Elements of a Dossier - University of Maryland - Office of the Provost

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Elements of a Dossier - University of Maryland candidate is being reviewed (policy reference). Hence, even though a unit’s Plan of Organization may allow votes from faculty below the level to which the candidate aspires, or from non-tenured faculty members, those votes should not be recorded on the Transmittal Form or any other part of the dossier. Secondary Unit: If a candidate has a permanent joint appointment in a unit with eligible voters, record the votes of the secondary unit and the recommendations of the unit’s administrator. If the appointment is in a different college from the tenure home, the vote of the College APT Committee and the Dean should also be recorded. SECTION B: EVALUATIVE STATEMENTS #2. Dean's Letter: This letter should state the Dean’s personal assessment of the reasons the candidate merits or does not merit promotion (policy reference). In evaluating the candidate, the letter should contain an honest and balanced assessment of the candidate’s scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and service, and a clearly stated recommendation. If this recommendation differs from that of the Department APT Committee, College APT Committee, or the Department Chair, the reasons underlying the dissent should be explained. Please pay careful attention to negative votes and try to explain the reasons for these votes. Additionally, the Dean has a unique “local” perspective of importance to campuswide decisions. The Dean can provide a context for evaluating the candidate through characterizing the strengths of the department, its role in the college, and the role of the candidate in enhancing the excellence of the department. Because colleges differ in their mission, the letter should also discuss the expectations of the college and department for promotion. If the candidate’s original appointment was based on expectations that differ significantly from commonly accepted criteria, the Dean should discuss the source and nature of the criteria on which the candidate is to be evaluated. #3. College APT Committee Report: This report should include the date of the meeting and the names of committee members. The report should include a statement of the exact vote and the reasons for the recommendation (policy reference) and it should address the same areas as the Department APT report described in #5. When the vote is not unanimous, it is helpful if the report discusses the reasons for the negative votes or the abstentions. If the assessment differs from the department vote, please explain why. #4. Department Chair's Letter: The letter should contain the Chair’s independent evaluation of the candidate’s teaching, scholarship, mentoring, and service, and should make a clear recommendation supported by the reasons for it (policy references #1 and #2). As with the Dean’s letter, the University APT Committee finds the Chair’s letter to be most useful when it places the performance of the candidate in the context of the department or discipline and comments on the APT Committee’s report. Committees also look for the Chair’s interpretation of the information about the candidate, not simply a reiteration of information. They seek an honest and balanced assessment of the candidate’s scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and service, and a clearly stated recommendation. If this recommendation differs from that of a Department APT Committee, it is helpful to explain the reasons . The Chair should also attempt to explain reasons for negative votes when they are known. #5a. Department APT Committee Report: (policy reference) The report of the Departmental APT Committee has two clearly separable parts. The first part 5(a) describing the decision meeting, is ordinarily written by the Chair of the APT Committee or his or her designee and reports the discussions and the exact vote as well as any department rules about the number of votes required for a positive recommendation. The report should contain the meeting date and be signed by its author. The second part 5(b), the evaluative report, is often written by an initial review subcommittee (whose members should be identified). It summarizes and evaluates the candidate’s research, service, mentoring, and teaching contributions in light of the standards of the department and of the discipline. Neither report is shown to the candidate. These letters along with the Department Chair’s letter, are transmitted to the higher levels of review (policy reference). It is helpful to consider the following questions when preparing the evaluative report: a. What are the standards and expectations of the department or the discipline with respect to the candidate and how are they http://www.faculty.umd.edu/policies/DossierElements.html (2 of 6)8/16/2006 11:41:21 AM
Elements of a Dossier - University of Maryland measured? b. What are the candidate’s major contributions in these areas? Why are these contributions important? c. Has the candidate met or surpassed the unit’s standards and expectations? d. What evidence supports the review committee’s evaluation? This information is particularly helpful in areas of the University like the performing arts and Maryland Cooperative Extension with distinctive expectations for promotion. It is important to consider the audience to whom this report will be addressed, which includes faculty and administrators outside the unit. For additional information, please see a set of important suggestions for evaluating faculty performance. The third part 5(c) (Optional) Members of the Department APT Committee who do not think that the APT Committee Report adequately represents their views may write a signed minority APT report that will become part of the dossier (policy reference) #6. Summary Statement of Professional Achievements: (policy reference) This summary is designed to insure that committees have correct and complete information about the candidate on which to base their evaluation and to explain to higher-level committees the discipline and how the candidate fits within it. The summary, written by the department APT Committee or its representative, is a factual statement of the candidate’s accomplishments in the areas of research, scholarship, or creative activity; teaching, mentoring, and advising; and service. It is an internal statement not to be mailed to external reviewers. The Summary Statement should place the candidate’s accomplishments in research, scholarship, extension activities and/or artistic performance in the context of the broader discipline and the candidate’s professional achievements in service and teaching in the context of the responsibilities of the unit, the college and the university and the greater community. It should be a neutral description; no evaluation of the candidate’s work should be included. The candidate must be shown the Summary Statement at least 2 weeks before the unit deliberates the candidate’s case. Candidates must certify that they have seen it, and must be allowed to draft a rejoinder before it is used by the department APT Committee as the basis for its discussion and vote. Thus the date on this report should predate the meeting on which the case is decided. When there is a rejoinder, the summary must acknowledge receipt and consideration of the rejoinder. To facilitate this procedure, units may wish to inform candidates in advance of the deadlines for seeing the Summary Statement and for return of the signed Statement with any rejoinder. SECTION C: PERSONAL STATEMENT #7. Format of a Curriculum Vitae: The faculty member’s curriculum vitae should be signed and dated to certify that it is accurate and current. The c.v. should be prepared no later than the beginning of the academic year in which the candidate is reviewed and should be included in each request for external evaluation. The c.v. that is read by the Department APT Committee and sent to external referees is the official c.v. for the candidate. If there are subsequent changes, the first level administrator should forward a memo containing these changes to higher levels of review. Thus the date on the c.v. must predate the date of the voting meeting and the committee must not change the c.v. during the course of the review!! The c. v. should present a portrait of the candidate’s accomplishments in as concise a manner as possible. To aid the review committees, the c.v. should carefully follow the University's c. v. format. #8. Reputation of Publication Outlets: The department should provide an appraisal of the reputations of the journals, presses, and other outlets (e.g., theaters, exhibits, etc.) for the candidate’s scholarship/creative activity. Indicate whether peer review is required, and when possible, the rate of acceptance to the journal or other medium. Departments should develop a standard, stable, credible method of rating journals and should present these ratings. Often departments or disciplines rate the journals for their impact. One of the most helpful ways of evaluating the reputation of journals is a chart that lists the journals in the candidate’s field in rank order and indicates the articles appearing in journals of a given rank, e.g., two in the top ranked journal, two in the second ranked journal, etc. The listing can be confined to just those journals in which the candidate published. #9. Candidate's Personal Statement: (policy references #1 and #2) This statement provides candidates with the opportunity to make a case for their promotion based on a demonstrated record of achievement. The statement ordinarily indicates the importance of the questions addressed in the candidate’s field of research or scholarship, the progress made in addressing these questions and the directions of future research. These statements should be relatively short, less than 3-4 pages, and directed toward readers who may http://www.faculty.umd.edu/policies/DossierElements.html (3 of 6)8/16/2006 11:41:21 AM
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Elements of a Dossier - University of Maryland - Office of the Provost

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