Who is Responsible for What?

• Providing the Curriculum Vitae in the approved format, signed and dated. This document should be submitted BEFORE external letters are solicited.
• Signing and dating the Summary Statement of Personal Achievements (policy reference). This document should be signed BEFORE the first level unit votes and should be made available for the First-Level (Department) APT Committee before it meets.
• Providing a Personal Statement (policy reference). This signed and dated document should be prepared BEFORE external letters are solicited. (Viewing examples of past personal statements may assist faculty in preparing their own statements.)
• Suggesting the names of qualified external evaluators (policy reference).
• Providing documentation on teaching (e.g., syllabi, examinations, instructional materials, teaching evaluations in a teaching portfolio.)
• Providing publications or other forms of scholarship to the First-Level (Department) APT Committee. Providing publications or other forms of scholarship to the first-level (department) review committee.
  
• Selecting samples of his or her scholarship for reviews by higher-level review committees and working with the Review Committee to select a sample of material for external reviewers to evaluate.
• Providing any other relevant information to theFirst-Level (Department) APT Committee (e.g., reviews of scholarly work, grant proposals, notification of awards).

The First-Level Review Committee (Department or non-departmentalized College) is responsible for:

• Gathering the information and documents listed in the preceding section from the candidate.
  
• Drafting the Summmary Statement of Personal Achievements and presenting it to the candidate for approval two weeks prior to the time it will be distributed to the faculty (policy reference).
• Requesting at least six external evaluations (with at least three names selected from the candidate’s list), using the candidate’s input to select the sample of material for referees to evaluate, and providing discriminating evaluation of the importance and special perspective of the evaluators (policy reference). (See two sample letters to external evaluators)
• Obtaining documentation on teaching and mentorship from students and colleagues. (See a sample table of how to present analyzed teaching data )
• Obtaining available documentation on service.
  
• Evaluating or ranking the journals and other outlets in which the candidate’s scholarship is disseminated.
• Carefully reviewing and evaluating the candidate's accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, and service (policy reference) based on the candidate’s c.v., Summary Statement of Professional Achievements, Personal Statements, external letters, teaching materials and internally generated reports.
• Meeting to discuss and vote on the candidate's case for tenure and/or promotion (policy reference).
• Writing two reports on (a) the decision meeting including a record of the vote, the committee’s recommendation and a justification for it, and the date of the meeting and (b) a separate evaluation of the candidate’s accomplishments and potential for future contributions (policy reference). This latter report is often prepared by an Initial Review Committee and is usually available to faculty at or prior to the voting meeting.
• Representing the departmental perspective to higher levels of review (policy references #1 and #2).

The Department Chair (or Dean of a Non-Departmentalized College) is responsible for:

• Reviewing the Unit’s Plan of Organization to ensure it contains sufficient procedural guidelines for the conduct of reviews and that the review conforms to the procedures.
• Being aware of changes in the University APT policy and procedures-consult the Office of the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs web page for updates: www.umd.edu/faculty/policies.
• Meeting with new tenured and tenure-track faculty to provide with APT information such as Unit and University policies, the APT Procedures Manual, and First-Level (Department) promotion criteria (policy references #1 and #2). Additionally administrators should notify faculty in writing of changes to the criteria. Subsequently, administrators should notify faculty in writing of changes to the criteria.
  
• Arrangements should also be made for assigning a mentor. One helpful organizing device is the New Faculty Checklist.
• For Assistant Professors and untenured Associate Professors, implementing annual and faculty contract review procedures and other mentoring activities (policy reference).
• Setting a schedule for the conduct of reviews, including insuring that the APT review process is launched by the end of each spring semester.
  
