Fall 2022 - Contract Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion – Teaching Faculty

Objective

The faculty Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion process has been designed to facilitate the pursuit of professional development opportunities by individual faculty members that are in keeping with career goals, interests and expertise, and which align with the goals of the academic department, school or library, and SUNY Oneonta.

Definitions

A list of definitions regarding Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion process is available on the Provost's website.

General Timetable for Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion

Typically, there are three term contract renewal evaluation cycles prior to continuing appointment: the first occurs during the fall of the second year, the second occurs in the spring of the third year, and the third occurs in the spring of the fifth year. It is recognized that external circumstances sometimes preclude continuous progress toward tenure, and tenure-track faculty may receive a temporary suspension of their tenure clock. The Policies of the Board of Trustees (hereinafter "Policies") and the Agreement between the State of New York State and United University Professions (hereinafter "Agreement") address leaves of absence as related to continuing appointment. It is also recognized that although the typical renewal is for two years, SUNY Oneonta has the right to grant one-year appointments at any time during term contract renewal periods.

Faculty are expected to serve seven years before achieving continuing appointment (as defined in the Policies and the Agreement). Under exceptional circumstances, faculty members may consult with their Chair and Dean for early consideration of continuing appointment. Article XI, Title B of the Policies of the Board of Trustees addresses eligibility for continuing appointment. Notification requirements for non-renewal decisions are located in Article XI, Title D of the Policies and Article 32 of the Agreement.

Promotion requires that the individual serve at least three years in the current rank prior to submitting a promotion application.

Credit for Prior Service

At the time of initial hire to Oneonta, and after consultation with the provost or designee, a new full-time, tenure-track faculty member may request that they be credited with up to a maximum of three years satisfactory full-time prior service in academic rank at any other accredited academic institution of higher education. The faculty must complete appropriate paperwork, and follow appropriate procedures as outlined in Article XI, Title B of the Policies of the Board of Trustees.

Committees

The candidate is evaluated through the review of a Professional Development Portfolio by the appropriate committee.

Dean 's/Library Director's Advisory Committee
In accordance with the policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, Dean's Advisory Committees have been established to facilitate personnel deliberations on term renewals for the schools within Academic Affairs. The Library Director's Advisory Committee has similarly been established to facilitate personnel deliberations on term contract renewals in Milne Library.

A Dean's Advisory Committee consists of five elected faculty members who have received continuing appointment and promotion. The Library Director's Advisory Committee consists of five elected faculty members who have received continuing appointment and promotion, including one faculty member from the Library and four teaching faculty.

Faculty members of each school/library will, within the first two weeks of the spring semester of each academic year, nominate candidates for membership for vacant positions on the DAC/LDAC to the appropriate dean/library director. The dean/library director will evaluate the candidates based on eligibility, which is primarily but not limited to continuing appointment and promotion, and present the slate of individuals for confirmation vote by simple majority of the votes cast by eligible faculty within the school/library holding academic rank of assistant professor/librarian or above.

Faculty members elected to any Dean's/Library Director's Advisory Committee serve staggered three-year terms. No department may have more than one member serving on a Dean's/Library Director's Advisory Committee, except in: the case of a school that has fewer than five departments. In a school with fewer than five departments, each department must have at least one representative.

Promotion and Tenure Committee

In accordance with the Policies of the Board of Trustees, the Promotion and Tenure Committee has been established to facilitate personnel deliberations on continuing appointments and promotions. The committee consists of seven elected Professor/Librarian members: one member from each school and the Library, and two at-large members. Elected faculty serve staggered three ­year terms. Faculty serving on a Dean's Advisory Committee cannot simultaneously serve on the Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Faculty members holding academic rank of assistant professor/librarian or above will nominate candidates and/or self-nominate for membership on the promotion and tenure committee to the provost. The provost will evaluate each candidate based on eligibility, which is primarily but not limited to holding academic rank of Professor/Librarian, and present the slate of individuals for confirmation vote by simple majority of the votes cast by eligible faculty members holding the academic rank of assistant professor/librarian or above. Tenured faculty holding an administrative title and/or who are part of the tenure and promotion review process are excluded from participating:

All faculty elected to a Dean's/Library Director's Advisory Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee must receive mandatory training provided by the provost's office, or designee, in reviewing candidate materials. The training should occur in the semester prior to service.

