DEPARTMENTAL PROCEDURES FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE

I. Criteria for Evaluation

Evaluation of faculty member's job performance is based on the criteria of teaching, scholarship, and service as described in the GSU Faculty Handbook. Of these criteria, teaching is the most important and should carry the most weight in any evaluation.

Teaching

Teaching represents professional activity directed toward the dissemination of knowledge and the development of critical thinking skills. Such activity typically involves teaching in the university classroom. Teaching activities also include the development of new courses, programs, and other curricular materials for both university and other students. Judgments of the quality of teaching activities are based on student ratings of instruction, examination of course syllabi and other course materials, peer evaluations when available, critical review and acceptance of teaching products, performance of students in subsequent courses, and follow-up of graduates in graduate school or in their employment.

Scholarship

Scholarship includes academic achievement and professional growth and development. Scholarship is the integration, development and extension of knowledge and is often demonstrated by publications and presentations designed for professional audiences. Scholarship includes articles, scholarly books and texts, reports of research, creative works, textbooks, scholarly presentations, research grants, demonstration grants, papers read, panel participation, exhibits, performances, professional honors and awards, additional professional training or certification, degrees earned, postdoctoral work, work toward terminal degrees, academic honors and awards, and creative consulting.

Service

Service represents professional activities directed toward the development and maintenance of the university and of professional organizations, as well as activities undertaken on behalf of the university or the profession that do not entail systematic instruction (e.g., advisement, manuscript reviewing, design and development of professional conferences). Service includes the application of the individual's expertise in his/her discipline for the benefit of an organization, the community, or the institution. This type of activity is typically not reimbursed or reimbursed at a nominal rate and is directly related to the individual's academic discipline.

PROCEDURES FOR TENURE RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Department Chair will determine eligibility (years in rank, year of teaching, etc.) and talk with each person who is eligible during the spring before the review would occur.

2. The faculty member will provide a dossier for consideration during the fall term at least four weeks prior to the recommendation due date in the Dean's office.

3. The dossier will document the candidate's accomplishments in: (1) teaching, (2) scholarship, and (3) service from the beginning of his/her career.

4. The Department Chair will add to the dossier a summary of systematically gathered student evaluations of the candidate, including appropriate departmental normative data.

5. The candidate's dossier will be made available for evaluation by all tenured faculty by means of the attached Advisory Form.

6. The Department Chair will meet individually with all reviewers, at which time he/she will be provided with the reviewer's advisory form in person. The Department Chair will tally the response ratings from the advisory form, but written comment protocols will not be duplicated or recorded in any form and will be returned to the reviewer at the end of the meeting.

7. Prior to making a final tenure recommendation to the Dean, the Department Chair will inform reviewers, individually, of his/her decision.

8. An oral summary of both positive and negative comments as well as a ratings distribution will be provided the reviewee by the Department Chair.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Advisory Form for Annual Contract Renewals/Tenure Decisions

Confidential to Department Chair only Date:

Name of faculty member under review:

Should this faculty member be reappointed/tenured? (Circle the answer below which best expresses your opinion.)

Strong Weak Neutral Weak Strong

No No Yes Yes

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Please explain:

Signed:

THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT TO BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM.

PROCEDURES FOR PROMOTION RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Department Chair will determine eligibility (years in rank, year of teaching, etc.) and talk with each person who is eligible during the spring before the review would occur.

2. If the faculty member decides he/she wants to be considered for promotion that year, he/she will provide a dossier for consideration during the fall term at least four weeks prior to the recommendation due date in the Dean's office.

3. The dossier will document the candidate's accomplishments in: (1) teaching, (2) scholarship, and (3) service from the beginning of his/her career. For promotion to associate professor, the candidate may elect to have the results of an external review included in the application package. For promotion to full professor, the candidate must have the results of an external review included in the application package. Procedures for an external review are as follows:

a. The faculty member will meet with the department chair during the spring semester before applying to discuss appropriate reviewers and the review dossier. The chair will contact the reviewers to ascertain their willingness to participate.

b. The faculty member will give the chair a dossier of materials to be reviewed before the end of spring semester. The chair will mail the dossier to the reviewers, requesting that the review be completed before the beginning of the fall semester.

c. The completed reviews will be included in the faculty member's application package by the chair.

4. The Department Chair will add to the dossier a summary of systematically gathered student evaluations of the candidate, as well as appropriate departmental normative data.

5. A Departmental Promotion Committee will be appointed by the Department Chair and will be composed of all faculty members at or above the rank for which the candidate is being considered. Each member of the Promotions Committee will review the dossier and make a recommendation to the Department Chair using the departmental Promotion Form (p. 10). This will be accomplished at least two weeks before recommendations are due in the Dean's office.

6. The Department Chair will consider the recommendations of the Promotion Committee and make a final recommendation to the Dean, after communicating this decision to the members of the Promotions Committee. This final recommendation to the Dean will indicate whether the Department Chair's recommendation is in agreement with that of the Committee.

7. The Department Chair will hold a conference with each candidate and discuss the recommendation made to the Dean.