Faculty Performance Reviews
Faculty performance is systematically reviewed each year through two processes:
Annual Review: Through the Annual Review process, all faculty are evaluated every year, both in terms of their performance and achievements for the previous year as well as their goals and objectives for the coming year. Faculty are also provided feedback on their performance and future goals as a means of ensuring continuous improvement. To be eligible for a salary increase, faculty performance and accomplishments for the previous year must be evaluated as “satisfactory” by the department chair and dean.
Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT): The RPT process facilitates the rigorous review of faculty being considered for tenure and/or promotion. Tenure-track faculty are evaluated each year to assess progress toward promotion and tenure. The process involves a rigorous review by department and college faculty and by academic leaders including the Department Chair, Dean, and Senior Vice Chancellor. Faculty who fail to make sufficient progress may not be reappointed. The RPT process is also used to consider faculty promotions cases, which also involve a rigorous review by faculty peers and academic leaders.
Criteria
The standard, procedures, criteria, and guidelines for evaluating faculty performance established by the University of Nebraska system represent the minimum considerations used for reviewing and evaluating faculty performance.
Colleges, schools, and departments are encouraged to provide more exacting guidelines, within the boundaries established by the Board of Regents, that reflect the characteristics of excellence established within particular disciplines.
Although individual departments/schools establish specific guidelines, areas evaluated generally include teaching, research and creative activity, and service. Specific activities are determined by individual departments/schools.
Learn more about the Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Guidelines.
Evaluation of Performance Portfolios
For both Annual Review and RPT, faculty are responsible for compiling a portfolio to be reviewed by various department and college committees as well as by their department chair, dean, and the senior vice chancellor. Faculty members should check with their department and college for specific instructions about format and contents. Generally, Annual Review portfolios only contain documentation pertaining to activities completed in the previous year as well as coming year goals and objectives. RPT portfolios, however, are necessarily cumulative in nature, and therefore, tend to require more extensive documentation. Both review processes require the completion of the appropriate forms and supporting documentation.
The amount of supporting documentation required for annual review and RPT depends, in part, on individual department/school policies and expectations. Generally, faculty members should include descriptions of activities or accomplishments, indicate their significance, and in the case of publications, provide proper bibliographic information.
For annual review, faculty members are also encouraged to indicate how objectives listed for the coming year relate to long-term individual or department/school objectives.
Example activities:
- completion of a manuscript
- preparation of a new course syllabus
- teaching an honors colloquium
- establishment of a new line of research
- writing a grant proposal
- implementation of a new public service project
Evaluation Forms
Watermark Faculty Success can be used to generate the faculty activities reports required for both the annual review and RPT processes. If necessary, the reports can be edited before submitting for review, which occurs digitally within the Watermark Faculty Success platform. Watermark Faculty Success can be accessed from the my.unomaha.edu page.
Post-Tenure Review
The post-tenure review process is intended to assist faculty on continuous appointments with achieving their professional goals and with maximizing their contributions to the University throughout their professional careers, to provide assurance to the public that tenured faculty are accountable for their performance, and to provide continued peer involvement in the review of tenured faculty. Post-tenure review is provided for by University of Nebraska Board of Regents Policies (RP-4.3.3).
Learn more about the Post-Tenure Review Policy.