1. Dossier Preparation P&T Workshop, April 12, 2011
Carol S. Weisman, PhD
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Distinguished Professor of Public Health Sciences and
Obstetrics and Gynecology

2. The Dossier
Each time you are formally reviewed for promotion or tenure, you must prepare a Dossier in standard format*
The Dossier is a record of your accomplishments in the mission areas and is used by reviewers to evaluate your performance and scholarship
Each department has a staff assistant who works with faculty members on Dossier preparation
Your signature on the completed Dossier attests to the accuracy and completeness of the information
* Exceptions: Instructors, Research Assistants

3. Who reviews your Dossier?
Departmental P&T Committee
Department Chair
College P&T Committee*
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Dean
University P&T Committee*
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs*
* Tenure track only

4. Timetable
If you are on the tenure track, your dossier must be finalized by approximately October 1.
If you are a fixed-term faculty member, your dossier must be finalized by approximately February 1.
Check with your department to ensure that you
meet your department’s internal deadlines!

5. The Dossier: Key Sections
Narrative Statement
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Patient Care Activities (if applicable)
Scholarship of Research
Service and the Scholarship of Service
External Letters (confidential: you do not see this section)
Statements of Evaluation

6. Narrative Statement
1-3 page first-person statement about your scholarship in the context of your overall goals
Supplements information elsewhere in the dossier
Written so that those outside your discipline can understand your work (avoid jargon!)
Reviewers outside your department look at this first to get a “picture” of who you are (don’t assume they know you are a cardiologist or a biochemist!)

7. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Pertains only to teaching at Penn State*
Courses developed and taught; guest lectures; seminars; PBL sessions; MSR projects, theses, dissertations supervised; other advising
Student/resident teaching evaluations (summarized quantitative information; summary of comments)
Peer review of teaching letters (Chair solicits at least 2 letters from senior faculty members in your department)
Your teaching interests/philosophy (Narrative Statement)
_____________________________________________________________
* For tenure reviews, from date of employment at Penn State; for promotion reviews, from last promotion or most recent 5 years (whichever is shorter)

8. Patient Care Activities
Statement of PSHMC clinical assignment(s) including time commitment
Details on quantity and complexity of cases (productivity)
Evidence of quality of care: patient satisfaction data or other evidence of patient care quality
Letters from peers, colleagues, and referring physicians commenting on patient care ability and effectiveness
__________________________________
* For tenure reviews, from date of employment at Penn State; for promotion reviews, from last promotion or most recent 5 years (whichever is shorter)

9. Scholarship of Research
Publications (your entire career)
Peer-reviewed journal articles (number and note authorship role on each)
Non-peer-reviewed publications (books, book chapters, etc.)
Includes “accepted” and “in press” (provide acceptance letter)
Research projects
Completed, current, and planned (with dates): note your role on each project
Internal and external grants/contracts from any sources
Collaborative/interdisciplinary projects count!
Other creative products (e.g., educational methods or computer software developed; inventions; clinical guidelines disseminated)

10. Service and the Scholarship of Service
Committee work and leadership in your profession*
INTERNAL (at Penn State)
Department: leadership roles, committees, etc.
College: committees, medical student interviews, etc.
University: committees, University Faculty Senate, etc.
EXTERNAL (outside Penn State)
Profession: journal editorships and reviews, study sections, organizing conferences for professional associations, offices held in professional associations, government advisory groups, etc.
Community: citizen/client groups, outreach activities, etc.
_________________________________________________________________________
* For tenure reviews, from date of employment at Penn State; for promotion reviews, from last promotion or most recent 5 years (whichever is shorter); provide dates for all activities

11. External Letters
Must be from experts in your field who are of higher rank than you are
Do not contact these individuals – the Dean’s Office solicits these letters
May not be from:
Former teachers, mentors, or supervisors
Close collaborators (e.g., co-investigators or co-authors)
Letters from reviewers with a conflict of interest will be discounted during the review process

12. Statements of Evaluation
This section is compiled by your department
Includes statements of evaluation by your Departmental P&T Committee, Chair, College P&T Committee, and Dean from any previous reviews
Your chair should meet with you to de-brief after the review is completed and should share these evaluative statements with you

13. Signature Page
Review the completed dossier before signing it (includes all sections except confidential section containing external review letters)
Are all sections complete? (If not, provide missing items or bring them to the attention of the staff assistant)
Is information accurate? (If not, make corrections)
Is information complete and up-to-date?

14. Your responsibilities for the dossier
Write the Narrative Statement
Work collaboratively with your staff assistant in providing the detailed information for the dossier sections and in reviewing the dossier
Help your department chair identify potential eligible external reviewers

15. Common problems in dossiers
Conflicting information about effort allocation (e.g., page 3 differs from Narrative Statement or Chair’s letter); 2 areas of excellence not clear
Narrative Statement does not explain nature of candidate’s scholarship and/or contains information not provided in the body of the dossier
Inadequate documentation of teaching evaluations by students/residents
Missing peer review of teaching letters (Chair’s responsibility)
Inadequate documentation of patient care activities (quantity and quality)
Failure to number publications, to note authorship role on multi-authored publications, or to provide letters of acceptance for “in press” articles
Failure to provide all details of grants (e.g., title, funder, grant number, dates, grant PI, your role and % effort)
Failure to document all internal and external service activities

16. Items that may not appear in the dossier
Evaluative statements written by you
Statements about your personal life that are not relevant to your work
CV, publications, course outlines
Letters of appreciation or thanks

17. What you can do now …
Keep detailed records of the information required for each of the dossier sections: keep a file for each dossier section, with dates for each item
Use your annual HR40 reviews to clarify your effort allocation and “excellent” mission areas
Invite senior faculty members to observe your teaching
Present your work at professional conferences so that potential external reviewers recognize your scholarship

18. Attend P&T Workshops Workshops are held annually
with the Vice Provost for
Academic Affairs (Dr. Bowen)
& biannually with the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (Dr. Weisman)

19. Ask Questions Ask your Department Chair or Division Chief:
the promotion process begins in your department!
Ask me:
Ask Cindy Devine:
Visit the Office of Faculty Affairs website for all policies and procedures: