Guidelines for Faculty Personnel Actions
The Guidelines for Faculty Personnel Actions were developed based on guidelines in the Faculty Federation Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The guidelines and process in no way supersede, replace the language of the Faculty Federation Collective Bargaining Agreement, or reflect a comprehensive statement of Federation contract principles. All individuals involved in Personnel Actions are encouraged to review the Collective Bargaining Agreement for further guidance on the personnel action process which is outlined in Article VII - Personnel Actions.
Process overview
Microsoft OneDrive will be used for storing all the electronic content for personnel review. Pre-loaded folders will be created and access will be managed by the Provost’s Office. The folder will be made available ahead of submission deadlines so the candidate will have sufficient time to upload necessary documents.
- The Provost’s Office will create a root folder and relevant subfolders in OneDrive under the candidate’s name and share the file with the candidate. The Provost’s Office will oversee access to the electronic dossier.
- Candidates will have "edit" access to their electronic folder with the ability to add materials to the folders until the deadline for which Candidates must submit their dossier to the Faculty Evaluation Committee (FEC) as outlined in the Faculty CBA, Article VII: Timetable for Personnel Actions - NOTE: the Timetable has been updated per recently ratified MOA .
- On the first business date following the dossier deadline submission date of the CBA, noted above, the Provost's Office will change the candidate's access to their dossier to "read only" and will release the candidates file to the FEC. Candidates will have the ability to read and review the contents of the dossier throughout the personnel action process. Additional materials may be added to the dossier as outlined in the CBA and below.
- The Provost's Office will work with Dean’s offices and Department Chairpersons to identify faculty who should have access to each candidate’s dossier throughout the evaluation process. This will include the names of Tenured faculty members, FEC members, chairperson, and academic council members for each candidate.
- The Provost’s Office will provide read access of the candidate's dossier to each level of review.
- At every level, the recommendation should end with the following language:
I have read this recommendation and Do __ / Do not ___ wish to add additional materials or information to my dossier.
Signature:
Date:
Each level completes their review including the addition of an acknowledgement statement at the end of the document noted above.
- The committee Chair of each level shall send the recommendation to the candidate to review and sign. Each level shall send a copy of its recommendation to the Department Chairperson, the President of the Faculty Federation, and the next level of review. The Provost’s Office should be copied on the email to the candidate so the Provost's Office can monitor the timeline to release the dossier to the next level.
- The Candidate will sign and return the review to all individuals copied on said message. The Provost's Office will add the review to the candidate’s dossier. After each level of review, the candidate will have the ability to add a response and/or additional materials to the dossier as outlined in the CBA. The additional materials should be sent to the Provost’s Office, along with the signed review, within 7 business days from candidate's receipt of their recommendation, as outlined in the CBA. The Provost's office will add the additional materials to the "Additional Materials" folder in the candidate’s OneDrive Dossier. The dossier will move to the next level for review only after the deadline for when the candidate can add a response and/or additional materials has expired per the CBA or following receipt of the signed recommendation, whichever occurs first.
CITS (ithelp@umassd.edu or online case submission form) will be available throughout this process to help faculty and all levels of review to help with technical issues.
Timeline
Deadlines for Contract renewal, promotion and tenure recommendations
| Action | Probationary review1 | Pre-tenure review | Tenure review | Promotion to Full Professor, Commonwealth Professor and for Teaching Faculty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate to Faculty Evaluation Committee | October 15 | October 15 | September 15 | November 15 |
| Faculty Evaluation Committee to Department Chair | November 15 | November 15 | October 15 | December 15 |
| Department Chair to Academic Council | December 5 | December 5 | November 5 | January 5 |
| Academic Council to College Dean | January 5 | January 5 | December 5 | February 5 |
| College Dean to Provost | February 5 | February 5 | January 5 | March 5 |
| Provost to Chancellor | March 5 | March 5 | February 5 | April 5 |
| Chancellor's decision | May 5 | May 5 | March 5 BOT2 | May 5 |
Notes:
1 if the Probationary Review is deemed necessary
2 date of the BOT decision
Dossier contents
The typical contents of personnel dossier include, but may not be limited to, the following[1]:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Candidate’s narrative on their accomplishments
- Copies of External letters (when applicable)
- Promotion standards
- Annual evaluations
- Prior evaluations (contract renewals, PMYR etc.)
- Materials related to
- Teaching effectiveness and advising
- Scholarship and/or professional development
- University service
- Public service
- Supplemental materials
[1] May not be applicable to some actions such as PMYR and sabbatical
Candidate response letters
Candidates may provide responses to recommendation letters by the various levels of review in accordance with the Faculty Federation CBA. Response letters are optional, and are used to clarify any inaccuracies or oversights in the recommendation letter. Response letters may be submitted by email to Provost@umassd.edu, and may be addressed to the reader(s) in the next level of review. Please note there is a deadline of 7 business days from the candidate's receipt of the level's recommendation to submit a response.
Additional materials
Once released to the Department Faculty Evaluation Committee, a candidate's Dossier may not be edited, but the candidate may submit addenda reflecting significant new updates following every level of review.
