Guidelines for Extramural Evaluations of Scholarly and Creative Activity
Letters from outside evaluators have become an important part of the evaluation process for tenure and promotion. The Faculty Status Committee recommends the following procedure:
1. Letters from at least two outside evaluators should be a part of the dossier submitted to the department and then to the Dean and FSC.
2. In the spring prior to submitting an application for tenure/promotion, the candidate should present the department chair with the names of six active scholars qualified to judge his or her scholarly, creative and professional activities. The candidate will also indicate the degree of his or her personal and professional relationship with these proposed evaluators.
3. The chair will select two or more names from the list, at least one whom the candidate does not know personally.
4. As appropriate, the department chair, in consultation with other members of the department, may select one additional evaluator whose name may or may not appear on the candidate’s list.
5. The request for letters of evaluation should come from the department chair in a letter or email. If the designated evaluator agrees to serve in that capacity, the chair will forward relevant materials (CV, photocopies or off-prints of published articles, unpublished manuscripts, books, etc.) to the evaluator. Books should be provided gratis by the candidate and should not be expected to be returned.
6. Prospective outside evaluators should be contacted early in the summer preceding the application for tenure/promotion, but no later than August 1.
7. Extramural evaluators should be asked to submit their reports no later than November 1.
8. Extramural letters should be sent directly to the chair, shared with the voting members of the department, and forwarded to the Dean’s office.
9. Unless permission is given by the outside evaluators, the letters should be held in confidence and not made available to the candidate. When the dossier is returned to the candidate, the letters will remain with Academic Affairs unless the external evaluator has expressly waived his/her rights of confidentiality.
10. Extramural letters evaluating teaching or community service may be submitted in addition to, but not in lieu of, extramural evaluations of scholarly, creative, and professional activities.
FSC – April, 2013