Body
Unit Policy
Title
School of Social Work: Post-Tenure Review Policy
Introduction
Purpose
The purpose of post-tenure review is to provide a systematic process for the periodic, comprehensive review of the performance of all tenured faculty members whose primary duties are: (a) research; (b) engagement; and (c) teaching, advising, and mentoring. This process serves as an additional means of fostering the School's mission of educational excellence, including its goals of contributing to the development of knowledge through scholarship and engagement and providing high-quality instruction to its students. Post-tenure review enhances a sense of accountability within the School and the University. The post-tenure review process should respect the basic principles of academic freedom. Post-tenure review does not abrogate, in any way, the due process criteria or procedures for dismissal or other disciplinary action established under the Trustee Policies and Regulations Governing Academic Tenure. The policies and procedures presented below incorporate the basic principles of the policies established by the Board of Governors in Sections 400.3.3 and 400.3.3.1 of the UNC Policy Manual.
Scope
This policy applies to all tenured faculty members of the School of Social Work at UNC Chapel Hill whose primary duties include research, engagement, and teaching, advising, and mentoring.
Policy
Schedule for Review
All tenured members of the faculty will be reviewed in five-year cycles. Members of the faculty who are appointed or promoted to tenured positions in subsequent years will be brought into the five-year cycle so that they receive a post-tenure review no more than five years after the effective date of their tenure. If a faculty member is reassigned to other duties (e.g., department chair or academic unit head) for .50 FTE or more or is occupying a leave-earning position (e.g., SAAO Tier I or Tier II), that faculty member shall not be required to undergo post-tenure review until having completed a five-year cycle following the reassignment.
If necessary, adjustments in the schedule of review may be made to meet the needs of individual faculty members and the School. The Dean will advise those faculty members who will undergo post-tenure review in any given year a minimum of six months in advance of their upcoming post-tenure review.
Relation to Other Forms of Review
The system of post-tenure review will supplement, rather than substitute for, other systems of review, including those relating to tenure and promotion, annual feedback in years prior to tenure, appointment to distinguished chairs, salary determinations, yearly evaluation meetings with the Dean, annual workload plans, or personnel actions taken pursuant to University policies on tenure and promotion and other matters relating to faculty conduct and performance. Post-tenure review may provide a school with information that suggests a promotion is timely. However, in some cases when a school is already convinced that promotion for a faculty member is timely, a promotion review can be used as an alternative to post-tenure review (PTR), if it occurs prior to the fifth year after the initial promotion to tenured Associate Professor.
Process
The following guidelines outline the process to be followed by post-tenure reviews. This process should identify and recognize outstanding performance of faculty members and may also identify specific areas in which faculty members can improve and, in such cases, should result in specific recommendations and plans for improvement:
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General Principles. The post-tenure review process should be as simple, straightforward, fair, functional, and flexible as possible.
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Obligation of Confidentiality. All matters relating to individual post-tenure reviews will be regarded as confidential in nature. All faculty members who participate as members of the Post-Tenure Review (PTR) Committee or otherwise advise on individual cases will take seriously their obligation to abide by this requirement.
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Participation of Faculty Member Being Reviewed. Each faculty member who is to undergo review in a given year will take an active role in the post-tenure review process by assisting with planning, preparing relevant background information, engaging in constructive dialogue with colleagues and the Dean, and undertaking a faculty success plan if needed to address deficiencies in performance.
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Composition and Duties of the PTR Committee. In consultation with the Dean, the School's Personnel Promotion and Tenure (PPT) Committee will appoint an individual PTR Committee for each faculty member under review. Each PTR Committee will have a minimum of three committee members, with at least one member who is also a member of the PPT Committee. In addition, after inviting nominations from the PPT Committee, the Dean will arrange for additional members of the tenured faculty to serve on the PTR Committee. All members of the PTR Committee must be members of the School of Social Work tenure-track faculty and must be at equal or higher rank as the person under review. After completing its review of the contributions of the faculty member and consulting with the Dean, the PTR Committee will provide a written report and recommendation to the Dean. In summarizing the contributions of faculty members, the PTR Committee will determine whether the performance of the faculty member under review meets, exceeds, or does not meet expectations. If deficient, the PTR Committee will recommend to the Dean that the faculty member be placed on a faculty success plan specifying actions to remedy their deficiencies.
