Post-Tenure Review
Introduction
The University of Colorado’s post-tenure review policy is described in Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 1022, which states:
“Post-tenure review (PTR) is a summative evaluation over a five-year review period. The purposes of PTR are to facilitate continued faculty development and to ensure professional accountability to the university community, the Board of Regents, and the public.”
Regent Laws and Policies and CU System policies provide important post-tenure review policy information.
Laws of the Regents, Article 5.D:
- Faculty and Section 5.D.1, A-F.
CU System Administrative Policy Statements:
- APS 1022: Standards, Processes and Procedures for Reappointment, Tenure, Promotion, and Post-Tenure Review
- APS 5008: Faculty Performance Evaluation
CU Forms Related to Post-Tenure Review:
Frequently Asked Questions: Post-Tenure Review
Yes, based on Regent Law and CU System policy. Faculty members who fail to participate in any aspect of the post-tenure review process, as required, may be subject to sanctions for neglect of duty, which may include reduction in salary, reassignment of duties, unpaid suspension, or dismissal for cause.
Post-tenure review (PTR) is required of all tenured faculty every five years. Once a faculty member is awarded tenure, the clock begins, and the initial PTR occurs five years after the faculty member is granted tenure and recurs at five-year intervals unless interrupted by promotion review or leave.
While in typical circumstances PTRs will occur every five years, rarely a faculty member may submit a petition to delay the post-tenure review for up to one year when it is in the best interest of the individual and the campus.
The promotion review process stops the PTR clock. If a faculty member earns promotion to full profession, the promotion review "counts" as the PTR and the PTR clock resets. The next PTR would happen five years later.
Faculty members who have signed a formal and binding retirement agreement need to undergo post-tenure review as scheduled until their retirement begins. If the retirement date is within one year of the scheduled PTR and it is in the best interest of the individual and the campus, the faculty member may submit a petition to delay the post-tenure review. Any such delays would be contingent on approval by the primary unit head, the dean, and the provost or their delegate.
As noted in APS 1022 (IX.B.1), a faculty member’s primary unit will have PTR guidelines that shall describe the criteria that will be used to evaluate faculty and shall indicate what level of performance is required for a faculty member to be considered “meeting expectations” in teaching (or librarianship), scholarly and creative work, and leadership and service (and, if indicated in primary unit criteria, other activities relevant to the specific unit).
The post-tenure review committee will examine at least the faculty member’s: five-year annual review history; five-year FCQ history; peer evaluations of teaching and other multiple means of teaching evaluation, as available; the professional plan(s) from last cycle (if required or provided); an updated professional plan for upcoming year (if required or provided); and the faculty member’s CV.
Each tenure home unit should have a post-tenure review (PTR) committee, comprising tenured faculty peers within the campus, either primary unit faculty or, if needed, faculty from the appropriate college personnel review committee.
Post-Tenure Review consists of a six-step process:
- The PTR committee shall provide an evaluation of the faculty member's performance as either outstanding, exceeding expectations, meeting expectations, below expectations, or fails to meet expectations in each of the areas of teaching (or librarianship), scholarly and creative work, and leadership and service (and, where indicated in primary unit criteria, other activities relevant to the specific unit), and shall provide a brief narrative explanation of that evaluation.
- A copy of the committee’s report will be given to the faculty member by the primary unit head or dean, depending on whether the PTR is undertaken by the primary unit or college/school.
- The faculty member is expected to review the report and approve it or append a response.
- The primary unit forwards the report and any comments to the dean.
- The dean will provide a summary report and copies of the individual reports to the Office of Faculty Affairs on the results of all the post-tenure reviews in the college/school.
- A copy of the report is placed in the faculty member's personnel file within the dean's office of the Office of Faculty Affairs.
- Annually, the provosts must provide a summary report on post-tenure review to the System Office of Academic Affairs, who will forward the campus summary reports to the president and the Board of Regents.
Faculty members who receive an evaluation of “below expectations” or “fails to meet expectations” in any of the evaluated areas, must agree to a Performance Improvement Agreement (PIA) (See APS 5008 - Faculty Performance Evaluation).
Working with their supervising administrator or an appropriate committee of the primary unit (as determined by primary unit policy), the faculty member develops a Performance Improvement Agreement (PIA) that includes specific goals, timelines and benchmarks that will be used to measure progress at periodic intervals. The next annual merit evaluation following the term of the PIA shall address whether the goals of the PIA have been met. If the goals of the PIA have been met, the faculty member continues in the current review cycle, whether for comprehensive review, tenure, or post-tenure review. If the goals of the PIA have not been met, an extensive review process needs to be initiated.
An extensive review takes place whenever a faculty member establishes a pattern of unsatisfactory performance, as evidenced by two evaluations of performance "below expectations" or “failing to meet expectations” in a five-year period or failure to meet the goals of a PIA.
The post-tenure review committee shall write a summary evaluative report of the faculty member's teaching (or librarianship), scholarly and creative work, clinical activity, and leadership and service, and it shall share this report with the faculty member. The report must contain an enumerated list of “deficiencies.” This report is not subject to approval by the faculty member. The template used by the Boulder campus for the evaluative report is the Post-Tenure Review Evaluative Report.
Upon receipt of the evaluative report, the faculty member must write a Development Plan within 20 calendar days. The Development Plan should cover the next one or two years, and must include the following: a description of performance goals, strategies for attaining goals, and a timeline for attaining goals for each deficiency listed in the evaluative report; and a description of the specific means of measuring progress towards or achievement of goals. The development plan template is the Post-Tenure Review Development Plan.