6.3 Procedure for Application for Advancement in Rank

Members of the faculty who wish to be considered for advancement in rank will notify the Department Chair (or in the event that the applicant is the Department Chair, the Provost/Dean of Faculty) of their desire to seek promotion by October of the Fall semester.

Utilizing the Criteria for Promotion found in Section 6.2, faculty members will compile a portfolio that will include:

• A completed Application/Recommendation Form (see Appendix F for promotion to Associate Professor or Appendix H for promotion to Full Professor);
• An updated curriculum vitae;
• Evidence of excellence as a college teacher:
  • Three classroom evaluations which represent different levels of teaching; one of these evaluations must be from the previous twelve months.
  • Six summary sheets of student evaluations which should represent different levels of teaching and different kinds of courses. Two of these evaluations must be from the previous twelve months.
  • End-of-year evaluations by the Department Chair for every year that the faculty member has been in his/her current rank. (Allowance will be made for those faculty members whose departments have not previously conducted such end-of-year evaluations.)
  • Grade distribution records from the past three years indicating fairness in setting standards for and evaluating student achievements.
• Evidence of continued professional development, with a range of significant scholarly achievement in several areas.
• Evidence of appropriate participation in the responsibilities of the department and the faculty (refer to the Full-Time Instructional Faculty Responsibilities in the Faculty Handbook).
• Evidence of dedication and commitment to the mission and values of the University of Mount Saint Vincent.
• Evidence of any additional claims made in the applicant’s self-evaluation.
• Any information that the applicant believes will support their request.

This portfolio will be submitted to the Department/Committee Chair by November 15th.

Utilizing the applicant’s portfolio, the Department/Committee Chair will complete the Application/Recommendation Form, which will serve as the Chair and Committee’s Recommendation for Advancement in Rank.

• The Department/Committee Chair will convene a meeting of the Department Rank and Tenure Committee (whenever possible, committee members should observe at least one class taught by the applicant), which will serve as the applicant’s review committee. A departmental Rank and Tenure Committee consists of all tenured members of a department.
• In departments in which there is no tenured member, the Provost/Dean of Faculty, in consultation with the applicant and the Department Chair, will select a committee of five tenured faculty members to serve as the applicant’s review committee. The committee will select a Chair who will convene the committee and execute the functions usually performed by the Department Chair.
• In the event that the applicant is the Department Chair, the Provost/Dean of Faculty, in consultation with the applicant, will select a Chair of another Department to function as the applicant’s review committee chair.
• In departments with fewer than five tenured faculty, the Provost/Dean of Faculty, in consultation with the applicant and the Department Chair, will select additional tenured faculty members, until the number of committee members is equal to five, to serve as members of the applicant’s review committee.

After reviewing all material in the faculty’s portfolio, each member of the review committee will cast a vote for or against the candidate’s request for advancement in rank. Minority or dissenting opinions will require submission of a detailed explanation of the department member’s rationale for his/her opinion.

The Application/Recommendation Form, signed by the members of the applicant’s review committee, including dissenting views, will be included in the applicant’s dossier.

The Department Chair (or Chair of the applicant’s review committee) will inform the applicant of the findings of the committee and provide the candidate with a synopsis of their findings.

In the event that a Department Chair and/or a Department does not recommend a faculty member for promotion, the faculty member may submit his/her portfolio to the Rank and Tenure Committee.

All applications for Advancement in Rank must be filed by January 10th. Eight copies of all documents must be submitted. (Specific data may be kept on-file in the Office of the Provost/Dean of Faculty for review by committee members).

All data shall then be considered by the College Rank and Tenure Committee. The Provost/Dean of Faculty will compile the recommendations of the Rank and Tenure Committee and submit those recommendations, along with his/her own recommendation to the President. The President will make an independent evaluation of the faculty member’s request for advancement in rank. The President is not bound by the recommendation of the Rank and Tenure Committee.

Approved May 15, 2014