The frequently asked questions listed below combine information for the applicants, the VPAA's Office, the Third Year Review Committee, and the Chair/Dean. If you have additional questions not listed please feel free to contact the Tenure & Promotion Committee using this form or contact the Chair of Tenure & Promotion directly.
What is the purpose of the Third Year Review?
The Third Year Review is a mandatory evaluation conducted in your third year of service. It is designed to help you prepare strong tenure eDossiers. It is a detailed evaluation to help determine the probability of your meeting tenure criteria by the beginning of the sixth year of tenure-track service.
When does the Third Year Review take place?
It is conducted in your third year of tenure-track service and should be completed no later than the sixth semester. However, if you are on a tenure track that is less than 6 years, you will have the review at the midpoint of your tenure track.
What do I have to submit?
You are required to submit an electronic dossier based on the Faculty Handbook's tenure criteria section by section (including the inclusion of explanatory narratives). The Vice President of Academic Affairs' Office will create your official eDossier and share it with you in your first year of full-time employment. However, it is strongly recommended that you store your material in a Google folder before transferring it to the official eDossier created by the Vice President of Academic Affairs' Office.
For more information on the tenure criteria, see section 6.6. Appendix F in the Faculty Handbook
For more information on the material expected to be in the Third Year Review eDossier, see the Guidelines.
When and where do I have to submit my eDossier?
If you are undergoing your Third Year Review, your eDossier should be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs office by September 30th of the fifth semester.
What is the specific timeline for the Third Year Review?
The timeline for Third Year Review starts upon hire culminating with submission of the eDossier by September 30 of the 5th Semester. See the Timeline page for full details.
What is the basis for evaluation?
The evaluation of your Third Year Review eDossier is based on the Tenure criteria and will be assessed using that criteria.
How and when will I learn the results of my portfolio's review?
If the VPAA decides to renew your contract, the VPAA will meet with you, the Chair or Dean, and your Tenure-Track Faculty Mentor at the conclusion of the review process to discuss the results of the review and make recommendations for successful continuation in the tenure-track program by March 15 of your sixth semester.
If, however, your eDossier receives a less-than-satisfactory review and the college decides to remove you from the tenure-track, the VPAA will notify you by February 15 and, in keeping with AAUP guidelines, normally offer to renew your contract for one more year only.
What format is accepted for documentation?
Whenever possible, documents should be saved in PDF format to ensure better readability and security of materials.
Where and how do I upload the eDossier?
You should upload your completed eDossier to the Google Drive folder created by the VPAA's Office when you were hired. If you can't see your folder in the "Shared Drive," contact the VPAA's Office.
What's the best way to organize the Google Drive Folder?
Though you should copy the folder organizations created by the VPAA’s office in your official eDossier for your main folders (i.e. General Materials, Teaching, Scholarship, Service),you may organize the subfolders inside those main folders in whatever way makes sense for your discipline and eDossier. However, the Tenure & Promotion Committee suggests this format as a template to help the organization of content. You may choose to use this template or create one of your own.
What is the naming convention and why should I use it?
The naming convention suggested refers specifically to the file names created for each digital item. The Tenure & Promotion Committee suggests using this format to help organize your eDossier to allow for optimal readability.
Who creates the Google Drive folder for the edossier?
The Office of Academic Affairs will create the Google Drive folder for each tenure-track faculty member’s edossier and share it with them in their first year of full-time employment.
What happens to the eDossier after the faculty members submits it to the VPAA's Office?
The VPAA’s Office shares the eDossier with the Chair of the faculty member's Third Year Review Committee by October 1 of the fifth semester.
What does the VPAA do with the Third Year Review Committee's recommendations?
The VPAA’s Office shares the documented review from a tenure-track faculty member's Third Year Review Committee Chair, including committee's recommendations, along with the eDossier, with the faculty member's Division Chair or School Dean by November 1 of the fifth semester.
What does the VPAA do with the chair or dean's report?
By March 15 of the sixth semester, the VPAA will inform the tenure-track faculty member, the Chair, and the Dean whether or not the tenure-track faculty member’s contract is being renewed.
If the VPAA decides to renew the tenure-track faculty member’s contract, the VPAA will meet with the Chair or Dean, the Tenure-Track Faculty Mentor, and tenure- track faculty member by March 15th of the sixth semester conclusion of the review process to discuss the results of the review and make recommendations for successful continuation in the tenure-track program.
What is the Third Year Review Committee?
This is a committee of peers that, in collaboration with the division chair/school dean, completes the initial review of the eDossier. Committee members will address the tenure track faculty member’s performance in each of the tenure criteria and will include specific recommendations for strengthening the tenure-track faculty member’s performance across tenure criteria.
How and when is the Third Year Review Committee created?
The chair/dean will appoint the committee by the end of the faculty member’s second year of full-time employment (ordinarily, May 31 of the fourth semester). The chair/dean in collaboration with division/school faculty will appoint at least three committee members. The committee must be composed of tenured faculty members. If possible, two of these faculty members must be in the candidate’s division/school. The committee must also include the candidate’s tenured faculty mentor, who has acted as the dossier advisor. Finally, the committee must include one faculty member from another division/school or the library.
What else is the Third Year Review Committee supposed to do in addition to reviewing the eDossier?
The committee chooses a chair who notifies the Tenure and Promotion Committee of the committee’s members and chair by the end of the faculty member’s second year.
The committee writes a documented review that addresses the tenure track faculty member’s performance in each of the tenure criteria and will include specific recommendations for strengthening the tenure-track faculty member’s performance across tenure criteria.
By November 1, the committee will meet with the tenure-track faculty member under review to discuss the documented review with recommendations.
What are the Third Year Review Committee chair's responsibilities?
In collaboration with the Third Year Peer Review Committee, the division chair or school dean will forward the dossier and a report to the Vice President of Academic Affairs by December 23rd of the fifth semester. The report will include:
an evaluation of the non-tenured faculty member specific to tenure criteria by both the division chair or school dean and The Third Year Peer Review Committee (See Tenure Track Evaluation Form);
specific suggestions for strengthening the performance of a tenure-track faculty member, such as recommendations to do research, publish, or undertake comparable activities if appropriate, or to visit a teaching clinic or a consultant if a need is evident; and
specific recommendations regarding reappointment following the third year review.
The chair sends the Third Year Review Committee’s review with recommendations to the VPAA by November 1st of the fifth semester.
How and when is the Third Year Review Committee created?
The chair/dean will appoint the committee by the end of the faculty member’s second year of full-time employment (ordinarily, May 31 of the fourth semester). The chair/dean in collaboration with division/school faculty will appoint at least three committee members. The committee must be composed of tenured faculty members. If possible two of these faculty members must be in the candidate’s division/school. The committee must also include the candidate’s tenured faculty mentor, who has acted as the dossier advisor. Finally, the committee must include one faculty member from another division/school or the library.
What does the division chair/school dean do with the Third Year Review Committee's review?
In collaboration with the Third Year Review Committee, the chair/dean writes a report that includes:
an evaluation of the non-tenured faculty member specific to tenure criteria by both the division chair or school dean and The Third Year Peer Review Committee (See Tenure Track Evaluation Form);
specific suggestions for strengthening the performance of a tenure-track faculty member, such as recommendations to do research, publish, or undertake comparable activities if appropriate, or to visit a teaching clinic or a consultant if a need is evident; and
specific recommendations regarding reappointment following the third year review.
The Chair shares their report electronically with the VPAA’s Office by December 1 of the fifth semester while the Dean shares their report by December 23rd.