Promotion Process

Workflow Process

Promotion dossiers are collected and processed electronically through Workflow, within the Faculty Activity Reporting system.

Submission Deadlines

Submit promotions for review:

• To the Chair’s Office by September 10
• To the Dean’s Office by October 10
• To the Provost’s Office by November 14

Find promotion information in the Faculty Handbook 

Evaluation Criteria

The principal criteria to be applied in the evaluation of a candidate for promotion are as follows:

• The criteria for each rank as given in the Faculty Handbook
• Teaching competence, as witnessed by student evaluations (see B3.b2), colleague evaluations and letters of evaluation from students, colleagues or other persons who are sufficiently knowledgeable to make a professional judgment
• The effectiveness of the candidate as a scholar, researcher, artist or performer in her or his discipline and the promise of continued professional vitality
• Effectiveness in serving students outside the classroom
• Demonstrated leadership abilities in the department and on the campus
• Contribution and commitment to the mission, goals and objectives of the college

Responsibilities of the Candidate

Provide the department chair with:

• A list of up to 12 students qualified to assess your performance as teacher
• The names of campus colleagues who have an adequate basis for evaluating your performance and your qualifications for promotion (e.g., the person might have team-taught a course with you or may have chaired or served on a committee with you)
• The names of three or four outside references who can judge the your professional competence. These persons should be in the same or a related field of scholarship as you. Indicate the nature of your personal and/or professional relationship with the outside reference. They will be contacted by the department chair.
• Syllabi of new courses created by you and representative samples of your other syllabi
• Provide course evaluations for all courses taught in the last two semesters
• A five‑year plan for teaching, research, publication, creative performance or other professional development
• A statement describing your contribution and commitment to each element of the college’s mission statement
• A current curriculum vitae (sample)
• (Optional) Copies of books, articles and reviews, exhibition catalogs or programs of concerts and other performances to illustrate creative activity; avoid personal notes and other forms of “fan mail”

Do not discuss your candidacy for promotion with any students so as not to diminish the integrity of the process.

Responsibilities of the Department Chair

Solicit letters from tenured members of the department (including yourself in your capacity as a departmental colleague), other members of the college faculty and external referees; solicit letters from 12 students randomly selected from class lists of the last five years, and solicit letters from students selected by the candidate. 

Guidelines for letters of recommendation and support for tenure and promotion dossiers

Note: These letters must be non-directive (see sample letters).

Please give special attention to the note appended to the sample letter to external references. Send one follow-up letter to anyone who has not replied to the first request. Do not telephone or contact in any other way: If they do not respond to the second letter, allow them the right to remain silent on the subject.

Organize all materials according to the sequence outlined below and submit to the Dean’s Office.

Responsibilities of the Dean

Write a thorough statement of evaluation on the candidate's performance addressing each of the following categories:

• Teaching effectiveness and creativity: Include an evaluation of such factors as planning course objectives and goals; effectiveness in communication, counseling and motivation of students; effectiveness in evaluating student progress; and ability to relate course work to overall curricular goals of the department and college (provide supporting evidence as available)
• Scholarly or artistic achievement and professional activities
• Service to the department, college and community
• Contributions and commitment to each element of the college’s mission statement

Note: You may quote from student, faculty or colleague letters, but do not include names when referencing these quotes — this violates confidentiality policies.

Submit a draft of your statement to the department chair in a timely manner. If the chair does not concur with the dean’s recommendation and the disagreement cannot be resolved through discussion, he or she may write a rebuttal letter to the Status Committee to be included in the notebook.

Submit completed notebook to the Provost's Office, after it has been thoroughly checked by you and your administrative assistant. 

After the promotion decision, send a brief announcement to all writers of letters of reference, informing them of the decision and thanking them for their assistance in the process.

Confidentiality Policies

The dean's recommendation, the candidate's CV, five-year plan and statement of support for Hope’s mission will be submitted to the Board of Trustees after the Status Committee makes its recommendation.

The candidate shall receive a copy of the dean’s recommendation and the department chair’s rebuttal letter (if any) when they are forwarded to the Status Committee.

Letters from students, tenured members of the candidate's department and other professional colleagues either from within or from outside the college will be kept confidential.

Tenured members of the department will be entitled to see the candidate's CV, course syllabi and all publications or similar evidence of professional accomplishments.

It is assumed that all other supporting materials placed in the candidate's tenure notebook are available for inspection by the candidate.