GENERAL INFORMATION
The CPQ is a committee, elected by the faculty, for the purpose of evaluating faculty members for retention, promotion and continuing appointment (tenure). After its review process, the CPQ makes recommendations to the President of the College. The summary report submitted to the President, is utilized in the decision- making process.
Continuing appointment is restricted to full time academic rank faculty. Neither part-time faculty members nor clinical faculty at full time or part time status are eligible for tenure. All clinical faculty are on term appointments.
There are five faculty ranks at this college on a tenure track and four faculty ranks on a non-tenure track. These include:
Tenure Tracks
A) Instructor
B) Assistant Professor
C) Associate Professor
D) Professor
E) LibrarianNon-Tenure Tracks
A) Clinical Instructor, Research Instructor, Adjunct Instructor
B) Assistant Clinical , Assistant Research & Assistant Adjunct Professor
C) Associate Clinical, Research Associate, & Associate Adj. Professor
D) Clinical, Research & Adjunct Professor
Promotions from Instructor level to Assistant Professor or from Clinical Instructor to Assistant Clinical Professor are done through an Intra-departmental review. All other reviews are done by CPQ. After appointment as Assistant Professor, the faculty member must either be granted Continuing Appointment within seven years or be dismissed. Promotion from Assistant to Associate Professor may be made at any time. After appointment as Associate Professor or Professor, the faculty member must either be granted Continuing Appointment within three years or be dismissed. These clocks start automatically as outlined above. The candidate seeking Continuing Appointment, and who does not receive it, must be given a one year notification of non-renewal of contract. Since tenure must be granted within a fixed period of time, the review process must be completed in sufficient time to give a one year notification. These clocks do not apply to non-tenure tracks.
HOW DOES THE CPQ REVIEW PROCESS BEGIN
A review process can be initiated in one of three ways:
a) At the request of the Department Chair
b) At the request of the Dean
c) At the request of the President
d) At the request of the candidate
Once the process is started the candidate will be asked to provide CPQ with the following:
Once these papers are received, the candidate's file is reviewed by each of the committee members. Meetings to discuss the candidacy are scheduled, during which time the Committee may call upon appropriate members of the College community for input about the candidate. Requests by CPQ to such members of the College, for the purposes of input to a candidate's qualifications, is done on a totally voluntary basis.
After the CPQ gathers the data it needs to fairly assess the candidate, and discussions between members of the committee have addressed any issues of concern, the members vote for or against the candidacy. Members of the Committee vote by secret ballot. After the vote, a report is generated by the Committee, to the President of the College. This report summarizes the candidate's qualifications and, in general terms, the discussions of the Committee, the letters of recommendation and the input from the College community. It then makes its recommendation for or against the candidacy. A vote count shall be recorded in its letter to the President. When the letter is submitted by the Chair of CPQ to the President, the candidate will receive a photocopy of the letter.
All activities of the CPQ are in strict confidence.
CRITERIA USED TO EVALUATE THE CANDIDATE
There are four general areas considered that enter into the promotion process. Demonstrable levels of achievement are a part of a continuum, the higher the rank, the greater the expectation. The most important criterion is evidence of success of the candidate in performance of the role(s) that are a part of one's job description. As an example, the person with an identified role as a researcher, will be primarily judged on research accomplishments, although other criteria are still considered. Using the same example as above, the researcher aspiring to professor rank, may be judged by his ability to acquire and carry out grant supported research, while the researcher candidate for assistant professor may only have to demonstrate publication of one or more peer-reviewed papers.
The four areas which are reviewed in all tenure and promotion decisions are educational skills, scholarly activity, governance, and reputation in the field.
TENURE TRACKS
| A) | Educational Skills: These are demonstrated by performance within the lecture classroom, and/or the clinics, seminars and student research supervision. These are traditionally measured by supervisors, peers, and students. Helping to elevate the educational level of peers is also held in high regard. In reviewing the candidate in this area, the CPQ solicits input from the department chair(s), interviews with faculty at the college who have worked with the candidate and from student evaluations. Clinical and/or administrative skills may also be considered. |
| B) | Scholarly Activity: Scholarly activities for faculty on tenured tracks are demonstrated by publications (papers in refereed journals, textbook chapters, textbooks, etc.), and grant activities (proposals submitted and acquisitions). Expectations are significantly higher for faculty aspiring to advanced rank and/or who are being considered for Continuing Appointment. |
| C) | Governance: Activities of governance relate to roles within the committee structure or being elected to office within the faculty. These roles are important to the activities of the college as an educational institution. Activities within the community, but outside the college, that elevate the quality of life of that community are an important, although less typical element to be considered. |
| D) | Reputation Within the Candidate's Profession: This is judged on the basis of the letters of recommendation, presentations at national and international meetings, invited lectures, consulting positions held by the candidate, collaborative research with professionals outside the college, leadership roles within national organizations, etc. |
NON-TENURE TRACKS
| A) | Educational Skills: These are demonstrated by performance within the classroom or clinic. The candidate must demonstrate skill, innovation and excellence in clinical teaching and patient care. These are evaluated by the Department Chair, student evaluations and professional colleagues. Clinical and/or administrative skills may also be considered. |
| B) | Scholarly Activity: Scholarly activities for faculty on non-tenured tracks are typically
demonstrated by publications of textbook chapters, textbooks, or papers in refereed journals.
