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Guidelines
of the Academic Council
for the Evaluation of Candidates for Reappointment
[as amended through October 31,
2006]
See the "By-Laws of the Academic Council," Sec.
502 for criteria, and Sec. 504b–504d
for length of appointments.
I.
The Department's Relation to the Candidate
Sec. 101.
Scheduling the Evaluation
Following consultation with the candidate,
the chair will set:
(a) The deadline
for the candidate’s submission of his/her current curriculum vitae and the
body of scholarly and/or other creative work to be evaluated; and
(b) The anticipated time
for the completion of the department’s evaluation of his/her candidacy.
Sec. 102. The
Evaluation
(a) Teaching
1. Student Evaluations. The student
evaluations, collected by the Office of the Registrar and deposited in the
Office of Academic Affairs, should be examined by the department chair. Other
tenured members of the department may examine them as well.
2. Other Student Evaluations.
In addition to the evaluations collected by the Office of the Registrar, the
department may wish to solicit other evaluations from former or current
students of the candidate.
3. Faculty Peer Evaluation. The
chair may solicit information from faculty members within or without the
department, e.g., those who have taught courses jointly with the candidate.
4. The Candidate’s Own Evaluation.
Candidates should be invited to submit to department chairs for inclusion in
their dossiers any teaching materials that they consider pertinent to their
cases, such as course syllabi, examinations, lecture notes, and so on. They
may, if they wish, make any further statement concerning their teaching that
they consider relevant. Furthermore, candidates should feel free to request
chairs to consult specified students—alumni, undergraduate, or
graduate—concerning their teaching.
(b) Scholarship
In making this review, the department
should normally include published and unpublished scholarly materials (and
other created works where appropriate) provided by the candidate. When the
dissertation is the candidate’s primary piece of scholarship, the department
should utilize it. Such review should be carried out by senior members of the
department. In certain instances, a department may wish to draw upon competent
outside referees.
(c) Colleagueship
See the "By-laws
of the Academic Council," Sec. 502c. Testimony regarding
colleagueship shall be solicited by the department chair.
Sec.
103. The Relation of Reappointment to Promotion Conferring Tenure
Departments making reappointments should
consider the promise of the candidate for eventual promotion to tenure.
Reappointment should not be taken to imply a subsequent favorable decision on
tenure.
Sec.
104. Candidates and the Evaluation
In addition to being informed ahead of time
of the schedule of the evaluation, to nominating referees of their teaching, to
commenting on the regular student evaluations of their teaching and to
supplementing them with course materials (for all of which see above),
candidates have the following rights in relation to their department:
(a) Candidate’s Statement.
Candidates should have the opportunity to state their own cases before the
tenured members of the department, in person or in writing, without prejudicing
their cases.
(b) Counselor. Candidates may, if they
wish, request a tenured member of the faculty, usually of their own department
(who may well be the chair), to assist them in presenting their cases to the
department, to review their dossiers, and to ensure that their rights and
interests are duly observed in the department and in the presentation of their
cases to the Advisory Committee. The acceptance of a role as counselor in no way
compromises the tenured person’s right to come to an independent judgment and
to vote as he/she sees fit.
(c) Information and Confidentiality.
It is the responsibility of the chair and the counselor to keep the candidate
promptly informed of the status of the case, including a summary of the
department’s discussion and of the Advisory Committee’s general reactions to
the evidence on teaching and scholarship. But, in aiding the candidate, the
chair and counselor are cautioned not to impair the confidentiality of the
Advisory Committee’s procedures and discussions.
Sec.
105. Departmental Consultation in the Evaluation
Chairs should consult all non-tenured members
of the department except those in their first and last years at Wesleyan. The
counsel of the non-tenured faculty members may be oral or written. After
appropriate consultation with the department and with the concurrence of a
majority of the tenured faculty, the chair recommends to the president
reappointment of the candidate or not.
II.
The Department’s Relations to the Office of Academic Affairs and the Advisory
Committee
Sec.
201. Deadlines for Preparing the Evaluation
The chair will inform the Office of Academic
Affairs of:
(a) The deadline for the candidate’s
submission of his/her current curriculum vitae and the body of scholarly and/or
other creative work to be evaluated.
(b) The anticipated time for the completion
of the department's evaluation.
Sec.
202. Department’s Presentation of the Recommendation
(a) The reappointment of tenure-track faculty
is usually considered by the Advisory Committee in the spring term. As soon as
possible in the spring term, and not later than March 1, the chair should
deposit at the Office of Academic Affairs 13 copies of the following:
1. The department’s recommendation
and the rationale for it.
2. The candidate’s current curriculum vitae.
[For more detail, see the Advisory Committee
policy on Presentation of Cases for Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion.]
(b) The materials for cases eligible for fall
semester review should be deposited at the Office of Academic Affairs as soon as
possible in the fall semester, and not later than November 1.
(c) The department chair should stand ready
to supply the Office of Academic Affairs and the Advisory Committee with
additional information as desired, and, with senior colleagues and the
counselor, if any, to meet with the
Advisory Committee if required.
See the "By-Laws of the Academic Council,"
Sec. 502 for criteria, and Sec.
504b–504d
for length of appointments.
III.
The Relations of the Office of Academic Affairs and the Advisory Committee to
Candidates
Sec.
301. Response to Student Evaluations.
Untenured faculty members shall be invited each term to send comments on their
student evaluations in writing to the Office of Academic Affairs as well as to
their department chairs. They shall be invited again by the office, when their
case is considered, to make a general summary comment on the evidence provided
by the student evaluations. These comments shall be made available to the
Advisory Committee.
Sec.
302. Candidates May Meet with Advisory Committee.
Candidates have the opportunity to state their own cases before the Advisory
Committee, in person or in writing, without prejudicing their cases.
Sec.
303. Informing the Participants. It is the
responsibility of the Office of Academic Affairs to keep the department chair
(and the candidate’s counselor if these are not the same) informed of the
status of the case.
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