School of Social Welfare Promotion, Retention, and Tenure Committee (PRT) Governance

 

The policies of the School of Social Welfare are in line with University of Kansas rules governing promotion and Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations, Article VI. Recommendations concerning promotion and tenure shall be made solely in accordance with the standards and procedures in Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations Article VI and the written criteria, procedures, and guidelines adopted pursuant to it.

 

This policy applies to all promotion and tenure decisions involving members of the tenure track faculty of the School of Social Welfare. Unclassified academic staff who hold faculty equivalent rank are also evaluated for promotion in rank pursuant to this policy and references to faculty in this policy include unclassified academic staff to the extent they are evaluated for promotion using the standards and procedures of this policy, with due regard for their distinctive roles and professional responsibilities.

 

 

 

The PRT Committee consists of seven elected members and an alternate member. Membership includes elected tenured faculty members, including at least one full professor. If available, at least one unclassified academic staff with faculty position equivalent to associate or full professor is elected to PRT. A tenured faculty person or unclassified academic staff with faculty position equivalent to associate or full professor will be elected to PRT to serve as an alternate. Alternate PRT member will serve actively when a regular member of the PRT Committee is also a mentor for candidate. Members and alternate members serve three years. In extraordinary circumstances, such as an insufficient number of eligible faculty or a heavy committee workload, the faculty can vote to increase or decrease the number, or adjust the rank (i.e., associate or full professor) and position type (i.e., include unclassified academic staff with faculty positions equivalent to associate or full professor) of required members to serve on the Committee for an agreed upon time period, subject to rules and regulations outlined in Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations. This adjustment will be determined during the Committee elections.

 

No person shall serve simultaneously on more than one committee (department, college or school, or university) considering promotion and tenure. Likewise, the Dean of the School of Social Welfare, who has an independent responsibility to evaluate a candidate, shall not serve as a member of the University Committee on

 

Promotion and Tenure (UCPT). Only members of the PRT Committee and its chair participate in or observe its deliberations and no students or pre-tenured faculty members shall serve, participate, or observe on any promotion and tenure committee or vote on any recommendation concerning promotion and tenure.

 

 

The Committee advises faculty candidates of promotion, tenure, and sabbatical, Keeler Intra-University Professorship application guidelines; reviews their application materials; and, makes recommendations to the Dean. The Committee conducts annual and progress toward tenure and/or promotion reviews of unclassified academic staff and pre-tenured tenure-track faculty, advises them with regard to PRT standards, and gives a written report to the Dean and the faculty member with observations on faculty progress and suggestions about preparation for promotion or tenure applications. The Committee is also responsible for post-tenure reviews (as outlined here: http://policy.ku.edu/university-faculty/post-tenure-review)

 

The Committee has two roles to perform in carrying out its decision-making function. It acts as a consultant on the review process to applicants while they are preparing their materials and it acts as an evaluator once the materials have been submitted.

 

In its consultative role, the Committee attempts to clarify University rules and expectations and provides an explicit statement of its own procedures and its bases for evaluation. In this role, the applicant may consult with the Committee as a whole or with individual members while materials are being prepared and receive information about the application process. The purpose of this consultation is to enhance the likelihood that a well-organized and accurate application is submitted.

 

The Committee is bound to conform to the rules and regulations established by the University. The Committee shall likewise be guided by the ethos of the School itself with specific regard to the atmosphere of collegiality and the importance of collaborative work, and the overall contribution to the mission of the School.

 

Once the required materials have been submitted, the Committee assumes an evaluative role. In this capacity, it judges the applicant’s materials according to the University’s and the School’s own pre-established criteria. On the basis of this evaluation, it makes a decision about whether the application will be recommended to the Dean for consideration. The Dean forwards this material with their recommendation to the UCPT.

 

***For the remainder of this policy, except when indicated otherwise, the term “faculty” refers to both tenure-track faculty and unclassified academic staff.

