DRAFT as of March 17, 2009

WEST LIBERTY STATE COLLEGE POLICY

Policy Number:	Effective Date:
Policy Title: Post Tenure Review	Revised:
Approval Date:	President's Signature:

 

Email the committee chair Brian Fencl with comments.

Back to the Faculty Senate website.

In accordance with West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Series 9, "Academic Freedom, Professional Responsibility, and Tenure," West Liberty State College established College Policy 216: TENURE AND PROMOTION, which governs the eligibility for and award of tenure to faculty. Faculty holding tenured positions will be subject to Post Tenure Review (PTR) every 5 years or when their annual performance evaluation is unsatisfactory, based upon the department’s criteria for evaluation including non-compliance with faculty policies, i.e. unsatisfactory teaching or advising or scholarly activity.

The purposes of PTR are to facilitate continued faculty development and to promote continued quality performance, consistent with the academic needs and goals of the University and with the most effective use of institutional resources, and to ensure professional accountability through a comprehensive evaluation of every tenured faculty member that extends beyond the standard annual performance evaluation. Post tenure review is based upon, but not limited to, the same general categories of evaluation used for tenure decisions.  These categories include:  teaching, professional or scholarly activity, service to the University, and professional conduct.  

TEACHING:

     Teaching excellence must be supported by evidence—since appointment to tenured status or since the last PTR—of positive support from students and others who have been responsible for evaluating the classroom performance of the faculty member undergoing the review.   The faculty member's formal and informal efforts to improve his/her instructional technique(s), the faculty member’s documented contributions to curriculum development/revision, and the faculty member's record of student academic advising will be considered in a post tenure review of teaching excellence.  It is the responsibility of the faculty member to assure that supporting materials are completed, included in his/her permanent record and presented during the evaluation process.

PROFESSIONAL OR SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY:

     Professional or scholarly activity must be supported by documented evidence—since appointment to tenured status or since the last PTR—of relevant professional publication, creative productions and/or showings, research activity begun or continued, formal presentations to professional organizations, offices in professional societies, post graduate study, or significant professional activity related to the faculty member’s professional field.  It is the responsibility of the faculty member to assure that supporting materials are completed, included in his/her permanent record, and presented during the review process.

COLLEGE SERVICE:

     Service to West Liberty University must be supported by documented evidence of participation—since appointment to tenured status or since the last PTR—by means of committee membership or leadership, service to campus organizations and activities, service to community organizations through which the faculty member represents the University, or in service to community organizations through which the faculty member provides services related to his/her professional field.  Faculty members undergoing post tenure review are invited to include other pertinent material which they believe may also bear upon this category of evaluation.  It is the responsibility of the faculty member to assure that supporting materials are completed, included in his/her permanent record, and presented during the evaluation process.

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT:

Adherence to the institutional expectation of professional conduct, as defined by the March 23, 1970 resolution "Statement on Professional Ethics" (WLU Faculty Senate Bylaws), must be established and documented by written testimony provided by faculty, administrators, staff, students, or persons external to the University.  These statements may be provided in accordance with a request of the Department Chair or by the faculty member, and the faculty member shall have the opportunity to review and respond to any or all such statements.  The Post Tenure Review evaluators are afforded the right to review the PTR faculty member’s confidential permanent record and personnel file, and any personnel file item(s) relating to the faculty member’s professional conduct may be introduced into the post tenure review by the evaluators.  Such documents must be considered to be confidential and may not be publicly released during or after the post tenure review.

TIMELINE AND PROCESS:

     The timeline and process by which a faculty member will undergo post tenure review are given below:

1.  Tenured faculty who have served five years beyond their award of tenure will be evaluated through PTR. The Provost, in consultation with Deans and Department Chairs, will establish the cycle for PTR of faculty. 

2.  Faculty will be notified by the Provost no later than MARCH 1 of the year preceding their PTR year.

3. The faculty member undergoing a PTR must submit a portfolio supporting the continuation of his/her current tenured position to the Department Chair no later than OCTOBER 1 of the year in which the PTR will be conducted.  The faculty member is responsible to provide all materials in the portfolio and is free to include additional materials which he/she feels may be pertinent.  The faculty member may add materials until five (5) working days prior to the PTR Committee's report to the Provost. 

 4. Failure to meet the October 1 deadline may result in the loss of tenured status for the faculty member undergoing PTR. The Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs will notify any faculty member scheduled for PTR who has missed the October 1 deadline that they must submit their portfolio by Oct 15 or the next contract year will be a terminal contract.  Such notice will be delivered to the faculty member via certified mail no later than November 1 of the contract year in which the final deadline has been missed.

5. The Department Chair and Dean and, when appropriate, the Program Director/Assistant Chair will collaborate for review of the faculty member undergoing post tenure review. The Chair will convene a meeting on or before October 15 in order to review all evaluation materials submitted by the faculty member, to establish the criteria by which the applicant will be evaluated, and to document formally the faculty member’s level of professional performance.

6. The Department Chair is responsible to coordinate the review and to submit the formal recommendation, in writing, and the faculty member’s portfolio to the Provost by December 1.  The recommendation will include details regarding the procedures, standards, evidence used, and conclusions reached regarding continued faculty development and continue quality performance in teaching, professional/scholarly activity, service, and professional conduct.

7. The Department Chair will notify the faculty member of the recommendation by December 1, and the faculty member will have the opportunity to provide an unrebutted response to the Chair not later than December 15.  The faculty member's response will be added to the portfolio.

8. The Provost will submit his/her formal recommendation, in writing, and the faculty member's portfolio to the President no later than February 15. The Provost will notify the faculty member of his/her recommendation no later than February 15, and the faculty member will have the opportunity to provide an unrebutted response to the President no later than March 1.  The faculty member’s response will be added to the portfolio.

9. The President will notify the candidate, in writing, of his/her decision regarding the PTR by May 1. 

10. Faculty who have achieved summary evaluations of “meeting expectations” or better at the conclusion of the PTR will continue to hold their earned rank in a tenured position.

11. Faculty who receive a summary evaluation of “below expectations” are required to meet with their Department Chair and Dean to identify causes of the unsatisfactory evaluation and to plan and implement a written Faculty Performance Improvement Agreement to remedy their deficiencies. The Agreement must include specific goals, timelines, and benchmarks that shall be used to measure progress at periodic intervals. Usually, the Agreement will be established for one year, but if the Faculty Performance Improvement Agreement warrants longer, it may be established for two years. If the goals of the Agreement are being met/have been met, as documented in the next annual performance evaluation, the faculty member continues in the regular five-year PTR cycle. If the goals of the Agreement are not being met/have not been met, as documented in the next annual performance evaluation, further review will be conducted by the Chair, Dean, and Provost.

12. Following further review and a determination that the faculty member has not produced the desired results, progressive disciplinary action will be imposed.

13. Any deadline which falls on a weekend or University holiday will be extended to the next regular workday of the University.

14. The PTR portfolio will be returned to the faculty member.

15. PTR is a confidential process, and participants in this process may not publicly discuss nor release materials related to the review either during or after the conclusion of the process.  Use of or reference to PTR portfolio and file materials is governed by WLSC Policy # 230, Access to Personnel Files.

Email the committee chair Brian Fencl with comments.

Back to the Faculty Senate website.