Reappointment, Tenure, Promotion

Office for Faculty Excellence's Role

Consult your chair or unit head and your personnel committee for  information on requirements and procedures for tenure and promotion and  carefully read the appropriate sections of the East Carolina University Faculty Manual.  The East Carolina University Faculty Manual contains the procedure to  be followed. The Faculty Manual includes The Code of The Board of  Governors of The University of North Carolina (Part XI of the Faculty Manual).  In addition, there may be unit procedures and guidelines that have been  created as part of the process. If these are not given to you  automatically, please ask whether such documents exist for your unit.

The role of the Office for Faculty Excellence in this process is to  offer some resources and materials appropriate for several of the common  components of the tenure and promotion process. Those common components  are
 
SOIS (Student Opinion of Instruction Survey)
 
OFE consults with faculty members regarding their SOIS data.
   
 
 
Peer classroom observation
 
OFE conducts the training required of faculty members who serve as peer classroom observers.
   
 
 
Construction of a PAD (Personnel Action Dossier)
 
OFE conducts workshops on the required paperwork for personnel matters.


  Faculty Manual

The East Carolina University Faculty Manual is the faculty member's  contract. It is available online from the Faculty Senate Office at: http://www.ecu.edu/fsonline/manual/facultymanual.cfm

Required Elements

SOIS:

The Faculty Senate has approved for use in personnel decisions two  surveys: the SOIS (Student Opinion of Instruction Survey) in versions  for face-to-face, lab, and field-based courses and the Distance  Education Survey. The Distance Education Survey is administered to all  students in courses with a distance-learning component that comprises 25  percent or more of the total contact hours. The Office of Institutional  Planning, Research, and Effectiveness generates these surveys,  administers them, and summarizes the information, which is distributed  to the appropriate faculty members and units.

For a description of each survey, the procedures, and the schedule for conducting the surveys, see http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/ipar/assessment/AboutSOIS.cfm.

SOIS Reporting Form for PAD

For questions concerning the surveys please contact:

Chuck Rich
Associate Director
Institutional Effectiveness
Telephone 252-328-9486
email richc@ecu.edu

Peer Classroom Observation:

Direct, peer classroom observation of teaching for non-tenured,  probationary term faculty members is required at East Carolina  University. This requirement results from UNC General Administrative  Memorandum #338 ("Tenure and Teaching in the University of North  Carolina"), issued September 28, 1992, and from East Carolina University  Faculty Senate Resolution #93-44, which was approved by the Chancellor  on February 8, 1994. The Faculty Senate Resolution establishes  procedures and an instrument for direct, peer classroom observation. It  also states that units can modify the Faculty Senate procedures or  instrument, or select their own, provided these are approved by the  appropriate vice chancellor.

Personnel Action Dossier (PAD):

The Personnel Action Dossier (PAD) is required for personnel action for  reappointment, promotion and permanent tenure. It is defined in the East  Carolina University Faculty Manual (IV.F.2) as:

     
  • The Personnel Action Dossier is a file containing materials for  evaluating a faculty member's professional activity. The dossier is  compiled by candidates for reappointment, promotion, and/or permanent  tenure in consultation with the unit administrator and the chair of the  Unit Personnel Committee. The dossier will be use by the appropriate  committee in making personnel recommendations. A fixed term faculty  member seeking to be recommended for a second or subsequent fixed-term  appointment need not compile the dossier.
       
     
    •  
  • The Faculty Manual specifies the organization, content and limitations of the dossier in Section XII. Additional information on tenure and promotion is in Section XIII.
       
     

Resources

School- and College-level Meetings

A number of the colleges and schools hold meetings to discuss the  expectations and procedures for acquiring tenure and promotion in that  unit. The timing for these meetings varies from one year to the next.  Ask in your school or college if there are plans to hold such a meeting  and when it will occur. It is important that you attend this meeting.

Unit Chair and Personnel Committee Discussions

You need to inquire if your unit has unit-level procedures and  guidelines that apply to the tenure and promotion process. Often units  will have in their codes how the personnel committee(s) concerned with  tenure and promotion will operate. It is wise to talk to your unit chair  as well as the chair and members of the unit personnel committee(s)  that handles tenure and promotion decisions.

East Carolina University Committee on the Status of Women

This committee currently sponsors a tenure and promotion workshop each  year. For the last few years, the workshop has been held during spring  semester. Watch for announcements of this workshop. The workshop covers  the specific university requirements and the procedures for tenure and  promotion as well as offering general advice.