FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
THIRD YEAR REVIEW OF PROGRESS TOWARDS TENURE

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University Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure require that an appointee to the rank of Assistant Professor shall receive, in the third year of service, a formal review at the college level. This review is in addition to the appraisals of progress toward tenure that are done annually by the Dean of the College of Nursing or designee. The purpose of the Third Year Review is to provide information and feedback to assist the faculty member in attaining tenure at the university. The Faculty Tenure Timeline, completed at the time of hire, indicates when the Third Year Review will be conducted. In the College of Nursing, the Third Year Review will occur in the spring term of the faculty member’s third year of employment (or the equivalent for those who are granted years towards tenure at the time of appointment) or no later than the beginning of the fall semester of the fourth year. Materials must be presented to the College Promotion and Tenure Committee in mid-March, with the precise date to be set by the committee. Faculty who are granted years toward tenure at time of hire, need to be advised that those years must be part of the Third Year Review. If a faculty member is hired with three years of credit toward tenure, he/she may undergo Third Year Review as part of the hiring process, immediately upon arrival, or after one year of service at FAU. These
options need to be discussed and agreed upon at the time of hire and be noted in the Notice of Appointment letter and letter of hire.

PROCESS FOR REVIEW

 

1. Candidates will assemble a Third Year Review ePortfolio which will contain everything required in the university’s tenure ePortfolio, except letters of review. Copies of publications must be included in the supplementary portfolio, and the university check list.

2. Using, University ePortfolio Preparation in the Promotion and Tenure ePortfolio Guidelines for Tenure Track Faculty memorandum as a guide, the College of Nursing guidelines specify materials that need to be included in the Third Year Review ePortfolio. At a minimum, these must include:

   • Up-to-date Vita
   • Copy of Annual Assignments
   • Documentation on instructional activities, including data from SPOT and peer evaluations
   • Documentation on scholarship, research and/or other creative activities
   • Documentation on assigned service and/or administrative activity
   • College criteria
   • Annual employee performance evaluations
   • Faculty member’s progress toward tenure document.
3. It is the responsibility of the employee to prepare the ePortfolio materials in the manner specified. All materials should be uploaded into the case created for them in Interfolio Review, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT). All candidates will be notified via email once a case has been initiated.

 

Levels of Review
It will be the responsibility of the Dean to initiate the Third Year Review process and set deadlines for submission of material.

 

College

1. The ePortfolio will be reviewed by the College Promotion and Tenure Committee. This committee will hold a called meeting to discuss the candidate’s progress towards tenure. The discussion shall use the relevant criteria for tenure to review the candidate’s record in each of the faculty member’s area of responsibility: 1) teaching effectiveness, 2) scholarship, research, and other creative activity, 3) service, and other assigned university duties and responsibilities.

2. The Promotion and Tenure Committee Chair will write a summative narrative account of the discussion that is acceptable to all members. The account should accurately summarize the various points of view expressed during the discussion. It should describe the perceived strengths and weaknesses, and recommend areas for improvement for tenure. A summary statement that strongly reflects the committee’s evaluation will be provided in the summative narrative letter. No vote is expected or required. The goal of this collegial process is to provide useful information to the candidate about his or her progress toward tenure.

   The narrative account and recommendations will be forwarded to the Dean of the College of Nursing. A copy of the narrative account with summary statement will be given to the faculty member by the Dean. The Dean and the faculty member will sign the account, indicating that they have both received and read it. The Dean will write a letter reviewing the candidate’s progress towards tenure, considering the candidate’s record, the committee evaluation, and the relevant criteria. The Dean will meet with the faculty member to discuss the committee’s findings, the Dean’s letter, and to advise the faculty member on a course of action. The faculty member will be given a copy of the Dean’s letter. The ePortfolio (s) materials will be returned to the faculty member. A copy of the letter will be retained by the college.

   Further, if materials are added or changed by anyone, the candidate must be notified and given five (5) days to respond. The candidate may attach a brief response within 5 days of the receipt of the added material. The ePortfolio cannot move forward for 5 days after the candidate has received the report, unless, before the 5 day period has expired, the candidate indicates there will be no response. The response should be filed in the same section as the letter or materials being responded to.

3. No Guarantee of Tenure or Promotion
   A positive or negative appraisal of progress toward tenure and/or promotion is not binding on any level of review or recommendation in the tenure and promotion process, and not binding on the President’s discretion and ultimate decision, but is meant to provide guidance from the department/school/college.

This process will be evaluated by the Promotion and Tenure Committee in three years and revised as indicated by Faculty. This evaluation will consider whether the guidelines are meeting the needs of the College.

 

Approved by Faculty Assembly February 2003
Revisions approved by Faculty Assembly September 2007, November 2017,
Approval of the Provost Spring 2019
Revisions approved by the P T Committee, April 11, 2019
Revisions approved by the Provost April 26, 2019