Evaluation Criteria

SUNY Oneonta provides Guidelines and Criteria for Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion which are relevant across SUNY Oneonta, with the expectation that each department and the Library will augment those expectations by discipline-specific guidelines and criteria, so that each department has a single document that contains both the SUNY Oneonta-wide and the relevant departmental criteria. Henceforth, "Guidelines and Criteria" refers to the document corresponding to the candidate's department.

The SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustee establish the following five general criteria (for specific language see the Policies of the Board of Trustees, Article XII) for evaluation of academic faculty:

1. Mastery of Subject Matter-as demonstrated by such things as advanced degrees, licenses, honors, awards and reputation in the subject matter field.
2. Effectiveness in Teaching-as demonstrated by such things as professional judgment of colleagues, development of teaching materials or new courses and student reaction, as determined from surveys, interviews and classroom observation.
3. Scholarly Ability-as demonstrated by such things as success in developing, and carrying out significant research work in the subject matter field, contribution to the arts, publications and reputation among colleagues.
4. Effectiveness of University Service-as demonstrated by such things as College and University public service, committee work, administrative work and work with students or community in addition to formal teacher-student relationships.
5. Continuing Growth-as demonstrated by such things as reading, research or other activities to keep abreast of current developments in the academic employee's fields and being able to handle successfully increased responsibility.

For faculty in academic departments, the area of Effectiveness in Teaching is primary, Scholarly Ability and Effectiveness of Service represent components of professional obligations. Evaluation of teaching effectiveness should be based on careful consideration of all teaching documentation. Deficiency in teaching cannot be compensated for by quality of scholarship and service. However, faculty are expected to make contributions in all three areas as described in the Guidelines and Criteria. For library faculty, Effectiveness in Teaching is understood to mean Effectiveness in Librarianship. The categories of Mastery of Subject Matter and Continuing Growth are infused within the other categories and are indicated by criteria for each renewal and rank-specific promotion.

The Guidelines and Criteria are intended to be used by the candidate in preparation of the Professional Development Portfolio, as well as by those who write letters for, and review, the portfolio. Departmental guidelines and expectations, which should.be drawn from discussions by tenured/tenure track faculty members, are subject to approval by the relevant Dean or Library Director, and then by the Provost, to establish baseline consistency within each school and across SUNY Oneonta. The Guidelines and Criteria for each department will be publicly posted and the relevant Guidelines and Criteria will be made available to all newly hired faculty members and those scheduled to apply for renewal or continuing appointment. Prior to development of departmental guidelines and criteria, the Provost will provide guidelines to assist departments and ensure consistency.

Preparation of the Professional Development Portfolio

Faculty members will use the Guidelines and Criteria provided by their department to compile a Professional Development Portfolio that includes activities carried out during the review period, in order to document their efforts in reaching the established criteria.

The SUNY Oneonta Professional Development Portfolio is organized as follows:

1. Background and Context
2. Personal Statement and Self-Assessment
3. Documentation of Effectiveness

Different disciplines may have different norms for the number of pages of academic content produced, and the Professional Development Portfolio is expected to grow as the candidate moves through renewal cycles to tenure and promotion.

Background and Context

The Background and Context section of the portfolio establishes a starting point for the faculty member's self-assessment and provides a context for the evaluation of performance. This section of the portfolio includes:

