Confidentiality of Personnel Deliberations
Composition of Departmental Personnel Committees (Probationary and Temporary Appointment, Retention, Tenure, and Promotion, and Evaluation of Temporary, Probationary and Tenured Faculty)
Composition of Departmental Personnel Committees
The department annually elects 5 personnel committees.
The probationary and tenured faculty members of the department or equivalent unit shall elect a peer review committee(s) of tenured faculty members. When there are insufficient eligible members to serve on the peer committee, the department shall elect members from a related academic discipline(s).
(The Committees, as a whole, must take responsibility for the following tasks: Probationary Appointment; Temporary Appointment; Retention, Tenure and Promotion; Range Elevation; Evaluation of Temporary Faculty; Evaluation of Probationary Faculty; Evaluation of Tenured Faculty (Post-Tenure review); Evaluation for Request to Emeritus status; and Collaboration on the Development of Individual Professional Plans. It is required that each unit indicate below which Committee is responsible for each of these tasks.)
| Committee Titles and Responsibilities |
Number of Members (at least 3; all tenured full time) (Indicate if must be (full) professor rank) |
Number of Alternates (1 or more; all tenured full-time) (Indicate if must be (full) professor rank) |
|---|---|---|
|
Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee A Retention and tenure of non-tenured Associate Professors and promotion to Full Professors; review of Individual Professional Plans developed by Associate Professors; consideration of part-time faculty for elevation from Range C to Range D. |
5 Full Professors, including Department Chair as voting member | 1 Full Professor |
|
Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee B Retention and tenure of Assistant Professors and promotion to Associate Professors; review of Individual Professional Plans developed by Assistant Professors; consideration of part-time faculty for elevation from Range A to Range B, and Range B to Range C. |
5 including Department Chair as voting member | 1 |
|
Elevation of Tenured Faculty |
3 Full Professors | 1 Full Professor |
|
New Faculty Search Committee Recommendation of New Faculty Appointments |
3 (1 Probationary faculty may be elected) | 1 |
|
Part-Time Faculty Committee Evaluation of Part-Time Faculty |
5 | 1 |
Eligibility for Committee Service and Balloting
Additional:
The chair is always included as a member on the RTP-A and RTP-B Committees. The chair is always included as a member on the Evaluation of Tenured Faculty Committee, unless the chair is being evaluated. The chair is eligible to serve if elected to the New Faculty Search and Part-Time Faculty Committees.
Recruitment of Probationary Faculty
Additional:
A New Faculty Search Committee will be elected from a ballot that will include all tenured department faculty members. 1 Probationary Faculty may be elected. The Search Committee will develop a short list of qualified candidates to be interviewed.
Appointment of Probationary Faculty
Personnel Action Files
Additional:
Personnel Committees may use the following methods for evaluating instructional performance: 1) evaluation of course content, including syllabi, writing assignments, examinations and the candidate's criteria for assigning grades; 2) a colleague's written observations of the candidate's work with students in non-classroom situations; 3) departmental seminars or colloquia, etc. All faculty members shall have student evaluations administered in accordance with colleague policy and have written reports on classroom visitations. If student evaluations of an instructor's performance differ significantly from that of the Retention and Tenure Committee, the discrepancy will be explained in the Personnel Committee's evaluation.
A department recommendation shall include an evaluation of publications, grants, and other professional activities. If a department committee believes it is necessary to consult outside authorities, it shall implement the external review procedures.
All department faculty members will be invited to communicate relevant information about the candidate. This information must be written and signed. This information must be placed in the file at least ten days before the file closes. Students may communicate relevant information in writing directly to the Department Chair.
Individualized Professional Plans
Eligibility for Tenure and Promotion
| Area of Specialization | Terminal Degree |
|---|---|
|
All areas of Biological Sciences |
Ph.D., Ed.D., or M.D. when combined with thesis research |
Evaluation of Permanent Instructional Faculty
Additional:
Category B: Activities considered appropriate as "scholarly and creative activities" for the discipline are:
-
Publication of manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific or science education journals
-
Publication of scientific or science education books, or chapters in scientific or science education books
-
Publication of discipline-related material in conference proceedings
-
Publication of peer-reviewed, disciplined-related manuscripts, demonstrations, critiques, or other discipline-related material on web sites
-
Submission of grant proposals to on-campus or off-campus agencies where the faculty member is either a project director, principal investigator, or project participant
-
Attendance at professional meetings
-
Presentation of research results, demonstrations, workshops, or other discipline-related material, in either oral or poster type format, at professional meetings
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Organizing a professional meeting
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Holding an office in a professional organization or serving on a committee of a professional organization
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Review manuscripts for scientific publications
-
Review of grant proposals or programs for external agencies
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Interaction with industry, such as consulting or joint ventures, that further the research and education mission of CSULA
-
Copyrights or patents
-
Other activities that would advance the research and education mission of the department
Committee Procedures
Review of Faculty Holding Joint Appointments and of Faculty Active in Interdisciplinary Programs
Student Consultation in Academic Personnel Processes
Oral Testimony
Additional:
No individual, including the candidate, will automatically be interviewed by the personnel committees. However, the committee may, by majority vote, invite the candidate to meet with the committee.
The committee will not meet with individuals other than the candidate.
Any request by the candidate to meet with the committee will be honored.
Role of Department/Division/School Chair or Director
Appointment of Temporary Faculty
Evaluation of Temporary Faculty
Additional:
Evaluations of temporary faculty whose primary work assignment is to teach will focus on the area of Instructional Performance. The evaluation of each instructor's performance must include results of student opinion surveys, and review of at least two other forms of evidence pertaining to instructional performance, including such items as classroom observations, course syllabi, class assignments, sample papers and/or exams, other instructional material, evidence of grading practices, evidence of currency in the field, and signed letters from students. Signed letters from students must be submitted by the student directly to the department office. Following review by the relevant faculty member, the signed letter will be transmitted to the College office for inclusion in the faculty member's permanent file.
Peer observations of classroom performance shall be conducted during each review cycle.
Currency in the field will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Evidence that current scientific knowledge is incorporated into classroom teaching. This can be documented through means such as peer evaluations, class handouts, reading lists, individual or group projects for students, and class syllabi.
- Documented attendance at department or other scientific or educational seminars on campus or in the local area
- Documented attendance at local, regional, national, and/or international educational seminars or scientific conferences
- Presentations at local, regional, national, and/or international educational or scientific conference
- Publication in peer-reviewed journals
- Presentations at other educational institutions
- Documented attendance at campus technology workshops and effective teaching workshops
- Memberships in professional societies
- Documented participation in grant funded projects of an educational or scientific nature
- Development of original laboratory materials, web-based resources, or other instructional materials for courses
- Documented participation in community-based education or scientific organizations
- Documented participation in outreach activities that benefit the department
- Review of scientific based textbooks, manuscripts, or grant proposals
- Enrollment in or auditing of discipline appropriate university level courses
Temporary faculty whose work assignments include committee service and/or research activity will be evaluated by the same criteria as those for probationary faculty.
A lecturer with a 3-year appointment shall be evaluated in year 3 of the 3-year appointment.