Candidate's Role & Responsibility
The candidate has the right to view the non-confidential materials in their file in accordance with University policy and with Article 31 of the UUP’s Agreement between United University Professions and the State of New York.
In preparation for and during the review process, the candidate should:
- Prepare certain required elements of the tenure file (CV, statements, etc.), as outlined in the “Instructions for the Preparation of the File."
- Add updated material to the file at any time during the review process (for example: updating the status of manuscripts or articles as they appear in print, or adding new teaching evaluations). See “Adding Materials to the File” for more information.
- Inform the department of any individuals who should not be selected as external reviewers for reasons such as conflict of interest, close relationship, history of conflict with candidate and disciplinary controversies. See the section about the candidate’s role in selecting external reviewers for more information.
- Provide the department with the names and contact information of individuals who would be appropriate for the committee to consider as it solicits letters of evaluation for teaching and service, and for documentation of co-authorship contributions. See "Contents of the File" for more information on "Additional Solicited Letters," "Solicited and Non-solicited Letters" and the "Documentation of Service."
Department Chair's Role & Responsibility
The department Chair has the following roles and responsibilities in preparation for and during the review process:
- Ensure that the candidate has a copy of these administrative procedures.
- Ensure that the candidate is made aware of the disciplinary and departmental expectations for promotion and tenure with respect to research, teaching and service.
- Inform the Dean and the Office of the Provost — before preparation of the file — of the candidate's name and nature of the personnel action in cases of reconsideration, promotion, early consideration for tenure and, where applicable, for a new faculty member.
- Ensure that the file includes all required elements, and that these are included and presented in an organized and clear fashion in the order outlined in “Contents of the File.”
- Prepare the Chair’s letter as outlined in "Initial Administrative Recommendation." Please also see the Guidance for Writing a Chair’s letter.
- Ensure that the file, specifically the Chair's letter, contains information about relevant disciplinary norms and expectations. The department’s written guidelines outlining expectations should also be included in the file.
- Ensure that the Chair’s letter consists of an independent review of the evidence in the dossier. It should not serve as the major source of evidence in a dossier.
- Ensure that the candidate is given an opportunity to review the contents of the file, with the exception of the confidential solicited letters, and add a response if desired before the subsequent level of review.
Role & Responsibility of the Individual Charged with Assembling the File
The following roles and responsibilities apply to anyone who has been charged with assembling the file itself. This varies by department; in some departments it is the administrative manager or assistant to Chair, while in other departments it is the department Chair, an ad hoc faculty committee, a designated reviewer, or the candidate’s faculty mentor. Regardless, during the review process, the person/committee charged with assembling the actual file during the review process must:
- Coordinate the logistics of assembling the actual elements of the file (as outlined in “Instructions for Preparing the File” section) and preparing an entirely electronic copy (as outlined in Appendix D).
- Keep the Document Register up-to-date.
- Serve as the department custodial officer in charge of coordinating the viewing of the file by the candidate and ensure that the confidential material in the file is removed when the candidate views the file.
- Oversee the viewing of the file by other faculty members who will vote on the case, and ensure that no other party views the dossier in the process.
- Coordinate the request and receipt of solicited letters, ensuring that procedures related to documenting the confidential and non-confidential nature of the letters are followed.
- Ensure that there is a clear process for collecting and documenting the departmental vote, including the reasons given for positive and negative evaluations of the candidate’s file.