Addenda should be submitted by email as a single PDF, usually comprising a very brief cover note, addressed to the next level of review, explaining what is attached, and the award or acceptance letter. Only the candidate may submit addenda. Because they are not a formal part of the portfolio, these addenda will not trigger further review by levels completed prior to submission. The Provost's Team will upload addenda to the "Additional Materials" folder in the candidate's OneDrive Dossier.
Addenda are limited to:
- funding for teaching and learning projects awarded after final submission of the candidate’s portfolio
- honors or awards received after final submission of the candidate’s portfolio
- candidate responses to recommendation letters by various levels of review (in accordance with the promotion and tenure calendar)
- other extraordinary examples appropriate to the candidate’s discipline
FAQs
Article VII of the Faculty Federation Collective Bargaining Agreement indicates that the Office of Human Resources will inform each College or School Dean and Department Chairperson of those individuals who shall be considered during the academic year for probationary or pre-tenure contracts renewals or for tenure.
However, in an effort to be proactive, before the close of the Academic Year, the Provost's Office reaches out to Deans and Department Chairperson's to identify individuals that will undergo Personnel Actions the following Academic Year. We then cross reference the names we have received with the list provided by HR the following September to ensure consistency in all department's records.
As the Provost's Office receives candidate names from the Deans and Chairpersons, the Provost's Office creates a file for said candidate in our OneDrive and releases the file to the candidate. Ideally, candidates will have a folder set up before the beginning of the next academic year to provide them with ample time to build their dossier.
If you believe you are due for a Personnel Action this Academic Year, please reach out to your Chairperson and Dean to confirm they are aware of your timeline and ask them to contact the Provost's Office to create an electronic file for your dossier.
We have pre-loaded electronic dossiers with folders based on the expected minimum required materials listed in Article VII of the Faculty CBA. We also listed folders for items that are traditionally found in Personnel Action dossiers.
We did this to try to encourage continuity with regard to dossier structure. While a candidate is not required to use all these folders and may construct their dossier as they wish, we ask that candidates consider using the pre-loaded folders.
At minimum, each dossier must have the following folders from those pre-loaded:
- Evaluation Statements_Recommendations; and
- Additional Materials Submitted in Response to Evaluation_Recommendations.
Please note the Guidelines for Solicitation of External Letters on the Provost's webpage.
Deans and/or Chairpersons may send a candidate's External or Peer Review Letters to the Provost's Office and a member of our staff will add them to the candidate's file in that designated folder. That file will then be locked for editing so letters may be seen, but not moved or edited.
If you need a copy of your file to transfer materials from your prior review(s), please contact the Provost Office and we can send you a link. You may copy all materials to your current file in OneDrive
Dossiers should be complete and ready to release to the FEC by the due date indicated in Article VII of the CBA. The Timeline is also noted above.
Candidates should not share their dossier with FEC members themselves. The Provost’s Office is responsible for providing the various levels of review with access to candidate dossiers.
Electronic Dossiers managed by the Provost’s Office are not to be shared by the candidate with their DFEC members for the purpose of a preliminary mentor review of their dossier. If a candidate wishes to have FEC members review their file and make recommendations on changes to the dossier prior to their official review, this process should be completed using a separate file created and managed by the candidate and should be done before Personnel Actions commence. Once this mentor review process is complete, a candidate may then copy their electronic dossier from their personal shared file to the file managed by the Provost’s Office. This actions must be done by the deadline indicated in Article VII of the CBA.
Once you have signed your recommendation, and indicate if you do or do not wish to add additional materials, you should send the signed copy of your recommendation back to the author and those copied on the original email. Be sure to copy provost@umassd.edu so it can be included in your dossier and your dossier forwarded onto the next level of review. You should also send along any additional materials or a response at this time along with your signed recommendation to the Provost's Office.
You need to wait until each level of review has completed their recommendation before you can add materials within the 7 business day window.
FAQs for Personnel Committee Participants
At every level, the recommendation should end with the following language:
I have read this recommendation and Do __ / Do not ___ wish to add additional materials or information to my dossier.
Signature:
Date:
The FEC should receive the link to dossiers the next business day following the deadline indicated in Article VII of the CBA. If the FEC has not received the link to the dossier, it is possible that the Provost's office has not yet received the list of members on your committee. Please reach out to the Provost's office.
If you are on the CAC or Law Academic Council, you may not have received the link to the dossier for several reasons: The candidate has not yet received the previous level's recommendation; the Provost's Office was not copied on the delivery or return of the candidate's recommendation; the candidate has not yet signed and returned their recommendation and the seven business day window to respond has not yet expired.
The committee chair of each level shall send the recommendation to the candidate to review and sign. Each level shall send a copy of its recommendation to the Department Chairperson, the President of the Faculty Federation, and the next level of review. The Provost’s Office should be copied on the email to the candidate so the Provost's Office can monitor the timeline to release the dossier to the next level.
If you are on the CAC or Law Academic Council, you may not have received the link to the dossier for several reasons: The candidate has not yet received the previous level's recommendation yet; the Provost's Office was not copied on the delivery or return of the candidate's recommendation; the candidate has not yet signed and returned their recommendation and the seven business day window to respond has not yet expired.