 

 

Before the end of the first semester following appointment, faculty members shall be

 

provided with information concerning the standards and procedures for award of tenure and promotion in rank, including copies of the written criteria and procedures approved by the School, and of the Provost’s guidelines and forms. Prior to tenure and prior to promotion, a faculty member is considered to be serving a probationary period and the School may decide not to reappoint the faculty member as provided in FSRR Section 6.4.3. Policies surrounding probationary periods and non- reappointment or unclassified academic staff are located in the University policy library here: https://policy.ku.edu/provost/unclassified-academic-staff-titles and here: http://policy.ku.edu/provost/faculty-and-unclassified-staff-handbook).

 

Neither the record nor the results of any annual review or progress toward tenure and/or promotion review shall be included in a faculty member’s promotion and/or tenure record and recommendations for or against promotion and/or tenure should not be influenced by favorable or unfavorable results of the progress toward promotion or tenure review.

 

 

The School of Social Welfare Mentoring Policy is stored with the University’s policy library (http://policy.ku.edu/). This Mentoring Policy constitutes the School’s plan for mentoring faculty prior to tenure and/or promotion and actionable steps to facilitate the establishment of the mentor relationship. The Mentoring Policy upholds the School’s commitment to tenure-track faculty members’ and unclassified academic staff members’ development of successful careers in teaching (or professional performance), scholarship, and service, and in documenting a record of their careers for purposes of the tenure and/or promotion process.

 

 

The PRT committee conducts annual reviews and Progress toward Tenure or Progress toward Promotion reviews of unclassified academic staff and pre- tenured tenure-track faculty, advises them with regard to PRT standards, and gives a written report to the Dean and the faculty member with observations on faculty progress and suggestions about preparation for promotion or tenure applications. This process is intended to provide faculty members with a meaningful appraisal of their progress toward tenure and/or promotion and to orient them toward basic aspects of the tenure and/or promotion process.

 

 

Working with the faculty member, the School shall, on an ongoing basis, generate and compile the documentation necessary to evaluate teaching (or professional performance), scholarship and service. This annual review consists of faculty submitting to the PRT Committee the following materials:

 

Pre-tenure and pre-promotion faculty members may receive clarifying questions from the PRT Committee during the written evaluation preparation period. The written evaluations are informed also by an in-person meeting between the pre- tenure/pre-promotion faculty member and the PRT Committee. The PRT Committee will use all submitted materials to evaluate teaching, scholarship, service and other performance areas, as appropriate the faculty member’s job description, as “excellent,” “very good,” “good,” “marginal,” or “poor.” Once PRT has completed the written evaluation, it is submitted to the Dean of the School of Social Welfare, with a copy to the faculty member who was the subject of the evaluation.

 

 

Approximately midway between a faculty member’s appointment and mandatory review year (usually the third year), under guidelines issued by the Provost, the School shall conduct a formal review of a pre-tenured faculty member’s progress toward tenure and unclassified academic staff member’s progress toward promotion. The Progress toward Tenure or Progress toward Promotion review consists of essentially the same process outlined in Sections III – V below, excluding the UCPT review.

 

 

In cases of conflict of interest (as defined by the university) that occur for a member of the PRT Committee, that member will be recused and replaced with an alternate member selected by vote of the faculty. If a candidate believes that there is a conflict of interest, the candidate may petition the Committee to have that person recuse himself or herself. If a Committee member does not recuse himself or herself, a decision about whether that person has a conflict of interest will be made by a majority of the other Committee members.

 

In the event that the person recused is the only Full Professor serving on the

 

Committee and the candidate is applying for promotion to Full Professor or an unclassified academic staff equivalent, then the alternate Committee member must also be a Full Professor or unclassified academic staff equivalent.

 

 

 

The criteria for promotion with tenure have been and continue to be teaching, research, and service. Both teaching and research should normally be given primary consideration. Service is also expected of every individual, and its nature and extent may vary widely. It should be the aim of evaluators at every level to ensure that the total contributions of the faculty member to the University are properly recognized.

 

Promotion with tenure must be based principally upon evidence of achievement since the initial appointment to the faculty. The awarding of tenure must take into account any prior service credited but will be based largely on the evidence of achievement since joining the University of Kansas. Part-time service, however, does not count toward tenure." See "Faculty Responsibilities" Article IV of the Faculty Code of Conduct for more detailed information.