1. A one-page cover letter specifying the candidate's request for Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and/or Promotion.
2. The published departmental criteria relevant to the current evaluation (term contract Renewal, Promotion and/or Continuing Appointment) and to the discipline of the candidate.
3. Previous Dean's/Library Director's Advisory Committee renewal recommendation letters are required for subsequent renewals and continuing appointment.
4. Current Departmental recommendation that contains details concerning the review process and the candidate's strengths and/or areas for improvement, based on the criteria established by the department.
5. Separate letter of recommendation from the Department Chair. For Library Faculty, separate letter of recommendation from the candidate's supervisor (unless the supervisor· is the Library Director).
6. An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae summarizing the faculty member's professional and educational background; teaching areas or library specialties; scholarly activities; and service to the university, local community, and professional organizations.
7. At least two teaching observation reports from different faculty members, at least one from the candidate's department when possible, as described in the Peer Observations of Teaching section of the Guidelines and Criteria. For librarians, at least two letters from different faculty members, at least one from the Library, substantially addressing librarianship/teaching. Observations and letters must address work performed within a 24-month period prior to the deadline for submission of the portfolio.
8. Faculty Activity Reports. In the case of term contract renewal, FARs for each year since the most recent review. In the case of promotion and/or continuing appointment, FARs for the last three years.

In the case of promotion and/or continuing appointment, the Background and Context section of the portfolio includes additional letters of support as follows:

1. Candidates shall solicit letters of support from at least two SUNY Oneonta Colleagues who are above their current academic rank. At least one letter should be from a colleague who is not a member of the candidate's department and at least one letter should be from a departmental colleague other than the Chair or appropriate supervisor.
2. The candidate shall provide the Chair/Supervisor or Department/Library designee with a list of at least five potential colleagues external to SUNY Oneonta. External letter writer must be at a rank above candidate's current academic rank. The Chair/Supervisor or Department/Library designee will solicit letters of support from qualified individuals on the list.
   1. At least three external letters of support are required.
   2. The Department Chair/Supervisor or Department/Library designee will provide all external references with a copy of the candidate's CV and the SUNY Oneonta-wide and department/library-specific criteria.

Teaching/librarianship, scholarship, service, other facets of the candidate's career may be addressed within these letters. The Guidelines and Criteria should be consulted for rank-specific guidelines.

The Personal Statement and Self-Assessment

The Personal Statement and Self-Assessment section of the Professional Development Portfolio provides the candidate's narrative tying the Background and Context together and providing a framework for understanding the documentation of performance in teaching/librarianship, scholarship, and service. A personal statement should be used to encompass these three aspects of professional obligation in order to facilitate writing and reviewing the portfolio. This section should also address how the candidate has demonstrated continuing growth and mastery of subject matter within the three areas of obligation. The Guidelines and Criteria should be followed in creating the personal statement.

Documentation of Effectiveness

All teaching faculty are expected to provide the following items in the Documentation of Effectiveness section of the Professional Development Portfolio:

1. Representative copies of course syllabi and other course materials;
2. Statistical data for each section taught during the review period, or from the last two years in the case of continuing appointment and promotion, as follows:
   1. Results from administration of the SUNY Oneonta-wide student evaluation of instruction instrument;
   2. Mean scores of the SUNY Oneonta-wide student evaluation of instruction instrument compared with the departmental average and school-wide average;
   3. The number of students registered for each section and the number of individuals completing evaluation forms;
   4. Grade distribution data, including numbers and percentages, compared with the departmental average and school-wide average.
   5. Candidates are welcome to provide context or commentary on unusual patterns in the statistical data.
3. Documentation of effectiveness in teaching, scholarship, and service, as indicated in the Guidelines and Criteria.

All library faculty are expected to provide the following items in the Documentation of Effectiveness section of the Professional Development Portfolio as indicated in the Guidelines and Criteria:

1. Documentation of effectiveness in librarianship
2. Documentation of effectiveness in scholarship
3. Documentation of effectiveness in service

Deadlines for Submissions, Recommendations, and Decisions

Deadlines for submitting the Professional Development Portfolio for consideration for renewal and/or continuing appointment vary, based upon such factors as length of appointment and leaves of absence taken. Currently, in approximately February and October of each year, the Office of Human Resources provides each Dean, Department Chair and the Library Director with a "Retention and Permanency List." This list provides dates by which individual faculty must be notified of continuation. The dean or designee will notify faculty members of their renewal and continuing dates. Individual faculty members may request dates through the Department Chair or the Office of Human Resources.