UNC-Chapel Hill shall provide ongoing support and training for all post-tenure review evaluators, including peer-review committee members, department chairs or academic unit heads, and Deans. UNC General Administration will provide digital training modules that focus on the basics of state personnel policy and UNC policies, regulations, and guidelines related to personnel and tenure; the essential elements of a useful and thoughtful review; how to prepare, conduct and manage a meaningful review process; and how to provide constructive criticism in a positive manner. UNC-CH shall ensure that all post-tenure review evaluators review these modules and receive training in campus-specific policies and procedures. In submitting the requisite annual post-tenure review reports, the Provost will also certify that required training has been conducted.
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Information Considered During Review Process. The review will involve an examination of qualitative and quantitative evidence of all relevant aspects of a faculty member's professional performance over at least the previous five years in relation to the mission of the department, school, and institution. If a faculty member's responsibilities do not include teaching, research, or public service, but instead focus primarily on one or two of these areas, the review shall take this allocation of responsibilities into account.
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Self-Assessment By Faculty Member. The faculty member being reviewed will prepare a written self-assessment, using the PTR Self-Assessment form and instructions provided by the SSW indicating accomplishments during the past five years, goals for the next five years, and specific milestones for meeting these goals. Annual reviews will be used to assess progress toward the goals specified. Self-assessments should be approximately two single-spaced pages in length.
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Background Information. The faculty member will also prepare a file that includes:
- a copy of an up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV);
- teaching evaluations for all classes taught for the past five years;
- scholarly work completed since the last review (three to five examples of work that best represents the faculty member's contributions); and information concerning significant professional and public engagement
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Peer Visitation of Classes. Peer visitation of classes will be conducted to enhance the insights of the faculty as a whole about teaching and to provide relevant information on the faculty member being reviewed. The purpose of the visit is to observe the faculty during typical class activities. The PTR Committee will arrange for visitation in at least one class session of at least one course during the year prior to or the year in which the post-tenure review of an individual faculty member is conducted. One or two members of the PTR committee will conduct the peer visitation. Before visitation, faculty members under review will meet with the member(s) of the PTR Committee to plan for a class visit and to describe the objectives and activities for the class session to be observed. The faculty member under review will provide the PTR Committee member(s) with a course syllabus. These visitations are intended to be as unobtrusive as possible. The date and time of the in-class observation should be announced to students prior to the class. The reviewer(s) shall submit a report of the classroom observation to the PTR Chair using the Peer Observation Form, which will be provided. By faculty members' request, the Dean may waive the requirement for a peer visitation of classes if the faculty member has taught at least two classes in the two years prior to and including the post-tenure review year and has teaching evaluations available. The Dean will notify the faculty member in advance whether a peer visitation of classes is required.
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Determination Regarding Overall Performance. The PTR Committee will submit its confidential summary review and recommendations to the Dean. The Dean will provide a written evaluative review incorporating the PTR Committee report to advise the faculty member being reviewed whether they believe that, overall, the faculty member's performance meets, exceeds, or does not meet expectations. The post-tenure review assessment shall include, in writing, at least three categories (research and scholarship, teaching and mentoring, and service and community engagement) which clearly specify that the faculty member's performance exceeds expectations, meets expectations, or does not meet expectations. The PTR Committee shall include a brief written rationale for each assessment in each relevant category (teaching, research/creative activity, service), in accordance with the faculty member's long-term work plan.
The post-tenure review process should identify and recognize performance that exceeds expectations. The process may also identify specific areas in which faculty members can improve and, in such cases, the process should result in specific recommendations and plans for improvement. For faculty members whose overall performance does not meet expectations, the report of the Post-Tenure Review Committee shall include a statement of the faculty member's primary responsibilities, directional goals established, specific descriptions of shortcomings as they relate to the faculty member's assigned duties, and a more comprehensive plan for improvement (a faculty success plan).
The faculty member will have no less than fourteen (14) calendar days from receiving the report to provide a written response. See Section E. Appeals and Reports to the Provost for additional guidance.
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Establishment and Monitoring of Faculty Success Plans. Faculty success plans should be established jointly by the faculty member being reviewed and the Dean on the basis of the evaluation and recommendations provided by the Post-Tenure Review Committee. Faculty success plans should be individualized and flexible, taking into account the faculty member's intellectual interests, abilities, and career stage, as well as needs of the unit and institution. The faculty success plan should describe changes, if any, to be made in the faculty member's teaching, research, and/or service responsibilities, establish clear goals, specify steps designed to achieve those goals, define indicators of goal attainment, establish a clear and reasonable time frame for the completion of goals, identify any resources available for implementation of the plan, and state the consequences of failure to attain the goals.