 

Absent exceptional circumstances, successful candidates for promotion with tenure will meet disciplinary expectations in all categories, and strong candidates are likely to exceed expectations in one or more categories.

 

 

School of Social Welfare promotion policies apply to unclassified academic staff who hold faculty equivalent rank, with due regard for their distinctive roles and professional responsibilities.

 

The following information about unclassified academic staff is drawn from the University Handbook (Section II.C). Those seeking additional information should consult this publication, as well as the Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations, Article VI.

 

The academic staff supports the mission of the University through scholarship, public service, and teaching. Members of the academic staff have education, degrees and experience comparable to tenured and tenure-track faculty, are represented through the Faculty Senate, and subject to some policies and procedures that apply to tenured or tenure-track faculty (i.e., Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations, Article VI).

 

Unclassified academic staff supported by State funds may hold the titles of junior, assistant, associate, or senior scientist, curator, or specialist. For unclassified academic staff funded from grants and contracts, the titles are assistant research professor, associate research professor, or research professor.

 

Promotion in rank for unclassified academic staff is made on the basis of meritorious performance and follows the same procedures as promotion of faculty members. (See FSRR Article VI.) The criteria for promotion include teaching, scholarship, service, and professional performance, depending upon the expectations for the specific position, and are clearly articulated in the written position description provided at the time of the initial appointment.

 

Promotion must be based principally upon evidence of achievement since the initial appointment to the faculty at the University of Kansas. Absent exceptional circumstances, successful candidates for promotion will meet disciplinary expectations in all categories, and strong candidates are likely to exceed expectations in one or more categories.

 

 

Professional performance for unclassified academic staff may include teaching, scholarship/research, and service. However, professional performance is determined specifically to each candidate’s position description. Depending upon the expectations for a specific position, as clearly articulated in the written position description provided at the time of the initial appointment, it may not be appropriate for some unclassified academic staff to be evaluated in all of the following areas. For example, an Assistant Research Professor applying for promotion to Associate Research Professor may have no teaching duties associated with their specific position. As such, evaluation of teaching would not be relevant. Unclassified academic staff applying for promotion should consult with the PRT Committee to identify in which areas they will be evaluated.

 

 

The following criteria apply to tenure track faculty as well as UAS with teaching responsibilities as a component of their specific position according to the position description. Other academic activities such as mentoring and serving on doctoral committees are evaluated as teaching. The applicant must provide clear evidence of the ability to engage competently in the teaching/learning process. Excellence in teaching involves the ability to engage students fully in the teaching and learning process in classrooms of varying types; evidence of full knowledge of the curriculum area, including the most recent theory and inquiry; the ability to integrate and synthesize related areas of knowledge; the ability to translate theory/concept/research findings into practice; the ability to demonstrate the links between this curriculum and other areas of the curriculum of the School; the ability to promote independent learning in students; the ability to motivate students to learn more; and evidence of the application of the Guiding Principles and Values of the School in classes taught; evidence of efforts to improve teaching skills over time; and, involvement in providing advice and support for students outside the classroom.

 

For purposes of evaluating a faculty member’s activity, both student evaluations and peer reviews will be used to assess the quality of the teaching performance.

 

a. Student evaluation of quality of teaching will be determined by reviewing university and School of Social Welfare student course evaluations, and teaching awards.

 

b. Peer review of quality of teaching and educational activity will be conducted by at least two tenured faculty members chosen bythe PRT Committee from a list of 3 nominees chosen by the candidate. Peer review shall include the following:

The peer reviewer’s responsibility includes interacting with the faculty member, observing student instruction, and documenting the teaching practices.

 

c. Committee evaluation of quality of teaching and educational activity will be based on multiple sources of input, including but not limited to the following:

d. The PRT Committee will assess the quality of the candidate’s teaching by reviewing syllabi, Statement of Teaching, Advising Philosophy, and Goals, readings or other evidence of innovative techniques, and classroom observations. Based on the review of these sources, the Committee will characterize the teaching performance for each course as required by the University. Student evaluation scores and the accompanying student comments will be examined to determine if there is a general trend of competence in teaching over time. Student evaluations of teaching will also be compared to

School-wide averages.

