must list the number of votes in support and opposition, as well as any abstentions. No faculty member may vote on the question of reappointment, tenure and/or promotion for another faculty member of the same or higher rank. Tenured associate professors, therefore, may not vote for conferral of tenure or promotion for another associate professor.

A. Assistant Professor

Tenure Track Assistant Professors (Third-Year Reviews). Initial appointment to the rank of assistant professor is for a probationary term of four years. No less than 12 months before the end of this term, the assistant professor must be notified in writing whether he or she will be recommended for a second probationary term of three years or not reappointed.

The Department's assembled voting faculty shall review the assistant professor's scholarship, teaching, and service. Outside letters of evaluation are not required for reappointment. It is a University requirement that the Chair consult the "assembled full professors" of the unit before acting upon a recommendation. In the Department of Public Policy, that discussion is followed by a vote of the Personnel Committee (see above) regarding the reappointment. The faculty's vote is advisory to the Chair, who recommends reappointment or decides against reappointment.

If the Chair decides against reappointment at the end of the initial probationary term, the assistant professor shall be notified in writing of the Chair's decision at least one year before his or her current term ends. A faculty member has the right to an administrative conference with the Chair and, if necessary, with the Dean of the College, along with such other appeal rights as are afforded under the "Trustee Policies and Regulations Governing Academic Tenure."

Review for Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure

Assistant professors are reviewed during their sixth year for promotion to associate professor with tenure, non-reappointment, or (under exceptional circumstances) reappointment at the rank of assistant professor with permanent tenure. If the assistant professor receives permanent tenure at that same rank, he or she must be reviewed every five years to meet the post-tenure review requirement of the University and is eligible to be reviewed for promotion on the same schedule.

The Department's assembled voting faculty shall review the assistant professor's scholarship, teaching, and service. Outside letters of evaluation are required for promotion to associate professor with tenure. It is a University requirement that the "assembled full professors" of the unit meet to discuss and vote upon a recommendation. In the Department of Public Policy, that discussion is followed by a vote of the assembled Personnel Committee consisting of full professors and tenured associate professors regarding the proposed promotion to associate professor with tenure. The faculty's vote is advisory to the Chair, who either recommends promotion to associate professor with tenure or decides against reappointment.

If the Chair decides against reappointment at the end of the second probationary term, the assistant professor shall be notified in writing of the Chair's decision no less than 12 months before his or her current term ends. A faculty member has the right to an administrative conference with the Chair and, if necessary, with the Dean of the College, along with such other appeal rights as are afforded under the "Trustee Policies and Regulations Governing Academic Tenure in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill."

B. Associate Professor, Full Professor, and Post-Tenure Review

Untenured Associate Professor. Initial appointment to the rank of untenured associate professor is for the probationary term of five years. An untenured associate professor is reviewed no later than the fourth year of this probationary term since no less than 12 months before the end of this term, the associate professor must be notified in writing whether he or she will be reappointed with tenure, promoted to professor, or recommended for non-reappointment.

The Department's assembled voting faculty shall review the untenured associate professor's scholarship, teaching, and service. Outside letters of evaluation are required for appointment as an associate professor with tenure, or for an appointment as full professor, which confers tenure. It is a University requirement that the Chair consult with the "assembled full professors" of the unit before acting upon a recommendation. The faculty's vote is advisory to the Chair, who either recommends tenure (and, if also being considered, promotion to full professor) or decides against tenure (and, if also being considered, promotion to full professor).

Full Professor. An associate professor who has completed five years and has been reappointed at the same rank with tenure must be reviewed every five years to meet the post-tenure review requirement of the University, and is eligible to be reviewed for possible promotion to full professor on the same schedule. Since the University's Tenure Regulations were revised, effective July 1, 2004, it has been possible for reviews for promotion to full professor and post-tenure reviews for tenured associate professors to take place simultaneously.

Every five years, associate professors with tenure must have an internal review that constitutes their required post-tenure review. If the faculty member wishes to be considered for promotion to full professor at that time, then external recommendation letters are solicited as part of that review. If the faculty member does not wish to be reviewed for possible promotion at that time, only the internal review is carried out.

The Department's assembled voting faculty shall review the tenured associate professor's scholarship, teaching, and service. Outside letters of evaluation are required for promotion to full professor. It is a University requirement that the Chair consult with the "assembled full professors" of the unit before acting upon a recommendation. The faculty's vote is advisory to the Chair, who either recommends promotion to full professor or decides against promotion.

