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External Evaluation Calendar

NOTE: When a published deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the effective deadline is the last working day before the published date.

August 16:

The latest faculty candidates seeking discretionary action notify the Department Chairperson/School Director of their intent to be considered for promotion. Critical-year candidates will be considered automatically unless they notify the Department Chairperson/School Director otherwise. The Department Chairperson/School Director consults with the FEC to ensure that both have a complete list of promotion or tenure cases.

September 1:

The Department Chairperson/School Director sends their Dean’s Office a list of faculty members seeking promotion and/or tenure (including both discretionary and critical-year candidates). The Department Chairperson/School Director also notifies their Dean’s Office about any faculty members who withdraw from the process in their critical year.

September 10:

The faculty candidate and the department FEC or Department Chairperson/School Director (or other appropriate faculty committee), acting independently, each provide a list of six (6) or more potential external evaluators. After receiving the list, the Department Chairperson/School Director shares the list with the faculty candidate and solicits the candidate’s written comments.

September 15:

In a written, signed, and dated statement or in a message sent from the faculty candidate’s university email address, the candidate gives the Department Chairperson/School Director comments regarding the committee’s suggested evaluators. If the candidate has no comments, the candidate must say so for the record. After receiving the faculty candidate’s comments, the Department Chairperson/School Director prepares (a) a final list of proposed evaluators and (b) a sample copy of the letter to be sent to the evaluators, based on the template included.

September 18:

In a single electronic submission, the Department Chairperson/School Director sends their Dean a proposal with the five sections outlined in the External Evaluator Lists.

September 23:

fter Receipt of the Department Chairperson/School Director’s Submission the Dean reviews the proposed external evaluators and the sample letter. The Dean may seek additional information from the Department Chairperson/School Director, strike one or more individuals from the list of potential external evaluators, or require revisions to the letter. When the materials are approved, the Dean will notify the Department Chairperson/School Director in a timely fashion.

The Department Chairperson/School Director files a copy of the approved sample letter in the candidate’s Digital Measures account in Archived Reports and Documents/Supporting Documentation . Because the identity of the evaluators is confidential, the approved list of evaluators is NOT placed in the file.

September 28:

After the Dean Approves the List of External Evaluators the Department Chairperson/School Director’s final list, and before sending the evaluation materials to the external evaluators, the Department Chairperson/School Director should make preliminary contact with the approved external evaluators by email or telephone to verify their willingness to participate in the process. A sample email message is included in this document.

University guidelines say that “a minimum of four (4) external evaluations ordinarily is required.” To increase the likelihood of receiving at least four (4) external evaluations, the Department Chairperson/School Director should secure agreements from at least six (6) evaluators. In addition, the Department Chairperson/School Director should send reminders to the external evaluators about a month before the deadline for the external evaluations.

October 1:

This is the university’s deadline for all evaluation materials to be sent (or otherwise made available) to the external evaluators. The faculty candidate is responsible for preparing a package of materials that will allow the external evaluators to judge the significance and impact of the faculty member’s work. See the section entitled “Faculty Candidate’s Materials for External Evaluators” for details. The Dean’s office is responsible for external evaluator lists and solicitation letters to be uploaded to the "Confidential Letters of External Review" section of Digital Measures.