 

 

Faculty members are entitled to academic freedom and have an obligation to exercise that freedom responsibly. 

 

Scholarship and inquiry in a mission-oriented profession such as social work involves a variety of paths. The root idea of scholarship is to make new and distinctive contributions to a particular field of interest. The publication of scholarly work makes open and visible the individual's capacity to think, to formulate, and to communicate. Examples of approaches to scholarship may include the following:

The quality of scholarship must be demonstrated and documented in the faculty member’s Statement of Program of Research/Scholarship, in letters of evaluation of scholarly work from outside reviewers, and in the corpus of the applicant’s scholarly work. The candidate must demonstrate independent scholarship that goes beyond the scholarly work completed for the terminal degree.

 

Scholarship includes the following products: books, monographs, peer reviewed and invited articles, peer reviewed and invited book chapters, grants, research and technical reports, peer reviewed conference papers, unpublished papers, non-peer reviewed conference papers, book reviews, and oral presentations. University of Kansas policy requires a statement defining “the criteria upon which a work is classified as a major or minor work in this field.” The definition for major and minor works is provided below in Section

III.B.2.e and III.B.2.f.

 

Minimum expectations of scholarship for promotion, tenure and criteria for evaluation of scholarship are as follows:

 

a. Tenure track applicants are expected to have produced publications or in- press publications that clearly demonstrate the applicant’s scholarly trajectory, commensurate with the guidelines outlined above. For tenure- track faculty, it would be difficult to make a case for promotion or tenure without at least 10 publications. The majority of these publications must be in peer reviewed journals. Note that ten or more publications do not guarantee satisfaction of scholarship expectations, because the quality might be considered inadequate by the PRT Committee, the external reviewers, or the Dean. Fewer than ten publications could be sufficient to meet scholarship expectations only if the PRT Committee, the external reviewers, and the Dean agree that they are of exceptional quality and significance to the profession. Applicants for promotion or tenure are encouraged to excel both in quantity and quality of publications. Excellent applicants ordinarily significantly exceed this minimum quantity expectation and also have outstanding quality. See Sections III.B.2.c-d for more information on determination of quality. The greatest weight is placed on major publications, as defined in Sections III.B.2.e.

 

b. For certain unclassified academic staff (e.g., Assistant and Associate Research Professors), research and scholarship may not need be supported through publications. The candidate’s written position description provided at the time of their initial appointment will specify whether publications are a requirement of their specific position. UAS with publications requirements as part of their job description are expected to have produced publications or in-press publications that clearly demonstrate the applicant’s scholarly trajectory, commensurate with the guidelines outlined above. For UAS, it would be difficult to make a case for promotion without an average of 3 research products, annually. These publications may include refereed publications (e.g., article, book chapter, book) or non-refereed research products which have significant demonstratable reach and impact within the field (e.g., policy brief, white paper, technical report/manual). Note that the number of publications does not guarantee satisfaction of scholarship expectations, because the quality might be considered inadequate by the PRT Committee, the external reviewers, or the Dean. Fewer than the stated number of publications could be sufficient to meet scholarship expectations only if the PRT Committee, the external reviewers, and the Dean agree that they are of exceptional quality and significance to the profession. Applicants for promotion are encouraged to excel both in quantity and quality of publications. Excellent applicants ordinarily significantly exceed this minimum quantity expectation and also have outstanding quality. See Sections III.B.2.c-d for more information on determination of quality. The greatest weight is placed on major publications, as defined in Sections III.B.2.e.

 

c. Greater weight will be given to works that have relevance to the social work knowledge base, social work practice and social policy.

 

d. Greater weight will be given to works where the applicant has made significant contribution, as indicated by the order of authorship, or by an assessment of the candidate's overall contribution or place in each scholarly endeavor.

 

e. Major publications are defined as publications in any print or electronic medium subject to peer review as a prior condition for acceptance. This could include journal articles, books, and chapters. In specific instances where uncertainty may exist as to whether a product meets the definition of "major," the candidate can seek prior written documentation of peer review from the publication source.

