All tenure-track faculty
members, regardless or rank, are formally reviewed during their
probationary period at the university. A formal tenure progress
review gives input to the Dean regarding retention decisions, and
ensures that both the faculty member and the institution are aware
of the progress of the faculty member relative to the unit's criteria
for awarding tenure. This Third Year Review usually occurs during
the faculty member's thrid year but can occur in the second year
if agreed upon by the Dean and the faculty member as a result of
the Colleague Evaluation and Annual Performance Review process.
The outcome of a third
year review does not guarantee either a positive or negative result
in later tenure or promotion decisions.
1.
A
discussion of whether the faculty member should undergo Third Year
Review during the typical third year or earlier, in the second year,
will be a part of the first probationary faculty member's Annual
Performance Review with the Dean. This discussion is intended to
be instructive for the faculty member, but the decision of when to
undergo the Third Year Review will rest with the faculty member.
The Dean
must inform the faculty member, in the second semester of the faculty
member's second academic year, to submit a tenure progress file
to the Dean's office if the decision is to undergo the Third Year
Review. This process will occur a year earlier if the decision
of the candidate is to undergo the review in the second year of
the probationary period.
If the decision
from the first Annual Performance Review meeting is that the candidate
wishes to undergo the Third Year Review in the second year of the
probationary period, then this meeting will serve as the official
notification to the faculty member that in the following year a
tenure progress file must be submitted to the Dean's office.
2.
The faculty member must follow the usual tenure and promotion
file format (http://www.sc.edu/provost/facultyinfo.html)
and process. The primary exceptions to this process are:
a.
Statements of referees and reviewers outside
the unit will not be solicited or used.
b.
The Third Year Review file and supporting
materials are not forwarded past the dean.
c.
The Third Year Review file and supporting
materials will be due in the dean's office on January 31.
3.
The faculty member's Third Year Review
file will be reviewed as follows:
a.
The Chair of the Select T&P Committee
will review the Third Year Review files during the first two weeks of February.
b.
The unit T&P Committee will review
the Third Year Review files during the last two weeks of February.
Consideration of the candidate's Third Year Review file by
the unit T&P Committee will take place at a late February or
early March meeting.
After a discussion of the candidate's Third Year Review file at
this meeting, a vote will be taken recommending retention or non-retention
of
the
faculty
member. Individual ballots will be used during the deliberations.
The ballots will be destroyed after being counted. The vote
of the unit T&P Committee
is advisory only and is not binding in regard to any decision
ultimately
made by the Dean.
c.
Any member of the unit T&P Committee
may also send a letter of evaluation to the
Dean prior to March 7.
d.
The Dean will review the Third Year Review
files after the February/early March meeting of the unit T&P.
4.
Within two weeks of the unit T&P Committee's
February/March meeting, the chair of the Select T&P Committee
will write a summary of the points of discussion that took place
at
the T&P
Committee meeting, which also indicates whether the retention vote
was positive or negative. This summary report will be forwarded
to the Dean. The
chair's summary report must specifically address the
candidate's
progress in each of the three areas of the unit's tenure criteria.
The chair's summary report is advisory only and is not
binding in regard to any decision ultimately made by the Dean.
5.
The Dean will then make the final decision
after reviewing the Third Year Review file, the letters, the summary
report, and the vote on retention indicated
by the unit T&P Committee at their meeting. The Dean will
write an evaluation, send a copy to the faculty member, and schedule
a conference to discuss the results.
6.
The faculty member's file must be returned
to him/her after the conference with the dean, but a copy of all
evaluation reports and
letters must be retained in the faculty member's personnel file in
the dean's office.
Neither
the Faculty Manual nor the Academic Affairs Policy Bulletin (ACAF
1.05) offers procedures for an appeal of the results of a Third Year
Review. In the case of non-retention following a third year
review, the third year faculty member may wish to consult the Faculty
Manual in the section, "Academic Grievance Procedures." Section
I states:
Grievances concerning non-reappointment
are limited to the grounds of denial of academic freedom or
denial of procedural due process. Due process applies particularly
to required annual faculty evaluation and the observance of the
timely notice requirements.
If these grounds are believed to exist,
the faculty member shall have access to the grievance procedures
outlined in section II.
The procedures outlined above are in compliance
with regulations on Third Year Review established in the University
Faculty Manual. Should discrepancies between the preceding procedures
and the Faculty Manual be identified, the Faculty Manual will take
precedence.