Resolution FPC 24-18 Post Tenure Review

Post-Tenure Review

 1.0        Purpose and Scope 

1.1 The purpose of the post-tenure review process is to acknowledge, facilitate, and support the success and professional growth of tenured faculty unit employees and to promote and maintain professional and institutional effectiveness. California State University Dominguez Hill’s post-tenure evaluation policy encourages and rewards diversity and flexibility by recognizing various forms of scholarship, creative activities, and services. Additionally, it recognizes and encourages the changing interests and contributions of faculty, counselors and librarians at different stages of their careers. Post-tenure review also provides the university administration and faculty unit employees an opportunity to discover and address institutional inequities and obstacles to faculty unit effectiveness.

1.2  Post-tenure evaluation is conducted in an inclusive, respectful and positive atmosphere of constructive and beneficial communication among all involved, with a goal of ensuring that the talents and contributions of each faculty, counselor and librarian are continuously developed, supported, and aligned with both professional goals and with department, college, and university priorities as well as the CSUDH Strategic Plan.

The evaluation of tenured faculty unit employees shall respect and honor the rights granted to faculty, counselors and librarians at tenure and shall be conducted in a manner that ensures the protection of the principle of academic freedom in conformity with American Association of University Professors' policies of academic freedom and due process.  The results of post tenure review shall not be used to challenge, restrict, or withdraw either tenure and/or rank or the rights granted thereby, but rather is a formative assessment with the goal of encouraging continuing professional development along whatever career trajectory a faculty member may seek within the university.

2.0        Frequency

2.1 All tenured faculty unit employees in accordance with the Unit 3 Collective Bargaining Agreement shall undergo post-tenure review at intervals of no greater than five years. Exempt from such periodic evaluation are tenured faculty, counselors or librarians who are scheduled for promotion review in a given academic year and who have not withdrawn from promotion consideration and faculty unit employees who are on sabbatical or leave during the period in which their file is under review. Faculty unit employees in the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) shall not be required to submit a post-tenure review file unless the faculty unit employee requests to be reviewed or the appropriate administrator requests that the faculty unit employee be reviewed. 

3.0        General Procedures

3.1 A timeline for the evaluation process shall be established by the University President or designee after consideration of the recommendations of appropriate committees and shall include a deadline for the submission of the post-tenure evaluation materials and the deadlines for subsequent levels of review. Once the evaluation process has begun, there shall be no changes in criteria, standards, and procedures used to evaluate tenured faculty unit employees.

3.2  The Office of Faculty Affairs shall publish post-tenure evaluation deadlines in the Academic Personnel calendar at the beginning of each academic year. The Office of Faculty Affairs shall also provide deans, chairs, and affected faculty unit employees with a list of faculty unit employees undergoing post-tenure review.

3.3  As per the CBA: “A tenured faculty unit employee shall be provided a copy of the peer committee report of their periodic evaluation. The peer review committee chair and the appropriate administrator shall meet with the tenured faculty unit employee to discuss their strengths and weaknesses along with suggestions, if any, for their improvement (Article 15.36).

3.4  The Department Peer Review Committee shall provide a written report of the evaluation to the faculty unit employee under review ten (10) calendar days before it is sent to the College Dean and placed in the faculty unit employee’s Personnel Action File.

3.5  If the faculty unit employee wishes to submit a rebuttal and or request a meeting with the level of review to discuss the report, they must do wo within 10 calendar days of receipt of the evaluation. The meeting shall be held within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the request. The faculty unit employee may also submit a written rebuttal statement or response within that period. This statement or response shall be placed in his or her Personnel Action File.

3.6  A tenured faculty unit employee shall be provided a copy of the peer committee report of their periodic evaluation. The peer review committee chair and the appropriate administrator shall offer their availability to meet with the tenured faculty unit employee to discuss their strengths and weaknesses along with suggestions, if any, for their improvement.

3.7  Per the CBA, a copy of the peer committee's and the appropriate administrator's summary reports shall be placed in the tenured faculty unit employee's Personnel Action File (CBA, 2024, Article, 15.37).

3.8  Any party to the evaluation may request an external review of the post-tenure materials. Such a request shall specify in writing; (1) the special circumstances which necessitate an outside review, and (2) the nature of the materials needing the evaluation of an outside reviewer. The appropriate administrator must approve the request with the concurrence of the department peer review committee, the department chair, and the faculty unit employee.

3.9   The evaluation of a tenured faculty unit employee holding a joint appointment in more than one department shall be conducted by each department in which the individual holds an appointment or may be conducted by a single peer review committee with representatives from each department in which the individual holds an appointment.

4.0        Criteria and Standards

4.1  Criteria and standards for the periodic evaluation of tenured faculty shall be developed and updated by each department, based on principles consistent with this policy, and said criteria and standards shall be submitted to the appropriate administrator for review and comment. Criteria and standards shall be as specific to the academic discipline as possible but also broad enough to encompass a variety of career trajectories. Criteria and standards will also address the document to be submitted by the tenured faculty unit employee being evaluated. A copy of this departmental document (i.e., criteria and standards), as well as the timeline and evaluation procedures, shall be made available to the faculty unit employee in a timely manner prior to the commencement of the evaluation process.

5.0        Peer Review Committee Configuration

5.1  The periodic evaluation of a tenured faculty unit employee shall be conducted by a department peer review committee of (3) full-time tenured faculty unit employees at rank or above who shall have been elected by the full-time tenure track and tenured faculty unit of the department, consistent with departmental procedures. If there are insufficient eligible faculty, counselor or librarians in the department to satisfy the minimum requirement of three (3) committee members, tenured and at rank full-time faculty, counselors or librarians from a related academic discipline shall be elected by the department conducting the evaluation. In addition, tenured faculty unit employees from other discipline-appropriate areas may be selected, as determined by the reviewing department, to complement the membership of the peer review committee.

6.0        The Content of the Evaluation File

6.1  The faculty unit employee under review shall submit the following materials   for their post-tenure review file:

1. 1. A current CV that highlights the entries covering the time period since the faculty unit employee’s previous RTP or post-tenure review.
   2. A recommended summary of 1000 words that outlines the faculty unit employee’s most significant achievements in the areas of teaching, scholarly/creative activities and service during the period of review and the faculty unit employee’s goals in these areas for the next five years.
   3. For those faculty unit employees who have not undergone review within the past 5 years, a recommended 3,000-word summary that outlines the faculty unit employee’s most significant achievements in the areas of teaching, scholarly/creative activities and service during the period of review and the faculty unit employee’s goals in these areas for the next five years.
   4. For faculty with teaching responsibilities, PTE’s from at least the previous 5 years will be submitted for all faculty unit employees.