Out of cycle reviews. If a tenured associate professor, with the concurrence of the Personnel Committee, wishes to be considered for review for early promotion before his/her scheduled five-year review, an out-of-cycle review may take place. If the faculty member requests a out-of-cycle review and the Committee believes that not enough has been done to warrant consideration for promotion, the Chair has the right to recommend denying the request on the advice. The Chair must give the reasons for recommending denial and communicate these in writing.

Post-Tenure Review. Since 1997, post-tenure review has been mandated by UNC System Office on orders from the Board of Governors in response to a directive of the NC General Assembly that a system of periodic review of the performance of tenured faculty be implemented. Post-tenure review applies to all tenured faculty, except as otherwise specified by University or College policy about its timing for faculty who are chairs, senior associate deans, and deans. Our Department has a separate set of post-tenure review policies.

C. Untenured Faculty Annual Review

The Department Chair must perform evaluations of untenured assistant and associate professors every year. These evaluations are especially important for setting goals, clarifying expectations, and providing mentoring. After meeting with the untenured faculty member, the Chair must write a report of the evaluation, provide a copy to the faculty member in question, and place one in his or her personnel file per university procedure.

The evaluation should provide a clear assessment of the faculty member's work that year in research, teaching/advising/mentoring, and service. It should be clear about goals on which the untenured professor and the Chair agree. It should not explicitly comment on or venture a prediction regarding any later decision to grant tenure to the faculty member. On the contrary, the evaluation should include a disclaimer: "This evaluation is not an indication of the likelihood of a positive or negative recommendation regarding tenure but rather summarizes and assesses the activities in which you have been engaged for the past year." The Dean's Office should be notified when these reviews are completed.

VI. Personnel Records & Confidentiality of Personnel Information and Faculty Access to Personnel Files

The State Personnel Act requires that employees, including faculty members, who are in or come into possession of confidential personnel information maintain its confidentiality. The identity of external reviewers and their letters of evaluation must be treated as confidential by a search, tenure and/or promotion, and personnel committee.1

Under current policies of UNC-CH, peer evaluations are regarded as confidential within limitations imposed by law. They are for limited use within the University. However, NC state law provides that such written evaluations become part of the personnel file of the individual. As such, they can become open by petition to the faculty member about whom they are written. The Office of University Counsel (OUC) reviews requests for all EPA (faculty and non-faculty) personnel files. Upon receiving a request from a faculty member, OUC will gather files from the department and University offices and arrange a meeting time to permit the faculty member to review his/her file.2

1 https://academicpersonnel.sites.unc.edu/faculty-policies-procedures-guidelines/recordkeeping-and-epaweb/personnel-records-and-confidentiality-of-personnel-information/; https://unc.policystat.com/policy/5220125/latest/

2 https://academicpersonnel.sites.unc.edu/faculty-policies-procedures-guidelines/recordkeeping-and-epaweb/personnel-records-and-confidentiality-of-personnel-information/.

Department of Public Policy
Procedures Governing the Promotion of a Teaching Assistant Professor to Teaching Associate Professor

September 1, 2010
December 2010 – Approved by Dean's Office with endorsement of College Committee on Promotion to Teaching Associate Professor
Revised 2014; 2019

Eligibility for Teaching Associate Professor

A teaching assistant professor is eligible for recommendation for promotion to teaching associate professor on the following bases:

  • The candidate must have a minimum of six consecutive years' full-time (i.e., 1 FTE) service as a teaching assistant professor in the same College department, or, if the candidate is from another institution, six consecutive years of full-time (1 FTE) service as a teaching assistant professor or faculty equivalent.
  • The candidate must provide demonstrable evidence of distinguished teaching and service to the appointing department, beyond that which is expected of a teaching assistant professor, in accordance with standards of distinguished teaching and service defined by the unit in which the candidate is appointed.

In the Department of Public Policy, evidence of distinguished teaching may include: a university teaching award, consistent teaching evaluations in the top 10% of the department, regular service on undergraduate honors theses or practicum committees, exceptionally high peer teaching reviews, success in writing and/or administering grants that improve teaching in a unit, administrative oversight and training of teaching assistants and/or other fixed-term faculty in a unit.

In the Department of Public Policy, evidence of distinguished service may include: a university service award, service as departmental undergraduate advising coordinator, service on the UNC Faculty Council and/or its subcommittees, service on university committees (such as Teaching Award Committee, Staff Award Committee, university search committees), chairing unit committees or task forces, membership on the advisory board of a professional journal, invitations for speaking engagements at other institutions of higher learning, service through Carolina Speakers Bureau. It may also include demonstrated effectiveness in engaged policy research and analysis, and in mentoring of students in engaged policy research and analysis, that provides usable solutions to government and nonprofit organizations.

