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The first section of the rank and promotion rubric is subdivided into three categories (Academic Faculty, Clinical Faculty, and Library Faculty) which represent the three main areas of assignment for Life University faculty. This section encompasses the primary duties of faculty within these areas, and as such is weighted the heaviest of the three sections at 50% of the candidate’s total score. Faculty seeking advancement should complete whichever section corresponds to their primary area of assignment (Academic, Clinical, or Library). One cannot combine items from different areas of assignment.
The second section of the rubric pertains to the faculty member’s service contributions to both the University and the professional community as a whole. The third and final section of the rubric encompasses the areas of scholarly work and professional development. Both of these sections are equally applied to all faculty regardless of their primary area of assignment.
Accomplishments in both of these areas are weighed at 25% of the total score. The individual items within the three different sections are individually weighted based on their prestige, effort of accomplishment, and relative importance to a faculty member’s job description. The details and descriptions of each item are contained in the Dossier Preparation section below. This rubric is a point collecting system in which a candidate is not expected to attain perfect scores for every item.
• A total score of 15 points is required for promotion from Instructor to Assistant Professor
• A total score of 30 points is required for promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
• A total score of 45 points is required for promotion from Associate Professor to Professor
• A total score of 6 points is required to attain the Professor Emeritustitle.
Dossier Preparation
The ideal faculty member is a multi-faceted, multi-talented individual, and promotions require evidence of progress toward this ideal. All faculty members are expected to demonstrate professional growth throughout their careers; however, job descriptions and individual responsibilities may vary even within a single department. As such, the specific nature of a faculty member’s duties should be a matter of consideration when a promotion is sought, but the rank and promotion process must remain fair and consistent. For example, some faculty members may have less flexibility with regard to their teaching duties and thus may be expected to demonstrate stellar accomplishments in the fields of service and scholarly activity. Conversely those teaching faculty members who teach a variety of different courses are still expected to seek out opportunities for service and scholarship while maintaining appropriately high levels of accomplishment in their classrooms.
When seeking promotion, the faculty member should organize and compile their achievements into a dossier taking great care to consult the itemized criteria on the rank and promotion rubric. Faculty work presented as evidence for promotion should represent significant accomplishments in the areas of teaching, clinical expertise, or librarianship (whichever is more applicable to the faculty member’s primary area of assignment); as well as institutional and professional service, and scholarship and creative activity. All evidence for consideration must have taken place within the previous five years or since the candidate’s last increase in rank, whichever is fewer. While portions of the candidate’s dossier are delegated to other department members, the burden of responsibility for providing a complete package reflecting one’s academic productivity rests in the hands of the candidate.
The candidate is responsible for acquiring and compiling the necessary materials to complete their dossier. The supervisor and the candidate should collectively review the dossier for completeness and proper formatting, at which time the supervisor is also responsible for affirming that the final dossier is complete. Once the dossier is officially submitted for review to the Rank and Promotion Committee, the candidate may not add additional materials or new information though the candidate is permitted to withdraw his/her request at any time.
A candidate’s promotion package consists of the following:
1. Cover page including the name of the candidate, department and college, and which rank is being requested.
2. The candidate’s statement addressing their contributions to the University in all areas of expected faculty performance.
3. Endorsements
a. Senior Departmental Faculty recommendation as outlined above
b. A recommendation from the candidate’s immediate supervisor
c. Candidate must obtain 3-5 letters of recommendation with at least one (1) of these obtained from Life University Faculty
4. Updated Curriculum Vita
5. Documentary evidence of accomplishments in the areas of teaching, clinical expertise, or librarianship, service, and scholarship as outlined in the following detailed section as well as the rank and promotion rubric
6. If the candidate believes additional material is essential to the dossier, they may prepare an additional statement taking care to include appropriate supplemental evidence.
If seeking the Professor Emeritus title, the dossier shall consist of the following:
1. Cover page including the name of the candidate, department and college, and expressing the desire for the Professor Emeritus title.
2. The candidate’s statement addressing their contributions to the University
3. Letters of Nomination and Recommendation (as outlined above)
a. Original letter of nomination
b. Three letters in support of the nomination
4. Updated Curriculum Vitae
5. Documentary evidence of accomplishments
a. Supervisory evaluations for the past five years demonstrating outstanding performance
b. Recent (within the past 5 years) student and peer evaluations of one’s teaching performance
c. Supportive evidence of leadership including committee membership along with outcomes or products of these efforts which occurred within the 5 years prior to nomination
d. Evidence of a continued scholarly activity from the 5 years prior to nomination
Candidate’s Statement
The candidate should include a personal statement not to exceed three pages in length when single spaced with a 12-point font that addresses their contributions to the University in the areas of teaching, clinical expertise, or librarianship; institutional and professional service; and scholarship and creative activity. This statement should address both current accomplishments since the candidate’s appointment (or previous increase in rank) as well as plans for future projects. Judging the quality of claims made in promotion documents is often very difficult; however, elaborating on the reason for inclusion of the evidence provided as well as formal reviews of one’s work and other indicators of quality will make the reviewer’s task much easier and more accurate.
Endorsement
The second step in the promotion process outlined above is a departmental review performed by senior faculty members. The candidate must seek out and confer with a minimum of 2 departmental members with seniority compared to the candidate’s current rank. These senior faculty members should review the academic progress of the potential candidate prior to initiation of the formal promotion process.
The candidate is responsible for providing a copy of their dossier in draft form to these reviewers, and subsequently each reviewer should complete the Departmental Reviewer Checklist and there-in recommend to support or not support the candidate’s continuation through the rank and promotion process. In the event that there are too few faculty of the necessary rank within the department of the candidate’s primary assignment, the candidate may seek out faculty with the appropriate rank from within the college of their primary assignment. If faculty of the appropriate rank cannot be found within the college of the candidate’s primary assignment, then the candidate may seek out faculty of the necessary rank from another college within the University. Upon completion, the results of this process should be included in the candidate’s dossier.
The letter of recommendation from the candidate’s supervisor should highlight specific aspects of the candidate’s accomplishments, along with a summary of the candidate’s teaching responsibilities and expertise, research and creative work, professional competence and service activity, as well as the supervisor’s own evaluation of the candidate’s academic performance (Step 3 of the promotion process).
The recommendation letters solicited from fellow faculty members should assess one’s productivity relative to others in similar appointments within one’s field. Three to five letters of recommendation are required for promotion, including assessment by faculty outside of one’s primary department. Letters of recommendation from individuals outside of Life University attesting to the candidate’s credentials are highly encouraged; however, these recommendations should never be solicited from clients or others whom the candidate has directly served in his/her work. All letters must be dated and are only valid for 3 years from the date of the letter’s composition. Furthermore, it is wise to select letters of recommendation that evaluate specific contributions or achievements rather than those that simply express support for the faculty member’s promotion. Specific information and evaluation by peers is more useful for this purpose than general statements or opinions.
Curriculum Vitae
In addition to providing the details of one’s educational and professional history, a current curriculum vitae (CV) presents a concise record of one’s most notable activities and accomplishments and thus should be updated regularly. It is helpful to include descriptive information while being as succinct as possible including dates, sources, monetary amounts, a description of one’s contribution and responsibility, and project status.
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