 

f. Minor publications are defined as i) non-peer reviewed publications (e.g., books, monographs, invited chapters, invited articles); ii) papers included in peer reviewed conference proceedings; iii) book reviews; iv) teaching resources, such as modules or videos, blogs or electronic newsletters/websites.

 

g. Major presentations are defined as presentations at national or international conferences, meetings, webinars or podcasts including peer reviewed and invited presentations.

 

h. Minor presentations are defined as presentations at regional, state and local conferences or conferences, meetings, webinars or podcasts, including peer reviewed and invited presentations.

 

i. Peer review means that reviews are done by peer reviewers and that the reviews can end up in rejection. The candidate should be able to document whether the article, book, or book chapter was peer reviewed.

 

j. While not included in minimum expectations for tenure, research and scholarship which is supported through external funding, is encouraged and recognized in evaluating the candidate's body of scholarship and research.

 

k. For certain unclassified academic staff (e.g., Assistant and Associate Research Professors) research and scholarship which is supported through external funding may be required and assessed in evaluating the candidate's body of scholarship and research. The candidate’s written position description provided at the time of their initial appointment will specify whether external funding is a requirement of their specific position. UAS with external funding as a requirement of their specific position are expected to maintain funding for the position through successful administration and involvement in current grants/contracts and pursuit of future funding opportunities as appropriate.

 

l. The quality of individual publications as well as the candidate’s body of scholarship will be assessed by the PRT Committee as well as by external evaluators who are at associate or full professor rank. The quality of the body of work must be reflected in the external evaluators' letters. External evaluators must not include dissertation advisors, former professors, graduate school colleagues, co-authors, KU faculty, or one’s own former students. External evaluators are informed that their evaluation letter will become part of the candidate’s promotion with tenure dossier and will be treated as confidential by the University to the extent we are permitted to do so bylaw. External evaluators will be asked to address the following:

 

 

 

Service will be considered within the following classification:

We do not value any one type of service over another since this varies as a function of scholarly work pursued among tenure track faculty and UAS. We favorably evaluate service at various levels according to position description, and look for evidence of regional, national, and international service as academic careers evolve.
 

Paid practice of any kind, be it direct service, consultation, teaching, speaking (except for a token honorarium) cannot be counted as service since, although it makes a professional contribution, it is already being rewarded through payment; whereas, the concept of service here includes personal donation or contribution.

 

Judgments about the quality of service will take into account:

 

As stated in Article VI of the Rules and Regulations of the Faculty Senate (6.1.5.2), promotion to full professor and to a faculty-equivalent position for unclassified academic staff (FEP) is based on substantial additional achievement since the award of tenure and/or promotion to associate professor or FEP, and faculty members with tenure or FEP are expected to continue to engage in substantial productive activity in the areas of teaching, (or professional performance), scholarship, and service. Although there may be some variation, continuing productivity should prepare most faculty members for promotion to full professor or to FEP within six years of their promotion to the rank of associate professor or to FEP.

 

Faculty may apply for promotion to full professor or FEP at any time after receiving tenure and promotion to associate professor or promotion to FEP. However, a recommendation for promotion to full professor or FEP earlier than customary must include evidence of truly exceptional merit.

 

The same basic criteria for scholarship, teaching, and service for tenure and promotion apply to work principally completed after application for tenure or after promotion to FEP. In addition, the applicant must clearly have earned a national and/or international reputation and show evidence of significant career development in one or more fields of interest and scholarly endeavor germane to the profession of social work. Likewise, the applicant shall have demonstrated leadership in the profession. The applicant will have produced a significant body of knowledge reflecting leadership in the thinking pertaining to areas of scholarly, pedagogic, and/or professional activity.

 

Evidence of this comes from the same sources as in promotion with tenure and promotion evaluative criteria (see Section III. above). In addition, the distinguished panel of external reviewers must be composed of people who hold a position at least of Full Professor or FEP, or have comparable professional standing in a non-academic setting and possess credentials that will document they have expertise in evaluating the candidate's work within the context of the discipline or profession.

 

The process of the PRT Committee in evaluating the work of candidates for promotion to full professor or FEP is essentially the same as the process described above for evaluating the work of candidates for promotion and promotion with tenure. The PRT Committee will use all submitted materials to evaluate teaching, scholarship, and service as “excellent,” “very good,” “good,” “marginal,” or “poor.”

