Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters / 2003-2007 Contract / Article XIV. Faculty Reappointment/Promotion

From CGEU

The University will furnish to the AAUP each year, at least 15 working days prior to distribution, a copy of all material contained in the promotion and reappointment packet forms. All candidates shall be provided by the chair with a copy of the current academic reappointment/promotion instructions and shall certify that they have received the instructions. Upon request, a department chair will provide a member of the faculty with a copy of the current academic reappointment/promotion instructions.

1. a. Each faculty member who is to be considered for reappointment or promotion shall be notified by the department chairperson at least 30 days in advance that said consideration shall take place.

b. A tenured faculty member may request of the department chairperson that he/she be evaluated for promotion. The request shall be granted for tenured members of the faculty who have been at least six years in rank and have not been evaluated for promotion for at least four years. Such evaluation shall be carried through each level of review, including the Promotion Review Committee, unless withdrawn by the candidate. Withdrawal after the candidate signs Form 2 constitutes an evaluation for the purpose of this paragraph 1.b.

c. The department chairperson shall provide the faculty member with a signed and completed Recommendation Information Form. Within five working days of its receipt, the faculty member will sign and return the Form to indicate concurrence with its content, or, if there is a dispute between the faculty member and the chairperson as to the content of the Form which they are unable to resolve, the faculty member shall so indicate by marking "dissent" next to his/her signature and attaching an explanation to the Form.

d. The faculty member may submit to the department chairperson any documents or materials he/she wishes to have considered. The faculty member shall provide at least two copies of such materials. A list, compiled by the faculty member, of the documents submitted to the chairperson shall be attached to the promotion packet. It shall be the responsibility of the chairperson to circulate that list and all documents or materials submitted by the candidate, together with any other relevant material, subject to 1.e. below, to the appropriate reviewing bodies.

If the faculty member wishes to include a lengthy unpublished manuscript and requires copying services, he/she may contact the Graphic Design and Publications Center, Newark; the Associate Dean for Student Life, Camden; or the Office of the Director of Business Affairs and Administration, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, New Brunswick at least 30 days prior to the date on which copies are needed. The faculty member will be charged the prevailing rate for services so provided. If the service cannot be provided, the candidate will be notified promptly.

e. If any document or documents, other than confidential outside letters of evaluation, the official reappointment/promotion forms, continuation pages added to these forms, reports of reading committees, supplements to confidential letters as provided in 1.h. below, and materials submitted by the candidate, are added to the promotion packet by an evaluative body, a copy of said document(s) shall be transmitted immediately to the candidate; the candidate shall have the right to submit a response or rebuttal within six working days. The response shall be directed to that level of the evaluation at which the added document was received and shall become a part of the promotion packet. Any documents that are (1) physically present during the evaluation and (2) specifically referred to during the deliberations of the evaluative body and (3) which a majority of the evaluative body agrees have a direct bearing on the evaluation must be added to the packet, in accordance with this procedure.

f. Subsequent to the commencement of the evaluation and prior to final recommendation of the Promotion Review Committee, the department chairperson shall, upon request of the candidate, add to the packet evidence of a significant change in the status of materials originally submitted by the candidate if 1) the Dean concurs that a significant change has occurred and 2) such change has occurred since the initiation of the evaluation. If there is a dispute between the candidate and the Dean as to whether a significant change has occurred in the status of materials originally submitted by the candidate, the Office of the Provost or in New Brunswick, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, shall make the final determination as to whether evidence of the change shall be added to the packet.

Such additions to the packet, as provided above, shall in all instances be submitted to the level of review at which the candidate is then being evaluated. However, if the addition occurs on or before December 1, the addition to the packet shall also be circulated to each earlier level of review so that each earlier level may revise its evaluation should it deem such revision warranted by the addition. If the addition occurs after December 1, but on or before January 25, it shall be circulated only to the dean and the Promotion Review Committee, unless the department has made a negative recommendation concerning the candidacy in question, in which case it shall also be circulated to the department. The department, the dean, and/or the Promotion Review Committee may revise the evaluation made at that level should such revision be deemed by the department, the dean, or the Promotion Review Committee to be warranted by the addition.

Except as provided in 1.e. and 1.f., no other materials or documents may be introduced by the candidate after the review process has commenced.

g. With the exception of confidential outside letters of evaluation solicited in accordance with University Regulations and those documents that are generally public knowledge such as published student evaluations, published articles and other similar documents, only those materials in the official personnel file (Article XVIII), or those materials added to the packet in 1.e. and 1.f. may be used in conducting the review.

h. Outside letters of evaluation shall be held in confidence and their use restricted to evaluation of the faculty member.

A candidate may suggest potential outside evaluators and may discuss with his/her department chairperson qualified persons from whom letters may be solicited.

The candidate may prepare a list of persons in his/her field from whom he/she prefers letters of evaluation not be solicited. The candidate shall provide a written explanation for the inclusion of each person on that list. If a letter of evaluation is solicited from an individual on the candidate's list, the candidate's written explanation shall be attached to the individual's letter of evaluation. A department chair or dean may, at his/her discretion, also attach an explanation for his/her decision to solicit a letter from the individual. Such attachments,whether prepared by the candidate, the department chairperson, or the dean, shall be held, like the letters to which they refer, in confidence.

2. The candidate shall be notified of the departmental decision by the departmental chairperson in writing within five days from the date such decision is made. The candidate will be notified in writing by the dean or his designee of the final decision in the particular personnel action within ten days of receipt of the knowledge that the final decision by the appropriate person or committee has been made.

3. Each faculty member who is appointed shall be given written notice of the criteria that will be applicable in future reappointment or promotion evaluations, and those criteria shall form the basis of future evaluations. If the applicable criteria change, the University will provide written notice to the faculty member of the newly applicable criteria. A faculty member who is evaluated for and who fails to receive reappointment and/or promotion shall be so notified. At the request of a faculty member, a written explanation of the reasons for his/her non-reappointment or non-promotion shall be provided by the dean.

4. Faculty members who hold temporary titles may be considered for other appointments in accordance with regular University practices and policies.

5. For candidates in the first year of service requiring recommendation for reappointment, the departmental process shall be initiated no later than the last week of the first semester of service and shall be completed in time to conform to the appropriate date of notification as specified in University Regulations.

6. For candidates beyond the first year of service, the departmental recommendation shall be forwarded at least one month prior to the required date of notification.

7. The University shall transmit to the AAUP written notice of each positive or negative final decision concerning promotion, tenure, or reappointment of faculty members in the bargaining unit, within ten working days of final decision when action by the Board of Governors is required and within 20 working days of final decision when action by the Board of Governors is not required.