Handbook of Operating Procedures
Chapter 2 - Faculty and Academics
Publication Date: August 17, 2009

2.24 Third-Year Review

Purpose of the Third-Year Review
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) requires a comprehensive review of all nontenured faculty members with tenure track appointments during their third year of full-time service to the university. This review will be conducted during the fall semester of the faculty member’s third year with the following objectives:
1. to assess overall performance and provide the basis for a fair evaluation which may be used in the decision regarding reappointment; and
2. to afford faculty an opportunity to practice preparing their files for review, document their achievements, and understand how they will be judged for tenure and promotion at UTSA.
Evaluation and the Third-Year Review
1. Categories of Faculty Performance
  Faculty shall be reviewed in each of the three categories of performance as outlined in HOP Chapter 2.10 “Faculty Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure,” section V: teaching, research/scholarship/creative activities, and service.
2. Evaluation
  1. The review, where appropriate, should include constructive, developmental comments to assist the faculty member to assess progress toward tenure and promotion at UTSA.
  2. The review will focus primarily on teaching effectiveness and the creation and dissemination of new knowledge or of other creative works and activities. Service to the department, college, university, discipline and community-at-large will also be reviewed in this process – with expected levels of service commensurate with the tenure-track status.
  3. The review will be conducted in light of the college workload policy and will include
    1. an assessment of the stage in the faculty member’s development;
    2. the faculty member’s promise for achieving promotion and tenure;
    3. the faculty member’s role in the department;
    4. the faculty member’s talent and promise for contributions to the field of study or in other viable communities of practice.
Procedure
1. Review Materials
  In support of the third-year review, tenure-track faculty members shall submit a corpus of material arranged in files in the following order:
  1. Contents check sheet (signed by the department chair);
  2. Table of Contents for the materials submitted;
  3. Current copy of the faculty member’s curriculum vitae;
  4. A statement with separate sections discussing the faculty member’s teaching philosophy and how they have contributed to the curriculum in their field; research agenda and scholarly productivity to date along with future plans; and service to the department, college, university, as well as the discipline and community-at-large.
  5. Teaching Section – Copies of syllabi and any other relevant materials used in courses taught over the past three years. Departments will provide the faculty member with copies of his or her student survey summary results and class grade distributions and awards, honors, and special recognition in teaching.
  6. Research/Creative Activities Section – Copies of all publications in print or in page proofs, copies of work accepted for publication along with editor’s correspondence; copies of work that is in progress toward publication along with relevant editor’s correspondence; copies of funded/non-funded grant proposals, copies of book chapters in an unpublished manuscript, copies of conference papers, and awards, honors, and special recognition in creative activities.
  7. Service Section – Copies of any relevant material documenting service activities and awards, honors, and special recognition in service.
  8. Miscellaneous awards, honors, and special recognition.
  9. Additional materials. For examples of additional materials, faculty should consult the Addendum (Optional Tenure and Promotion Materials) included in Promotion and Tenure Guidelines.
2. Third-Year Review Committee
  1. The DFRAC will elect a subcommittee of no fewer than three tenured faculty members or it may elect to operate as a committee of the whole. If fewer than three tenured faculty are available to serve on the committee, the dean shall appoint additional members from the tenured college faculty until there are three members.
  2. The committee will elect a member to serve as chair, and a member of the committee shall be selected to record salient information from the proceedings.
  3. The Committee Chair is charged with
    1. ensuring a fair and uniform review for each candidate, and
    2. producing a written report that provides a fair and uniform assessment of the faculty member’s strengths and areas of needed improvement.
  4. Each committee member must sign-off on the chair’s report. The subcommittee’s report will be made available to the DFRAC for final review and approval.
3. Process and Timeline for Third-Year Review
  1. Third-year reviews shall be conducted at the outset of the fall semester of a faculty member’s third year of full-time service.
  2. The Office of the Provost establishes deadlines for submission of review files for the completion of review processes. Colleges and Departments shall establish internal deadlines commensurate with the Provost’s guidelines.
  3. The department chair shall inform faculty of all important deadlines no later than May 15 of the second year of full-time service. At this time, faculty will be provided with guidelines regarding the third-year review process.
  4. Faculty members should submit third-year review files to their respective departmental offices no later than the deadline specified by the Provost’s guidelines in the third year. Faculty under review may submit additional materials to support their files until the review committee submits its recommendations to the Department Chair.
  5. The DFRAC, or its elected subcommittee, shall submit a written report to the Department Chair.
  6. The Department Chair and Chair of the Third-Year Review Committee shall arrange to meet with the faculty member to discuss the review. The faculty member under review should receive a copy of the reports from the DFRAC and Department Chair at least three (3) work days (or three “business” days) in advance of the meeting.
  7. After discussing the review, the faculty member will have the opportunity to respond to the reports from the DFRAC and Department Chair.
    1. Candidates who choose to respond are invited to comment on the reports in terms of clarification, the likelihood of accomplishing the necessary steps to be awarded tenure, neglected or additional information that came in after the review process was initiated, and explain any extenuating circumstances that may warrant further consideration before a decision will be rendered about contract renewal.
    2. The candidate may elect not to respond to the report without penalty.
  8. The Department Chair shall write a summarizing report and forward all supporting materials to the Dean.
  9. The Dean will then determine if the faculty member’s performance has been satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
    1. In the case of satisfactory performance, the Dean may notify the Provost of a recommendation to reappoint the faculty member.
    2. In the case of unsatisfactory performance, the dean shall submit a report to the Office of the Provost along with the written reports from the DFRAC and the Department Chair. The Dean’s report shall either recommend corrective action to be taken by the faculty member, or non-reappointment of the faculty member.
  10. After discussing an unsatisfactory review with the Dean, the Provost will make a written recommendation to the President concerning the reappointment of the faculty member.
  11. The President shall review all recommendations for reappointment of faculty and make final decisions concerning reappointment. If the faculty member’s appointment is not being renewed, the President shall notify the faculty member in accordance with the provisions of HOP Chapter 2.13 “Termination and Non-reappointment of a Faculty Member” and in accordance with Regents’ Rule 31002 (“Notice of Nonrenewal to Nontenured Faculty Members”) that the subsequent year will be the terminal academic year of appointment.
  12. The President’s decision will be transmitted to the Dean who will then discuss the results with the faculty member.