In addition, clinical faculty may demonstrate scholarly activity by elevating the level of their profession with presentations at professional meetings, particularly so when these are later transformed into published papers. Clinical faculty may also demonstrate scholarly activity by achieving certification, fellowship, and/or diplomate titles within their discipline. |
| C) | Governance: Activities of governance relate to roles within the committee structure or being elected to office within the faculty. These roles are important to the activities of the college as an educational institution. Activities within the community, but outside the college, that elevate the quality of life of that community are an important, although less typical element to be considered. |
| D) | Reputation Within the Candidate's Profession: This is judged on the basis of the letters of recommendation, presentations at national and international meetings, invited lectures, consulting positions held by the candidate, collaborative research with professionals outside the college, leadership roles within national organizations, etc. The expected quality and quantity of all activities increases with the level of the rank for which the candidate is being considered. In addition, a person aspiring to be at the Associate level should be well respected within the college, while one being considered for Continuing Appointment and/or promotion to Professor must have a demonstrable reputation beyond the college. Faculty desiring information concerning promotion and/or tenure should seek the advice of the department chairs, senior faculty, the Dean's office, or from members of the CPQ. |
Librarians are faculty members, but who should be evaluated differently because of their unique situation of having to spend almost all of their time doing administrative duties as per the needs of this College. Unlike teaching faculty, however, librarians are engaged in direct service to the public and/or in technical processing activities which occupy them eight or more hours per day. For this reason, the categories of research, publication and service to the institution should reflect both the time limitations placed on library faculty and the fact that a librarians's daily activities involve doing research for others, providing service directly to students and to faculty, and developing publications which make the use of the library easier for its users. The basic considerations in regard to the library faculty are competence in librarianship, service to the College, service to the library profession and to the community, initiative and creativity in developing library programs or problem solving and potential for continuing professional growth. Specifically the following should be considered:
1. Administration and committee work within the College.
- Client-oriented library service - This criterion should be heavily weighed and well documented to public service librarians.
- Community Service - Participation in local and regional library association activities constitute a form of community service.
4. Membership in professional organizations.
- Publications and presentations - Bibliographies, poster sessions, library guides and instructional materials constitute a form of publication.
- Research - Research done in conjunction with faculty and student requests constitute a form of research.
- Teaching - Public service librarians engaged in teaching on a one-to-one basis constitutes a form of teaching.
CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION TO SENIOR ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN
The individual must demonstrate that he/she:
a. is knowledgeable and competent in the professional practice of librarianship.
b. listens to suggestions of peers (faculty within the library, as well as beyond.
c. works well with colleagues
d. works well with our public
e. is productive
f. gives evidence of ability to solve problems and has original ideas.
CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION TO ASSOCIATE LIBRARIAN
In addition to the above, the individual has demonstrated leadership qualities. As an example, the individual has:
a. identified problems and achieved solutions that are creative, practical and workable.
b. introduced new technology, or new ways to use existing technology which Is beneficial to the institution and/or the user.
c. demonstrated the ability to identify a need, design a project an complete it within a reasonable time frame, i.e. created a publication to assist users, created a course to assist users, created a manual for student assistants and/or clerical support staff.
d. demonstrated effective time management and organizational skills.
e. demonstrated the ability to meet deadlines (their own or those of the organization).
f. demonstrated continued professional growth.
g. demonstrated service to their own profession as well as to the profession of Optometry.
h. demonstrated effective supervisory and management skills (if appropriate).
CRITERION FOR PROMOTION TO LIBRARIAN
The candidate has demonstrated a level of leadership, expertise, accomplishments, organizational skills and service that is outstanding over time.
CRITERIA FOR CONTINUING APPOINTMENT
Criteria for Continuing Appointment are similar to the criteria for promotion to Associate Librarian. A person may achieve Continuing Appointment before he/she has sufficient accomplishments to be promoted to Associate Librarian. However, an individual recommended for Continuing Appointment must demonstrate sufficient leadership qualities to give the CPQ reason to believe that the candidate will qualify for promotion to the rank of Associate Librarian at a later date.