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Format for the Promotion and Tenure Dossier, College of Arts & Sciences

This guideline has been developed to provide all participants with a clear and common format for all elements of the Ohio University College of Arts & Sciences Promotion and Tenure Dossier.

All materials (forms, scans, original WP documents, etc.) should be included into the appropriate sections/sub-sections and labeled exactly as below. All materials should be uploaded as a single PDF file to OneDrive by the department chair (access will be provided by A&S near the end of fall semester).

When constructing the dossier, if a document is temporarily unavailable (e.g., chair letter, committee letter, etc.) please leave a titled place-holder page in the document. Missing sections can be inserted later.

Sections of the dossier include:

Section One - Introductory Documents

  1. Review form for promotion and/or tenure (signature sheet)
  2. College Dean Letter
  3. College promotion and tenure committee letter (optional, if applicable)
  4. Chair Letter

The Chair should provide a complete and incisive letter evaluating the candidate's professional progress and prospects. Address standards of teaching and scholarship in the department and assess the venues in which the candidate's work has appeared. Describe any special considerations with respect to teaching or scholarship in the candidate's field. Indicate how the candidate fulfills the promotion and tenure criteria of both the department and the college. Note any department-wide votes, indicating pro, con, and abstention numbers.

  1. Department promotion and tenure committee Letter. This letter should indicate the committee membership and vote tally. The letter should be signed by the committee chair.
  2. Regional campus dean non-decision, input letter (if appropriate)
  3. Annual evaluations by chair, departmental promotion and tenure progress letters.
  4. Copy of the faculty member's Tenure-Track offer/appointment letter (most recent if it was ever modified)

Section Two - Promotion/Tenure Summary Documents

  1. Table of Contents (TOC, should contain hyperlinks to all subsequent sections and subsections) NOTE: If using CAS template, only change text color from green to black; do not change wording or fonts as that may cause the TOC not to link properly.
  2. Academic Preparation.
    List institutions, dates of study, and degrees awarded. Also list post-doctoral awards, residencies, and other post-graduate study, whether leading to a degree or not.
  3. Professional Experience
    Note teaching positions and/or other professional experience (in reverse chronological order beginning with most recent); specify dates. Indicate date of last promotion, if applicable.
  4. Instruction and Advising

a. Teaching Load - List of courses taught over past three years (include teaching assignment changes)

b. Teaching Effectiveness - Evidence of course organization, presentation and requirements.

i. Evidence of course organization, presentation, and requirements (e.g., one or two syllabi)

ii. Student evaluation results/reports with one or two sets of course evaluations: Summarize in a table the overall instructor rating for each course taught during the past 5 years. Please provide the scale used. Provide any explanations you deem necessary for your numerical evaluations. Choose one or two class sections that you have during the previous 5 years and provide the full class climate survey.

iii. Teaching awards and recognition

iv. Selection for teaching in special programs

v. Participation, as a student, in teaching enhancement programs (professional development activities specifically relating to teaching (conferences, workshops, etc.)

vi. Other evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., peer evaluation letters of your teaching from at least two faculty members. Please provide these evaluations regardless of whether the promotion is to associate professor or to professor).

c. Interdisciplinary Teaching: list of interdisciplinary activities related to teaching (if relevant).

d. Advising and Supervision Activities (Indicate the number of undergraduate and graduate students you regularly advise. Indicate the number of thesis and dissertation committees you have chaired and served on. Detail any significant experiences supervising laboratory and field work, directing independent study and undergraduate research experiences, working with Honors Tutorial students, participating in Education Abroad programs, participating in summer programs involving students, and mentoring graduate students. Detail any noteworthy experiences offering students personal counseling or assisting in Student Affairs activities).

5. Research and Scholarly Accomplishments

a. Articles in Professional Journals

I. List refereed journal articles in print in reverse chronological order. List abstracts similarly and separately from articles.

II. In co-authored publications, list authors in publication order. Clearly indicate your contribution to the publication. Please note any publications co-authored with students by an asterisk (*) next to the name(s).

III. Provide the complete name of the journal, the year, volume, and pages of the publication.

IV. Clearly indicate whether publications are published in refereed professional journals; non-refereed journals; internal agency reports; internal company reports; consulting reports; newspapers and newsletters; other publications. List separately any book reviews.

V. List separately any publications in press or accepted for publication. (You must also provide documentation for any item of this type). Do not include publications submitted and under review or publications in preparation.

b. Other publications and presentations
c. Books or portions of books
d. Sponsored research projects and grants (internal and external)
e. Theses and dissertations directed
f. Proposals (submitted and unfunded clearly marked)
g. Other

6. Professional Associations

7. Committees and Service (Department, College, University, Professional, Community)

8. Interdisciplinary Contributions


9. Other Factors

Section Three: External Review (Department Chair responsibility)

  1. External Review Process
    a. Describe the process used
    b. Describe how the reviewers were contacted
    c. Provide a list of information sent to reviewers
  2. External reviewers' letters (4-6), with a short 1-paragraph biographical sketch preceding each. Do NOT include their CVs.

Section Four — Curriculum Vitae and Promotion and Tenure Guidelines

  1. Current, complete CV
  2. Department/School/Campus P&T guidelines.
  3. College/RHE P&T guidelines.

Section Five — Additional CAS Core Documents

  1. Statement on Teaching
    Provide a reflective statement (no more than 2-3 pages) describing your goals for student learning, methods you use to help you achieve your student learning goals, and how you know your goals are being met (what sort of assessment tools do you use, and why?).
  2. Additional Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness
    Selected from the following categories, including a brief statement (1-3 sentences) for each item addressing why the document was selected.  Please limit this section to 25 pages and do not repeat items that have been presented in other sections.  
    • A package of materials that gives reviewers a good understanding of one representative course, which may include the following items: syllabus, (0-3) sample handouts, (0-3) exams, (0-3) excerpts of edited student papers (NOTE: Any student work provided in your dossier must either have the expressed written consent of the student or have their name/ID redacted from the document).
    • Unsolicited testimonial letters from colleagues.  These can be classroom observations, course reviews, or statements detailing assessments of teaching materials and preparation of students for higher-level courses (0-3 letters).
    • Unsolicited testimonial letters from students (0-3 letters).
    • Statement on the development of new courses and programs (0-1 page).
    • Statement on innovative teaching (technological or pedagogical), e.g., flipped classroom, experiential learning, hyflex teaching (0-1 page).
    • Statements detailing the careers of eminent advisees and graduates (0-1 page).
  3. Statement on Nature and Significance of Scholarship
    Using language accessible to non-specialists in your field, provide a statement explaining the nature and significance of your accomplishments to date in research or creative activity. Indicate the fit of your research within the larger disciplinary context. Briefly describe the nature of the journals or other venues in which your publications appear. Describe forthcoming scholarship and new research areas you intend to develop. Indicate any citation data or reviews of your publications. Include copies of publications as part of ancillary materials.

Section Six — Ancillary Materials

Include all additional materials that you feel relevant to your case for promotion and tenure in this section.

v. 4 LRH May 2018, ed. BCM 4-NOV-2020, ed. MLV 8-May-2023