Procedure for review of candidates for teaching associate professor in the Department of Public Policy

Only a teaching assistant professor who has completed a minimum of six consecutive years of full-time (1 FTE) service in the Department of Public Policy is eligible to be considered for promotion to teaching associate professor.

A candidate eligible for promotion to teaching associate professor in the Department of Public Policy will be reviewed by a unit committee appointed by the Chair. This review committee must be composed of at least three faculty members, with at least one being a tenured faculty member and at least one being in the fixed term teaching track above the rank of the candidate being reviewed. The other member(s) may be tenured/tenure track or fixed term teaching track faculty above rank of candidate being reviewed. A teaching professor may serve as committee chair. If the department faculty contains no teaching associate professors or teaching professors, a teaching associate professor or teaching professor from another department should be included on the review committee, with the approval of the Dean's Office.

This committee is responsible for reviewing any eligible candidate's dossier and submitting a report on each candidate under consideration.

To be reviewed by the department's review committee, eligible candidates for teaching associate professor must submit a dossier containing the following:

  1. the candidate's current curriculum vitae;
  2. the candidate's statement of teaching and service activities, and if applicable, research activities;
  3. documentation of the candidate's teaching and service activities, and if applicable, research activities;
  4. list of courses taught by year for the past five years,
  5. evidence of distinguished teaching and service;
  6. the names of two individuals (external to the candidate's base department who may serve as referees. The individuals may be from within UNC or external to UNC. Referees from within the University must be able to observe at least one class taught by the candidate and substantiate the candidate's qualifications for the rank of teaching associate professor. This review may count toward the required two peer teaching reviews. If part of the promotion determination is based on research then one (or both) of the letters will need to address this in addition to teaching and service.
  7. additional materials student recommendations, nominations for teaching awards, grant applications, and other materials relevant to the case.

These records should cover the prior five-year period, or the period of service at UNC if less than five years.

Upon receipt of a complete dossier, the Chair or the review committee chair will solicit letters from two referees external to the candidate's base department, one from a list provided by the candidate and one from a list developed by the Chair or committee, as to the candidate's qualifications for promotion to the rank of teaching associate professor. Upon receipt of the two letters, the Chair will include them in the candidate's dossier.

At least two faculty members must each observe at least one full class session. It is recommended that they observe class sessions in different courses or for a different section of the same course. The observation must be carried out by either tenured/tenure track faculty, teaching associate professor, or a teaching professor. Class observations carried out as part of a personnel decision are normally carried out in the 12 month period prior to the department meeting regarding the decision; they should preferably be carried out in the same semester as the department decision. Each faculty member participating in a peer faculty teaching observation is required to write a report for each class session observed, employing the peer teaching review template.

After reviewing each dossier, the departmental review committee will submit to the Chair a report concerning each candidate for promotion to teaching associate professor. The Chair will make this report available to the assembled eligible faculty of the department, whom the Chair will consult in a manner analogous to the process whereby the unit Chair consults the unit's faculty on the promotion of faculty members on the tenure track. This consultation will result in a vote of the eligible faculty of the department, recorded by rank, on each case for promotion to teaching associate professor.

All tenured and tenure-track members of the faculty of the department, as well as all teaching associate professors and teaching professors, are eligible to vote on proposed promotions to the rank of teaching associate professor.

The Chair of the department may decide to accept or reject the advice given by the eligible faculty. In either case, the candidate's complete dossier must be forwarded to the Dean with a letter from the Chair either recommending or denying promotion. Besides reporting the vote of the faculty, the Chair's letter should highlight factors concerning teaching and service that most influenced the recommendation. Regardless of the Chair's recommendation, the Chair must communicate that decision in writing to the candidate. A teaching assistant professor whose case for promotion is denied is eligible for reconsideration three years after the decision against promotion; earlier consideration by the unit requires permission from the Senior Associate Dean.

The dossier for the candidate forwarded to the Dean will contain the following:

  • the chair's letter, noting the review committee's role and vote, and the vote of the eligible faculty, recorded by rank;
  • the report of the unit review committee on the candidate;
  • the candidate's current curriculum vitae;
  • the candidate's statement of teaching and service, and if applicable, statement of research;
  • documentation of the candidate's teaching and service activities, and if applicable, research;
  • student course evaluations for the past five years including summarized data;
  • a minimum of two peer teaching evaluations carried out by either tenured/tenure track faculty, teaching associate professor or a teaching professor
  • a minimum of two letters from referees (external to the candidate's base department) that address the candidate's qualifications for the rank of teaching associate professor;
  • additional materials, [please specify] required by the department.

