Overview of Review Process
This page summarizes information on reviews available in the Faculty Rules.
First Review
Unless there is credit for prior service, the First Review will take place in the third year of appointment, following the professional consultation that occurs in the second year. As a faculty member under review, it is your obligation to be familiar with the complete procedures and responsibilities outlined in the Handbook. The information presented here is intended as a supplement to the Handbook language.
Any questions about the procedures can be directed to the Dean of the Faculty.
In the semester preceding the semester in which the First Review is scheduled:
Normally, in the spring of your second year, you should do the following.
- Arrange with your chair an appropriate schedule of classroom visitation over two terms (the term before the review occurs, and the term in which the review occurs). The chair must visit at least two classes.
Note that all classroom visits must be agreed on in advance by you and the visitors. - You have the option of requesting a meeting with your chair to discuss your performance and suggestions for possible improvement; any such meeting should occur before the end of the term in which the visits took place.
Before the start of the semester in which the review is scheduled:
- Compile a dossier, as described in Guidelines for Preparing Review Materials.
- Prepare your dossier by the deadline indicated on Review Deadlines calendar.
The items included will be seen by the Provost, Dean of the Faculty, Reappointments Committee (RC), your departmental chair. You may also choose to share your materials with your senior colleagues. If you are contractually obligated to a program, the director of the program will also see the materials.
Early in the semester in which the review occurs:
- You should arrange a schedule of classroom visits with the chair or the chair’s designate.
- If desired, invite other senior colleagues to visit classes. Note that it is the chair’s responsibility to ensure that the number of visits does not disrupt your courses.
Note that all classroom visits must be agreed on in advance by you and the visitors. - You have the option of requesting a meeting with your chair and senior colleagues who visit your class to discuss your performance and suggestions for possible improvement; any such meeting should occur before the end of the term in which the visits took place. Note that commentary on teaching will not be offered by members of the Reappointments Committee.
- If you participate in an interdisciplinary program and your involvement is not explicitly stated in your appointment letter, you have the option of requesting that the Dean of the Faculty solicit a letter from the appropriate program director.
Note that unless involvement is specified in your appointment letter, no such letter will be solicited unless you specifically request that the Dean of the Faculty do so. - The Reappointments Committee will contact you to schedule an interview between you and your RC liaison to discuss any matters pertinent to the review.
- The RC will also contact you to arrange classroom visitation. Two members of the RC will each visit at least 2 classes, or one class and one public lecture.
In the semester following the review:
- The Reappointments Committee will schedule a meeting with you within 4 weeks of the completion of the review to provide an assessment of your performance and to summarize the decision.
- Following that meeting, the Dean for Faculty Development and Research will arrange a meeting with you and your department chair to discuss progress in teaching and scholarship.
Tenure Review
The tenure review will normally take place in the spring of the seventh year after your initial appointment. Requests for an early review should be submitted to the Promotions Committee (PC) at the end of the semester prior to the desired review (e.g., May 15 for a request to shift to a fall review or December 15 for a request to shift to a spring review).
In the semester preceding the semester in which the Tenure Review is scheduled:
- You should arrange with your chair an appropriate schedule of classroom visitation over two terms (the term before the review occurs, and the term in which the review occurs). The chair must visit at least two classes.
Note that all classroom visits must be agreed on in advance by you and the visitors. - You have the option of requesting a meeting with your chair to discuss your performance and suggestions for possible improvement; any such meeting should occur before the end of the term in which the visits took place.
- Early in the semester before the Tenure Review occurs, you will be asked to provide the Promotions Committee with a list of three to five scholars or artists outside Middlebury who would be appropriate to evaluate your professional achievements. The PC will request that at least one of these scholars be from a liberal arts college similar to Middlebury. All should be familiar with your area of study, but you do not need to be personally acquainted with them. Your Chair/Director will also be asked to provide a list of three or four authorities who can comment on your work; the reviewers on the Chairs’ list do not need to be familiar with your work. The Promotions Committee will ultimately seek reviews from names on both your list and your Chair’s/Director’s list. At the time you provide this list, you will also need to provide a current C.V., a selection of publications that the external reviewers may want to see, and a narrative on your research agenda (although this is not required).
Before the start of the semester in which the Tenure Review is scheduled:
- Compile a dossier, as described in Guidelines for Preparing Review Materials.
- Prepare your dossier by the deadline indicated on Review Deadlines calendar.
The items included will be seen by the President, Provost, VPAA, department chair and PC. It is up to the candidate whether to share materials with his/her departmental colleagues.
Early in the semester in which the Tenure Review occurs:
- You should arrange a schedule of classroom visits with the chair or the chair’s designate. If desired, you may invite other senior colleagues to visit classes. It is the chair’s responsibility to ensure that the number of visits does not disrupt your courses.
Note that all classroom visits must be agreed on in advance by you and the visitors. - You have the option of requesting a meeting with your chair and senior colleagues who visit your classes to discuss your performance and suggestions for possible improvement; any such meeting should occur before the end of the term in which the visits took place. Note that commentary on teaching will not be offered by members of the Promotions Committee.
- If you participate in an interdisciplinary program and your involvement is not explicitly stated in your appointment letter, you have the option of requesting that the VPAA solicit a letter from the appropriate program director.
Note that unless involvement is specified in your appointment letter, no such letter will be solicited unless you specifically request that the VPAA do so. - The Promotions Committee will contact you to schedule an interview between you and your PC liaison to discuss any matters pertinent to the review.
- The PC will also contact you to arrange classroom visitation. Two members of the PC will each visit at least 2 classes, or one class and one public lecture.
Promotion to Professor
This review normally occurs at least 5 and no more than 10 years after the Tenure Review.
In the semester preceding the term in which the review occurs:
- Arrange with your chair an appropriate schedule of classroom visitations over two terms (the term before the review occurs, and the term in which the review occurs). The chair must visit at least two classes. Note that all classroom visits must be agreed on in advance by you and the visitors.
- You have the option of requesting a meeting with your chair to discuss your performance and suggestions for possible improvement; any such meeting should occur before the end of the term in which the visits took place.
Before the start of the semester in which the review occurs:
- Compile a dossier, as described in Guidelines for Preparing Review Materials.
- Prepare your dossier by the deadline indicated on Review Deadlines calendar. The items included will be seen by the President, Provost, VPAA, Promotions Committee (PC), your departmental chair. You may share your materials with senior colleagues if you wish. If you are contractually obligated to a program, the director of the program will also see the materials.
Note that in the case of a review for Promotion to Professor, the dossier may include letters of testimony from department chairs, program directors, colleagues, and/or outside professionals in the field.
Early in the semester in which the review occurs:
- Arrange a schedule of classroom visits with the chair or the chair’s designate. If there are no current full professors in the department, the Dean for Faculty Development and Research will chair the review.
- The Promotions Committee will contact you to schedule an interview between you and one member of the PC.
- The PC will also contact you to arrange classroom visitations. One or more of the members of the PC will visit your classes as part of this review.