1. Your Career at Queen’s: Merit Review and Renewal, Tenure, & Promotion New Faculty Orientation August 23, Teri Shearer Deputy Provost (Academic Operations & Inclusion) Office of the Provost & Vice-Principal Academic
This afternoon I am going to talk to you about two of the most important personnel processes for academic faculty members: merit review and renewal, tenure, and promotion.

2. Annual/Biennial Merit Review

3. Purposes of the Merit Review
To provide an assessment process that will:
Recognize faculty contributions and achievements.
Enable monitoring of professional growth, professional development and career planning (formative feedback).
To determine a biennial merit rating that will establish annual salary increments to complement annual Across the Board increases.

4. Tenured or Continuing appointments => reviewed biennially
Annual or Biennial?
Tenure-track, Continuing Track, or Non-Renewable appointments => performance reviewed annually
Tenured or Continuing appointments => reviewed biennially
Merit review based on two annual assessments for the former, and one biennial assessment for the latter
Resulting merit rating used to determine merit increments for two years
or those with Special appointments that have been renewed less than two times

5. Annual/Biennial Report
Completed on a standardized form
(Paper or electronic)
Based on calendar year(s)
Documents activities and outcomes in each of
Teaching
Research/Scholarship/Creative activity
Service
Administrative
Professional
Mandatory
Starts with the preparation of an annual or biennial report which is due to unit head by Feb 1
It is the faculty member’s responsibility to provide sufficient detail to enable assessment.
If the annual report has insufficient detail, assessment is based on information reasonably available to the Unit Head.

6. Tips for completing a comprehensive annual/biennial report
(Ideally) at the start of the calendar year create a file folder with subfolders; one for each area and drop in materials as appropriate to track your activities
e.g. student advisory committees, thesis examination committees (and role), grant reviews, abstracts published, invited presentations, papers/grants in review, USATs, professional development, …
Refer back to previous report – look for progress, improvement and development.
If in doubt about anything, seek assistance.
Include all relevant materials in your annual report, with an explanation of their significance if necessary.

7. Annual/Biennial Report
Assistance available from:
Colleagues
Heads
Deans
Human Rights Office
Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

8. Merit award process
Merit assessed biennially based on:
Two annual reports or one biennial report
Any other documents in Official File that are relevant to the assessment and evaluation of performance in teaching, research and service.

9. Merit award process
In a non-merit year:
Unit Head reviews annual report, provides a written performance appraisal.
Faculty member meets with Head to review and discuss appraisal.
Faculty member signs appraisal.
Copies of the annual report and the appraisal are maintained in the member’s Official File.

10. Merit award process In a merit year:
Unit Head reviews two annual or one biennial report, provides a written performance appraisal.
Faculty member meets with Head to review, discuss, and sign appraisal.
Dean (or Vice/Associate Dean) and Head meet to address annual reviews and assignments of merit scores in Department.
Dean makes merit score recommendation to Provost.
Copies of the annual report and the appraisal are maintained in the member’s Official File.

11. Merit award process Merit Scoring System: Point system
Possible point scores: 0 through 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20
Maximum possible University–wide average is 10.9
0 – 7 score= deficiency in performance
10 is the modal score (i.e. performance meets expectations)
To score above 10, performance in all 3 areas must be at least satisfactory
Librarians/archivists point scores are 0 to 4, with a modal score of 2
A score above 10 indicates Very Good or Excellent performance in any of teaching research or service, provided satisfactory in the other(s)
It is important to remember that approx. 66% of your colleagues will receive a merit score of 10 in any given merit year- and the vast majority of them are very high achievers.

12. Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP)

13. Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion
Use your Annual/Biennial Report to help build your Renewal, Tenure, Promotion file, year by year
But Reports may not form part of the RTP file
Timelines and processes clearly defined by Collective Agreement
Notice of Intent by July 1
List of prospective referees by July 31
Completed application file by August 15

14. Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion
Departmental RTP committee assesses the RTP file and makes a recommendation to the Department Head
Department Head assesses file and makes a recommendation to the Dean
Dean assesses file and makes a recommendation to the Provost
Provost grants or denies the application
Overview of decision process:
Assesses against the criteria specified in the collective agreement
By April 1 for renewal, April 15 for tenure and/or promotion to Associate, and by May 15 for promotion to Professor
*Applications for promotion to Professor also go to the University Promotion Advisory Committee, which also assesses the file and makes a recommendation to the Provost.
*Emerging negatives and 10 working days to respond to each recommendation along the way.

15. Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion
Typically apply at the start of third year
Granted, for Tenure-track faculty, when there is “clear evidence of a commitment to academic excellence, some demonstrated professional growth, and the prospect… of future development”
Presumption in favour of renewal
University must demonstrate that the weight of evidence is in favour of non-Renewal
Prospect based on the record of accomplishments to date
As reflected in: a record as a good teacher; clear evidence of high-quality scholarly or creative work

16. Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion
Tenure and Promotion to Associate
Typically apply at the start of sixth year
Tenure shall be granted when there is “clear evidence of demonstrated professional growth and the promise of future development”
A record as a very good teacher committed to academic and pedagogical excellence
A record of high quality and expert peer-assessed scholarly or creative work
A record of professional, University, or community service
Applicant must show that the evidence favours granting tenure and promotion
Successful renewal results in a three year renewed appointment; typically apply at start of sixth year.
Prospect based on the record of accomplishments to date
As reflected in: a record as a good teacher; clear evidence of high-quality scholarly or creative work

17. Promotion To Professor
The Faculty member must either combine:
Scholarly or creative work judged to be distinguished with very good teaching; or
Continuing high quality scholarly work with exceptional contributions to teaching; or
Scholarly or creative work judged to be distinguished with exceptional contributions in teaching
The faculty member must also have made a contribution through administrative service. Contributions to his/her profession are also relevant.
Prospect based on the record of accomplishments to date
As reflected in: a record as a good teacher; clear evidence of high-quality scholarly or creative work

18. Content of RTP File Up-to-date CV
Separate summary of teaching experience, which may be in the form of a teaching dossier
Copies of all relevant scholarly or creative work (or at least citations) and a description of any work in progress
Summary of administrative service responsibilities and professional service
USAT scores will be added to the RTP file from the Official File
Optional letter of introduction to the materials

19. Renewal, Tenure, and Promotion
Tips for preparing your RTP file
Seek advice and guidance!
Department Head (or Associate Dean / Dean)
Centre for Teaching and Learning
Colleagues
Use prior examples of successful Renewal, Tenure, Promotion file.
Become familiar with timelines in Collective Agreement
QUFA usually also runs workshops for faculty who are preparing to apply for RT or P

20. Questions / Discussion