See https://academicpersonnel.unc.edu/faculty-policies-procedures-guidelines/faculty-appointments/fixed-term-appointments/fixed-term-faculty-appt-to-a-higher-rank/ for a checklist of documents required for inclusion in the dossier of a fixed-term faculty member's application for promotion (appointment to a higher rank).

Voting Information

College policy on voting rights of fixed-term faculty

Fixed-term faculty are not eligible to vote on the tenure and promotion of faculty within the tenured or tenure-track ranks. Teaching associate professors are eligible to vote on the promotion of teaching assistant professors to the rank of teaching associate professors.

UNC Faculty Code Definition of Voting Rights of Fixed-Term Faculty

The UNC Faculty Code includes fixed-term faculty among the General Faculty who have voting rights at UNC, provided three conditions are met. Voting rights are reserved for fixed-term faculty who hold at least a .75 FTE position, whose responsibilities include teaching or research, and whose term of appointment is for at least three years. Fixed-term faculty who have been re-appointed to a position such that the combined length of the current term and the immediately preceding term of service is at least three years are also eligible to vote.

Department of Public Policy
Procedures Governing the Promotion of a Teaching Associate Professor to Teaching Professor

Eligibility for Teaching Professor

A teaching associate professor is eligible for recommendation for promotion to teaching professor on the following bases:

  • The candidate must have a minimum of six consecutive years' full-time (i.e., 1 FTE) service as a teaching associate professor, or, if the candidate is from another institution and identified in a national search, six consecutive years of full-time (1 FTE) service as a teaching associate professor or faculty equivalent. A teaching associate professor may not be appointed to the rank of teaching professor until six consecutive years of 1 FTE service at the rank of teaching associate professor have elapsed. A teaching assistant professor is not eligible for promotion to teaching professor.
  • The candidate must provide demonstrable evidence of distinguished teaching and service to the appointing department, beyond that which is expected of a teaching associate professor, in accordance with standards of distinguished teaching and service defined by the unit in which the candidate is appointed.

In the Department of Public Policy, evidence of distinguished teaching may include: a university teaching award, consistent teaching evaluations in the top 5-10% of the department, outstanding peer teaching reviews, leadership roles on unit committees concerned with teaching, success in writing and/or administering grants that improve teaching in a unit, administrative oversight and training of teaching assistants and/or other fixed-term faculty in a unit.

In the Department of Public Policy, evidence of distinguished service may include: a university service award; leadership on committees and task forces at the unit, College, or University levels (such as educational policy, teaching award, staff award, or search committees); service as unit undergraduate advising coordinator or director of undergraduate studies; outstanding service on the UNC Faculty Council and/or its subcommittees; leadership in national or regional professional organizations; membership on the advisory board of a professional journal; invitations for speaking engagements at other institutions of higher learning; professional consulting.

Procedure for unit review of candidates for Teaching Professor in the Department of Public Policy

Only a teaching associate professor who has completed a minimum of six consecutive years of full-time (1 FTE) service in the Department of Public Policy is eligible to be considered for promotion to teaching professor.

A candidate eligible for promotion to teaching professor in the Department of Public Policy will be reviewed by a unit committee appointed by the Chair. This review committee must be composed of at least three faculty members, with at least one being a tenured faculty member and at least one being in the fixed term teaching track above the rank of the candidate being reviewed. The other member(s) may be tenured/tenure track or fixed term teaching track faculty above rank of candidate being reviewed. A teaching professor may serve as committee chair. If the departmental faculty contains no teaching professors, a teaching professor from another department may be included on a review committee, with the approval of the Dean's office. This committee is responsible for reviewing any eligible candidate's dossier and submitting a report on each candidate under consideration.

To be reviewed by the department's review committee, eligible candidates for teaching professor must submit a dossier containing the following:

  1. the candidate's current curriculum vitae;
  2. the candidate's statement of teaching and service, and if applicable, a statement of research
  3. documentation of the candidate's teaching and service activities, and if applicable, research activities;
  4. List of courses taught by year for the past five years;
  5. evidence of distinguished teaching and service;
  6. the names of two individuals (external to the candidate's base department who may serve as referees). The individuals may be from within UNC or external to UNC. Referees from within the University must be able to observe at least one class taught by the candidate and substantiate the candidate's qualifications for the rank of teaching associate professor. This review may count toward the required two peer teaching reviews. If part of the promotion determination is based on research then one (or both) of the letters will need to address this in addition to teaching and service.
  7. Additional materials such as student recommendations, nominations for teaching awards, grant applications, and other materials relevant to the case.