As Library Faculty appointment dates may occur throughout the year, Library Faculty candidate renewal notification and due dates are as follows: By the first week of September the Library Director shall provide to the Personnel Committee Chair a list of the Personnel Committee actions for the year, including the dates on which Personnel Committee recommendations are due for reappointment. The Personnel Committee Chair provides to candidates the date their portfolios are due to the Personnel Committee and the date the Personnel Committee's recommendation is due to the LDAC. The LDAC and the Library Director negotiate the date the LDAC's recommendation is due to the Library Director. The Library Director and the Provost's Office negotiate the date the Library Director's recommendation is due to the Provost.

Submission of the Professional Development Portfolio

Candidates are responsible for the preparation and timely submission of portfolios for matters of Term Contract Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion. The Professional Development Portfolio must be submitted in electronic format using the process outlined in this document.

For Teaching Faculty, the Professional Development Portfolio must first be submitted to the department by the departmental deadline. Once the department has completed its review and the candidate has had a chance to rebut, the Professional Development Portfolio shall be submitted to the Department Chair for review. After review and any rebuttal, the Professional Development Portfolio shall be submitted to the Dean's Office. Librarians' portfolios must first be submitted to the Chair of the Library Personnel Committee. After the addition of the Library Personnel Committee letter, the Librarian's portfolio is submitted to the appropriate committee (LDAC or P&T). Department and Library-Personnel Committee specific deadlines should be established and clearly communicated to the candidate by the Department Chair/Library Director; these deadlines must include at least a week for rebuttal before the candidate submits their final portfolio to the Dean's/Library Director's Office.

Copies of all recommendations shall be provided to the candidate at each stage of the process by the due date listed on the Provost's website. In addition, each Dean or Library Director shall maintain an electronic archive of prior Dean's/Library Director Advisory Committee recommendations, to be made available to candidate upon request.

How Teaching Faculty candidate portfolios will travel through the process:

For Renewal	For Tenure and Promotion
Department Review/Personnel Committee	Department Review/Personnel Committee
Department Chair	Department Chair
Dean's Advisory Committee	Dean
Dean	Promotion and Tenure Committee
Provost	Provost
President	President

How Library Faculty candidate portfolios will travel through the process:

For Renewal	For Tenure and Promotion
Milne Library Personnel Committee	Milne Library Personnel Committee
Library Director's Advisory Committee	Library Director
Library Director	Promotion and Tenure Committee
Provost	Provost
President	President

Rebutting Recommendations and Appealing Decisions

The candidate has the right to provide a rebuttal letter after each committee or office recommendation is written. The candidate shall have one week after receiving each recommendation to provide a rebuttal or statement, which will be included in the portfolio and forwarded to the next level of review.

The Agreement provides an appeal process ONLY for the president's decision to deny continuing appointment. Other procedural rights may be provided and are identified in Articles 30, 31, and 32 of the Agreement. There is no right to appeal the president's decision to deny a renewal or promotion: The process for candidate appeal of the President's decision not to grant continuing appointment is provided in Article 33 of the Agreement.

Institutional Support for the Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion Process

The Provost's Office or designee will:

• Provide a copy of the relevant Guidelines and Criteria, as well as information about orientation and workshops, to new faculty upon hire.
• Conduct a general orientation for new faculty members once each year.
• Offer workshops for all faculty on the construction of a Professional Development Portfolio.
• Offer teaching observation training session(s) for peer observations.
• In conjunction with the Deans, offer training on reviewing candidate Portfolios for Dean's/Library Director's Advisory Council and Promotion and Tenure Committee members.

SUNY Oneonta will provide the relevant statistical data to the candidate in a format appropriate for inclusion in the Professional Development Portfolio.

The Faculty Center will offer workshops throughout the year related to all areas of faculty responsibilities. UUP may also provide workshops.

Subject to Regulations and Other Applicable Policies and Agreements

This Faculty Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion Policy and attendant documents are subject to the provisions of the Agreement and Policies and to any applicable SUNY, New York State or federal rules, regulations and guidelines.

This "Faculty Renewal, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion" document may be signed in counterparts which together will form a single-document and may be transmitted and signed digitally.

As agreed to:

For United University Professions

For State University of York at Oneonta