The Dean may redefine faculty workload plans and distribution of research and scholarship, teaching and mentoring, and service and community engagement when a faculty member's PTR results in an overall rating of 'does not meet expectations.' In such cases where revisions are made:
- The department chair/unit head and dean shall ensure any changes to these duties are not punitive responses to the faculty member and instead address ways to support the department, school/college, and institution to better leverage the faculty member's expertise and abilities and improve their performance.
- The faculty success plan shall detail the changes in duties and responsibilities. The faculty member's annual work plan shall also change accordingly to ensure the faculty member is evaluated appropriately, based on the relevant allocation of workload.
The use of peer mentoring will be encouraged, and progress meetings with the Dean must occur on at least a semi-annual basis during the specified time frame in the faculty success plan. Annual reviews will also be used to assess progress toward goals specified in the plan. The Dean will acknowledge in writing a faculty member's clear improvement and successful completion of a faculty success plan.
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Role of the Dean
- After consulting with the PTR Committee, the Dean will receive and review their report on the faculty member being reviewed.
- The Dean will prepare a written evaluation that clearly states points of concurrence or points of variation from the post-tenure review committee for the faculty member conveying the results of the review. The faculty member is given the opportunity to provide the Dean with a written response to the PTR Committee Report. The faculty member shall have no less than fourteen (14) calendar days from receiving the documents to provide a written response. If the faculty member disagrees with the review, the response shall offer evidence in support of a different assessment. The response shall become part of the permanent record of the post-tenure review moving forward.
- If the PTR Committee determines that a faculty member's overall performance does not meet expectations and recommends the establishment of a faculty success plan, the Dean will work jointly with the faculty member to prepare the plan using the evaluation and recommendations in the PTR report. Annual reviews will be used to assess progress toward goals specified in the plan.
- The Dean shall review any written response to the PTR Committee report provided by the faculty member.
- The Dean will maintain the PTR Committee's written summary and the faculty member's response, if any, as part of that faculty member's confidential personnel file, along with all background information and other materials used in connection with the post-tenure review.
Appeals and Reports to the Provost
- The faculty member shall have no less than fourteen (14) calendar days from receiving the report to provide a written response. If the faculty member disagrees with the review, the response shall offer evidence in support of a different assessment. The response shall become part of the permanent record of the post-tenure review moving forward.
- Faculty members may grieve matters related to post-tenure review to the Faculty Grievance Committee in accordance with Section 607 of the Code of the University of North Carolina during their term of employment.
- In the event that a faculty member fails to participate in the PTR process or fails to complete a faculty success plan successfully and continues to exhibit deficient performance, the Dean will notify the Provost, who will consider whether grounds for dismissal or other disciplinary action exist under the Trustees Policies and Regulations Governing Academic Tenure. Dismissal or severe sanction may be imposed only in accordance with and on the grounds stated in the Trustees Policies and Regulations Governing Academic Tenure.
- The unit head shall maintain a record of the Post-Tenure Review Committee's report, the faculty member's response as well as the reviews of the unit head and the administrative officer. This material shall be maintained as part of the faculty member's confidential personnel file within the unit. As stated in the University policy on post-tenure review, the Dean will file annual reports to the Office of the Provost specifying the names of faculty members reviewed during the previous year, the names of faculty members for whom a faculty success plan was recommended and established, and the names of faculty members who were subject to review in that year but for whom a delay was requested (along with the reasons for delay).
Procedure for Requesting a Post-Tenure Review Delay
- Requests to delay an upcoming post-tenure review should be submitted to the Dean three months in advance to ensure timely departmental processing of the request.
- Requests must be in writing and specify the compelling reason(s) for the request to delay the review.
- The Dean will forward the delay request with a written justification to the Office of Faculty Affairs.
- The Office of Faculty Affairs will review these materials and send a written communication to the faculty member and the Dean indicating whether the request has been approved.
- If the request is approved, the faculty member's academic unit must then complete an electronic action in the existing system, with the Office of Faculty Affairs' letter of approval attached, to finalize the change to the post-tenure review date.
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Name: Ramona Denby-Brinson, Dean and Professor
Telephone: (919)-843-9682
Email: rdenby-brinson@unc.edu
Other Contacts
Name: Robert Hawkins, Vice Dean
Telephone: (919) 962-6469
Email: Robert.Hawkins@unc.edu