These records should cover the prior five-year period, or the period of service at UNC if less than five years.

Upon receipt of a complete dossier, the Chair or the review committee chair will solicit letters from two referees external to the candidate's base department, one from a list provided by the candidate and one from a list developed by the Chair or committee, as to the candidate's qualifications for promotion to the rank of teaching professor. Upon receipt of the two letters, the Chair will include them in the candidate's dossier.

At least two faculty members must each observe at least one full class session. It is recommended they observe class sessions in different courses or for a different section of the same course. The observation must be carried out by either tenured/tenure track faculty or a teaching professor. Class observations carried out as part of a personnel decision are normally carried out in the 12 month period prior to the department meeting regarding the decision; they should preferably be carried out in the same semester as the department decision. Each faculty member participating in a peer faculty teaching observation is required to write a report for each class session observed, employing the peer teaching review template.

After reviewing each dossier, the unit review committee will submit to the Chair a report concerning each candidate for promotion to teaching professor. The Chair will make this report available to the assembled eligible faculty of the department, whom the Chair will consult in a manner analogous to the process whereby the unit Chair consults the unit's faculty on the promotion of faculty members on the tenure track. For cases involving promotion to teaching professor, this consultation must include the tenured faculty and any teaching professors in the department. The consultation process will result in a vote of the eligible faculty of the department, recorded by rank, on each case for promotion to teaching professor.

The Chair of the department may decide to accept or reject the advice given by the eligible faculty. In either case, the candidate's complete dossier must be forwarded to the Dean with a letter from the Chair either recommending or denying promotion. Besides reporting the vote of the faculty, the Chair's letter should highlight factors concerning teaching and service that most influenced the recommendation. Regardless of the Chair's recommendation, the Chair must communicate that decision in writing to the candidate. A teaching associate professor whose case for promotion is denied is eligible for reconsideration three years after the decision against promotion; earlier consideration by the unit requires permission from the Senior Associate Dean.

The dossier for the candidate forwarded to the Dean will contain the following:

  • the chair's letter, noting the review committee's role and vote, and the vote of the eligible faculty, recorded by rank;
  • the report of the unit review committee on the candidate;
  • the candidate's current curriculum vitae;
  • the candidate's statement of teaching and service, and if applicable, statement of research;
  • documentation of the candidate's teaching and service activities, and if applicable, research;
  • student course evaluations for the past five years including summarized data;
  • a minimum of two peer teaching evaluations carried out by either tenured/tenure track faculty or teaching professor;
  • a minimum of two letters from referees (external to the candidate's base department) that address the candidate's qualifications for the rank of teaching professor;
  • additional materials, [please specify] required by the department.

See https://academicpersonnel.unc.edu/faculty-policies-procedures-guidelines/faculty-appointments/fixed-term-appointments/fixed-term-faculty-appt-to-a-higher-rank/ for a checklist of documents required for inclusion in the dossier of a fixed-term faculty member's application for promotion (appointment to a higher rank).

Voting Information

College policy on voting rights of fixed-term faculty

Fixed-term faculty are not eligible to vote on the tenure and promotion of faculty within the tenured or tenure-track ranks. Teaching associate professors are eligible to vote on the promotion of teaching assistant professors to the rank of teaching associate professors. Teaching professors are eligible to vote on the promotion of teaching associate professors as well as teaching assistant professors.

UNC Faculty Code Definition of Voting Rights of Fixed-Term Faculty

The UNC Faculty Code includes fixed-term faculty among the General Faculty who have voting rights at UNC, provided three conditions are met. Voting rights are reserved for fixed-term faculty who hold at least a .75 FTE position, whose responsibilities include teaching or research, and whose term of appointment is for at least three years. Fixed-term faculty who have been re-appointed to a position such that the combined length of the current term and the immediately preceding term of service is at least three years are also eligible to vote.

Related Requirements

External Regulations

The Department’s policies are subject to those set forth in the following University publications. The most recent edition of each document takes precedence.

Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Name: Patricia Sullivan, Chair

Telephone: 919-962-0666

Email: tsulli@email.unc.edu

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