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Standards

Standards for the evaluation of faculty performance in scholarship or professional activity, teaching, and service are defined in Faculty Handbook 3.4.2 (tenure-track faculty) and 3.4A.1.1 (renewable-term faculty), and are further defined by faculty in each discipline:

Because the nature of teaching, scholarship or artistic creativity, and service differs in some respects among academic disciplines, the faculty of the college, schools, and division develop, adopt, and publish their respective clarifications of the three criteria. (3.4.2)

Scholarship

In 2013-2015, tenure-track faculty in all six schools began to develop disciplinary scholarship standards to guide internal evaluation, promotion, and tenure processes and to support external evaluators in the review of tenure and promotion cases. Some departments have revised their standards since that time.

Teaching

In 2023, departments were asked to engage all faculty in the development of teaching effectiveness standards that would be piloted in 2023-26, with the goal of finalizing department teaching standards across the University by Fall 2026.

Service

In February 2023, a task force appointed by the University Coordinating Committee recommended that departments develop service standards. Their recommendations are being reviewed by the Faculty Affairs Committee and will be widely consulted before a recommendation regarding service standards is made to the Provost (initial FAC response).

Repository

Approved standards for scholarship/creative activity are available from the DSS Tracker, linked in the sidebar to the right. Draft teaching standards are being piloted this year, and are available from the TESE Tracker, linked in the sidebar to the right. Some departments are also developing service standards, and professional activity standards for teaching-track faculty.