 

Absent exceptional circumstances, successful candidates for promotion will meet disciplinary expectations in all categories relevant to their job description, and strong candidates are likely to exceed expectations in one or more categories.

 

 

A. Consideration and evaluation of a candidate’s record is a confidential personnel matter. The PRT Committee will ensure this confidentiality.

 

B. Initiation of Review.

 

 

C. An applicant for promotion or tenure must submit his or her application and all required supporting documentation on or before deadline announced by the PRT Committee. The candidate is responsible for completing the appropriate portions of the form and provides necessary documents and information in accordance with the Provost’s guidelines, with assistance from the PRT Committee.

 

D. The PRT Committee shall receive the form and accompanying materials from the candidate and finish compiling the record of a candidate’s teaching, scholarship, and service in accordance with the Provost’s guidelines.

 

E. Documentation to Collect for Promotion and for Promotion with Tenure Application

 

Depending upon the expectations for a specific unclassified academic staff position, as clearly articulated in the written position description provided at the time of the initial appointment, it may be inappropriate for unclassified academic staff to submit some of the following materials. For example, an Assistant Research Professor applying for promotion to Associate Research Professor may have no teaching duties associated with their specific position. As such, teaching materials would not be collected. Unclassified academic staff applying for promotion should refer to the job description to identify what constitutes their professional performance and which

 

materials constitute a complete application. Candidates should refer to the specific instructions for collecting and collating required documents that are posted on the website managed by the Office of the Provost’s Center for Faculty Development and Mentoring (located here: http://facultydevelopment.ku.edu/).

 

F. The candidate will arrange all materials according to instructions set forth by the University, consulting with the PRT Committee chairperson as needed to determine how to package materials for external reviewers of scholarship and for the PRT and UCPT committees. The PRT Committee and the candidate shall verify that the required components of the form have been completed, that all necessary documents have been compiled, and that the record has been organized in the proper format.

 

G. The PRT Committee will ask candidate to provide names of up to six (6) people who may serve as external evaluators and meet the following criteria:

 

 

H. The PRT Committee selects no more than three suggested external reviewers from the candidate’s list, and at least three additional potential external reviewers, along with alternates. PRT members or The Dean’s Office then contacts the potential external reviewers to secure a commitment to evaluate the candidate’s CV and a selection of the candidate’s scholarly work. When external reviewers agree to evaluate materials, the PRT Committee offers electronic versions of all materials unless the reviewer prefers to receive hard copies. If hard copies are required, the PRT Committee will ask the candidate to make copies of his or her CV and scholarly products.

 

I. The PRT Committee will review external evaluations and all other materials, makea decision as to its recommendation (most typically by consensus, but otherwise by majority vote), complete the Initial Review Evaluation Summary for the Candidate (see Provost’s website), and submit a summary evaluation to the Dean. This summary evaluation will include: the recommendation of the PRT Committee; its ratings of the candidate in the areas of teaching or professional performance, scholarship, and service; and, statements of the reasons for those ratings.

 

 

A. After independently reviewing all materials, the Dean will concur or not with the PRT Committee’s recommendations in writing, share the PRT summary evaluation with the candidate, make their own recommendation to the UCPT, and provide the candidate with a copy of the corresponding evaluation section of the promotion form.

 

B. If the Dean provides a negative recommendation, the Dean shall include a written rationale based on unit criteria that will be included with the written recommendations provided to candidates.

 

C. If the UCPT sends a request for additional information while conducting its review, the Dean will immediately provide a copy of the request to the candidate and the Chair of the PRT Committee. The candidate will have the opportunity to participate in the preparation for the response to the request for information and/or submit his or her own response.

 

D. In the event of a negative recommendation or a final rating of teaching, scholarship, or service is below the level of “good” by the PRT Committee, the Dean will ask the candidate to submit a written response to him / her for consideration during the Dean’s independent review of promotion tenure applications.

 

E. In the event of a negative recommendation that will not be automatically forwarded by the Dean to the UCPT, the Dean will inform the candidate that he / she may request that the record be forwarded for further review.