Peer Evaluation Procedure

9.1 (Step One) Each Spring Semester, the Dean of University Libraries shall advise UL faculty members who meet the time in rank requirements that they are eligible for promotion. All UL faculty shall be notified in writing of the promotion deadline so that faculty members may, if they wish, notify the Dean in writing that they plan to stand for early promotion.

9.2 (Step Two) Eligible faculty members shall notify the Dean's office by a specified date whether or not they choose to stand for promotion.

9.3 (Step Three) A candidate standing for promotion to Associate Professor or to Professor shall identify external reviewers in compliance with the requirements and timeline specified in Section V.D. of this Handbook.

9.4 (Step Four) The candidate shall compile a file covering the period since initial appointment at current rank or since the last successful application for promotion, as applicable. The candidate shall complete and submit the file for review in compliance with the deadline set by the University.

9.5  (Step Five) The Dean shall review the file the candidate prepared with the candidate in order to insure that the file is complete and shall prepare a statement indicating that the file is complete. Both the candidate and the Dean shall sign the completed file statement. Thereafter, the candidate must be informed of anything that is added to or removed from the file and provided the opportunity to insert written comments concerning that new or removed material.

9.6 (Step Six) Before convening the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, the Dean shall inform all tenured faculty that the files are available for inspection and shall formally invite signed, written comments from all tenured faculty members who are not members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. The Dean shall provide those comments to the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, copy the candidate, and place the comments in the file.

9.7 (Step Seven) The Dean shall appoint an ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. The Committee shall be comprised of at least five (5) voting members.

a. Promotion to Associate Professor:

  1. All senior Faculty members of the College Advisory Committee shall serve as full, voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Committee hearing promotions to Associate Professor. All faculty who are tenured and hold the rank of either Associate Professor or full Professor are senior faculty. 
  2. Any tenured full Professor who is a member of the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Unit and who is not a member of the College Advisory Committee shall serve as a full, voting member.
  3. Additional senior Faculty may be nominated by the College Advisory Committee so that the committee has at least five (5) voting members. These Faculty shall serve as full, voting members.
  4. CAC may nominate additional senior faculty, such as a Regional Campus Library Director, to the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee if it feels it is necessary for the full and fair evaluation of the candidate standing for promotion. These faculty shall be full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.
  5. If there are insufficient UL senior Faculty members to meet the requirement of at least five (5) voting members, the College Advisory Committee may nominate tenured Faculty who hold the rank of Associate Professor or Professor from outside of UL. These Faculty shall be full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

b. Promotion to Professor:

  1. Only College Advisory Committee members who hold the rank of Professor may serve on the ad hoc Promotion Committee hearing promotions to full Professor.
  2. Any tenured full Professor who is a member of the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Unit and who is not a member of the College Advisory Committee shall serve as a full, voting member.
  3. If additional full Professors are needed to get the Committee to at least five (5) voting members, the College Advisory Committee should select from the following options, in order of preference:

a.    Regional Campus Library Directors who holds the rank of Professor, who shall serve as full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.
b.    Assistant or Associate Deans of University Libraries who are tenured, hold the rank of Professor and who do not serve as the liaison in faculty personnel matters of UL, shall serve as full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.
c.    Tenured Faculty who hold the rank of Professor from outside of UL, shall serve as full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

c.      The Dean shall be the nonvoting chair of the Committee.

d.     The administrator who serves as the liaison in faculty personnel matters of UL shall be a nonvoting member of the Committee.

e.     If the vote concerns the spouse, domestic partner, or relative of a member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, that member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee shall not vote nor shall he/she be present during deliberations or voting. In such a situation, the College Advisory Committee may, if necessary, nominate an additional tenured Faculty member to the committee for the review of that particular file to guarantee that the committee has at least five (5) voting members.

9.8 (Step Eight)

a. The Dean shall convene a meeting of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

b. The members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee shall discuss each individual candidate for promotion. The Dean shall initiate discussion by sharing his/her estimate of the strengths and weaknesses of each individual candidate with the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

c. At the conclusion of the deliberations of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, there shall be a preliminary voice vote of all members, who shall vote yes or no on each candidate under consideration.

d. Abstentions are permitted only if a member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee is on an approved leave of absence and has received the right to abstain from the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. Members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee on approved leave of absence may vote by absentee ballot rather than requesting permission to abstain.

9.9 (Step Nine)

a. After the adjournment of the meeting of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, each voting member of the Committee shall promptly record his/her vote and the reasons for the vote on the appropriate University form. This written vote shall be the final vote. Each voting member shall return the completed form(s) to the Dean or his/her designee.

b. When completing the ballot form, the Committee member should give careful consideration to fully supporting his/her vote on a particular candidate. The ballot should be written in such a way that reviewers at other levels of the promotion process can clearly understand the requirements of the UL promotion policy in particular and the candidate's success or failure at meeting those requirements. The Committee member must be sure to provide, using the language of other sections of this policy and examples from the submitted file itself, a clear indication of the Committee member's assessment of that particular promotion candidacy.

c. In order to be recommended for promotion by the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, a candidate must receive approval from at least three fourths of the written ballots of committee members who vote.

d. Abstentions are permitted only if a member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee is on an approved leave of absence and has received the right to abstain from the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. Members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee on approved leave of absence may vote by absentee ballot rather than requesting permission to abstain.

9.10 (Step Ten) After carefully reviewing the recorded votes and comments submitted by all voting members of the Committee, the Dean shall weigh and assess each candidate's record as represented in the candidate's promotion file and in other relevant information that the Committee has reviewed. The Dean shall conclude his/her deliberations on each candidate by preparing a memo to the Provost or his/her designee for the Regional Campuses. In this memo, the Dean shall reference the numerical Committee vote on each candidate, indicate whether or not he/she concurs with the Committee's recommendation on each candidate, and outline his/her reasons for recommending or not recommending the candidate. The Dean should focus on the requirements of the UL promotion policy in particular and the candidate's success or failure at meeting those requirements. As with the committee members, the Dean is encouraged to use the language of the UL promotion policy when drafting this memo.

9.11 (Step Eleven) The Dean shall place a copy of this memo in the candidate's promotion and personnel file and shall send a copy of this memo to the candidate and to all members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. The Dean shall assemble his/her written recommendation on each candidate and the written recommendation on each candidate submitted by the voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. These documents shall be placed in each candidate's promotion file.

9.12 (Step Twelve) The Dean shall notify the candidate by sending the candidate a copy of his/her letter of recommendation and copies of the written ballots of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee at the same time the recommendation is submitted to the Provost or his/her designee for the Regional Campuses. This notification letter shall also include a statement informing the candidate that she/he has the right to include, within five working days, a letter in the file responding to any errors of fact that the candidate believes are in any of the recommendations and supporting documents from the Dean or the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee or other advisory committees. The letter shall also indicate that if the candidate wishes to appeal a negative decision, notification of such intent shall be sent in writing within ten working days of receipt of the Dean's letter.

9.13 (Step Thirteen) The Dean shall forward, in a timely fashion, the promotion file of each candidate to the Provost or his/her designee for the Regional Campuses, as appropriate.