• Insuring that appropriate mechanisms are in place to keep the procedure moving smoothly and according to schedule.
• If candidates withdraw from the process, forwarding a copy of the letter of withdrawal to the Dean (policy reference) and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs .
• Insuring that the APT decision meeting is properly conducted and that the appropriate material is available to eligible voting faculty. (If the chair is permitted to attend.)
• Writing a letter to the administrator at the next higher level (policy reference) making an independent judgment about each promotion and/or tenure case and including the Unit's promotion criteria.
  • Notifying candidates in writing summarizing the unit head’s decision and reasons for it within two weeks of the decision meeting
• Notifying candidates in writing summarizing the Unit Head ’s and First-Level Review Committee’s decisions and rationale within two weeks of the Committee’s decision meeting (policy reference).A copy of this summary letter should be available for those faculty who participated in the deliberations who wish to see it and should be included in the promotion dossier . If both the First-Level Review Committee and Unit Head vote to deny tenure and/or promotion, the letter must be sent by certified mail (policy reference).
  
• Inspecting dossiers for accuracy, completeness, and conformity to these guidelines.
• Sending the dossier to the next level of review and, if the candidate does not pass the first level review, providing sufficient information for the administrator at that level (Dean or Provost) to determine that the review was conducted appropriately (policy reference).
• Answering questions posed by upper level review committees (policy references #1 and #2).
• For new appointments, including the length of appointment year, start date, and projected salary in the New Faculty Appointment Information form accompanying the appointment request. If the appointment is accepted by the candidate, notifying the Office of Faculty Affairs.

Upper-Level (Departmentalized Colleges and University) Review Committees are responsible for:

• Carefully reviewing and evaluating the candidate’s accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, mentoring, and service.
• Meeting to discuss and vote on the candidate’s case for tenure and/or promotion.
• Meeting with lower level APT representatives when there is a possibility that a negative recommendation will be made. Questions in writing should be provided in advance (policy references #1 and #2).
• Writing a report that includes an evaluation of the candidate’s accomplishments and potential for future contributions, a record of the vote, the Committee’s recommendation including the justification for it, the membership of the Committee, and the date of the decision meeting (policy references #1 and #2).
• For the College Review Committee, when either the Dean or the Committee makes a negative recommendation, ensuring that the Dean’s summary letter notifying the candidate accurately reflects the Committee deliberations.

The Dean is responsible for:

• Reviewing the College’s Plan of Organization to ensure it contains sufficient procedural guidelines for the appointment of a College Review Committee and the role of the Dean with respect to the Committee.
• Insuring that the review conforms to those procedures.
• Reviewing and approving college and unit promotion criteria.
• Recommending appointees to the Campus APT and Campus Appeals Committees (policy references #1 and #2).
• Informing Chairs of changes in the APT policy and procedures and discussing with Chairs his/her evaluation of the preceding year’s APT process and outcomes.
• Preparing a schedule for submission of dossiers to the Units in the College and informing Units of that schedule in a timely manner.
• When candidates are denied tenure and/or promotion at a lower level of review, certifying the procedural appropriateness of the review, and writing a letter sent by certified mail to the candidate within two weeks of the decision that informs the candidate of the outcome (policy reference), the procedural appropriateness of the review, and the consequences of this denial. Copies should be sent to the Chair and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs. Please retain the correspondence and the dossier.
• Appointing members of the College APT Committee in accordance with its Plan of Organization (policy reference).
• Providing staffing for the College APT Committee and insuring that the APT decision meeting is properly conducted.
• Reviewing the recommendations of the prior level of review and the College APT Committee and writing a letter to the Provost making an independent judgment about each promotion and/or tenure case (policy references #1 and #2).
• When either/and the Dean or the College APT Committee make(s) a negative APT decision, writing a summary letter informing the candidate, the Department Chair, and Chair of the Department APT Committee summarizing the outcome of the College APT’s and Dean’s deliberations and the rationale behind it (policy reference, See Candidate Notification Table). This summary letter should be available to members of the College APT Committee who can decide to amend it and the letter should be included in the dossier (policy reference)
• Inspecting the dossier for accuracy, completeness, and conformity to these guidelines.
• Forwarding an electronic file and a hard copy of the original material plus another hard copy to the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs
• Meeting with the University APT Committee to address questions they raise (policy reference).
• For new appointments, including the terms of appointment, start date, and projected salary in appointment requests in the New Faculty Appointment Information form with the dossiers.

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