A&S Guidance for Instructional Dossier Preparation

Preparing the Dossier

The department should typically appoint an internal advocate to help the candidate through the promotion process. The advocate should not typically be the department chair, except in very small departments. (If the department uses a mentor system, the candidate’s mentor may serve in this role.)

The candidate should be responsible for preparing and arranging sections 1-8, with the help of the advocate. The candidate should write these sections in the first person. Any other authorship of these sections should be explicitly noted. The associate dean for faculty affairs and the associate dean for students, instruction, and curriculum are also available for consultation.

Sections 2-5 should be available to the Promotion Committee in its deliberations.

The department chair should typically prepare and arrange section 1. However, the chairperson of the Promotion and Tenure committee may prepare section 1.

All participants in the process should have access to college policies concerning Promotion of Instructional Faculty.

The promotion review timeline is available on the Instructional Faculty Promotion page on the Provost's website.

PLEASE NOTE: The department chair should check dossiers to ensure that all format and guideline criteria are met and the dossier is submitted on time. The chair will sign the dossier, attesting to its completeness.

Supporting Letters from Faculty Peers
(Section Two, 4, b, vi other evidence of teaching effectiveness)

At least two (no more than three) letters must be provided in this section from tenure track or instructional faculty at or above the rank of promotion from within the department, college, or university. The faculty peer will have conducted a comprehensive peer review of teaching and can adequately speak to the candidate's expertise in this area. A peer review should include a systematic review of course materials (including but not limited to sample syllabi, handouts, examinations, corrected student papers) and course evaluations from students. For in-person courses, one or more classroom visits should be included, but not required. For online courses, an assessment of how the students engage with the material should be included, but not required. If department guidelines dictate, one comprehensive review from outside the university may be substituted for a peer review.

Departmental Processes

Following the Faculty Handbook, all awards of promotion must originate in a positive recommendation by the appropriate department committee.

Following Faculty Senate guidelines, faculty with administrative appointments greater than 50 percent should not vote.

Department chairs may participate in the discussion but typically should not vote.