Procedure and Guidelines for Faculty Merit Awards (Formerly known as Faculty Excellence Awards)

The following process will be followed in the evaluation and recommendation of Faculty for Faculty Merit Awards at the College level.  In the event that the process described in this Handbook conflicts with the Tenured/Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Collective Bargaining Agreement will take precedence.

1. The Dean, or a designee who is not a member of the Faculty, shall facilitate the Faculty peer-review process for the Faculty Merit Awards by assisting the faculty with the establishment of FMA timelines, by verifying/validating the evaluation results, and by compiling the results of the review. 
2. All Faculty who are eligible to apply for Faculty Merit Awards shall constitute the Faculty Merit Awards peer review committee (FMA Committee) and shall meet with the Dean, or his/her designee, to discuss the process and procedures for the awards. A Faculty member of this committee shall be elected to serve as the FMA Committee Chair. The committee will establish due dates for the College’s Faculty Merit Awards peer review process. 
3. All policies, procedures, and processes associated with the College’s FMA peer review shall be determined by the FMA Committee.
4. The FMA Committee members shall develop a Faculty Merit Award Documentation Form and a Faculty Merit Award Evaluation/Rating Form for the FMA peer review. All procedures and policies associated with the development, completion, and use of these forms shall be determined by the FMA Committee. The means and methods for resolution of any problematic issues arising during the peer evaluation process shall be determined by the FMA Committee.
5. Each FMA Committee member shall complete a Faculty Merit Award Documentation Form and submit an electronic copy of the form to the Dean, or his/her designee, by the agreed upon date.
6. The Dean, or his/her designee, shall make electronic copies available of all of the submitted Faculty Merit Award Documentation Forms to each member of the FMA Committee by the agreed upon date.
7. FMA Committee members will review and evaluate each faculty member’s completed Faculty Merit Award Documentation Form, complete the Faculty Merit Award Evaluation/Rating Form, and forward the completed form electronically to the Dean, or his/her designee, by the agreed upon date. The Dean, or his/her designee, shall forward an electronic copy of all of the completed Faculty Merit Award Evaluation/Rating Forms to the FMA Committee Chair after all FMA applicants have submitted their forms. 
8. The FMA Committee Chair shall compile the data from the evaluation forms and determine the proportional values for each evaluation category, for each applicant. Upon completion, the FMA Committee Chair shall forward an electronic summary of the results to the Dean, or his/her signee, by the agreed upon date.
9. The Dean, or his/her designee, shall review the peer evaluations submitted by the FMA Committee Chair and shall confirm the accuracy of the analysis. If the Dean has delegated these responsibilities, the Dean’s designee shall submit the results of the FMA Committee’s peer review process to the Dean’s office, by the agreed upon date. This step will complete the evaluation and allocation process for the Faculty portion of the Faculty Merit Awards.