• Please be exceptionally mindful of confidentiality throughout the faculty evaluation process

• Take special care to protect the documentation and the transmission processes

• Keep all evaluation materials private

• Always honor the process and the individual's privacy

• The Individual Performance Record (IPR) is prepared by the faculty member per unit standards and submitted to the FEC by October 15.

• The pages of an IPR document should be sequentially numbered and signed on the last page by the faculty member

• The performance period covered in the IPR shall consist of one or more academic years beginning from the first day of the academic year and include relevant fall, winter, spring and summer terms

• For a promotion, the IPR should cover all service in the current rank or since documentation was prepared for the last promotion, or the most recent 7 sequential years

• For tenure, the IPR should cover the entire probationary period including credited prior service toward tenure

• For a merit award, the IPR should cover the time since documentation was prepared for the last granted merit or promotion, or the most recent 7 sequential years

• For a normal or less-than-normal, the IPR should cover the previous year(s) as appropriate (the past three years for a tenured Full Professor, the past two years for a tenured Associate Professor, the past year for probationary Assistant and Associate Professors)

• No individual to be evaluated may be sanctioned, suspended, disciplined or discharged for failure to comply with a request to provide additional information for the evaluation record

(CBAs UFA 10.210, 10.220; MCFA 10.210, 10.340)

• A faculty member cannot apply for two salary increment actions (i.e. merit and promotion) in the same evaluation year

• Merit and promotion increases are effective October 1 of the next academic year

• Promotion titles can be used once the faculty member receives the Provost's letter informing them of his final decision and recommendation to the Board of Regents

• Each year there are 80 merit awards available for UFA members and 6 merit awards available for MCFA members

• To receive a merit award, a faculty member must have demonstrated above normal performance in 2 of the 3 areas of teaching, research/creative scholarship and service, or receive special recognition as outstanding in 1 of the 3 areas and at least normal performance in the remaining areas

• Merit and promotion requests for research faculty must be paid from grant funds

  • The Provost consults with the Vice President for Research & Creative Scholarship on all salary increments (promotion and merit) for research faculty.

• Outstanding Performance Awards are intended to recognize and reward excellence in the performance of non-tenure track faculty. The requirements for an OPA are the same as those for a merit award, which can be found in CBAs 10.110.3(a). However, one clarification is relevant: in the case of an NTT faculty with assigned duties in only one area, such as teaching or research, outstanding performance or special recognition in that area is sufficient.

  Terms of compensation for OPAs are outlined in UFA CBA 13.245 and MCFA CBA 13.240.

  To apply for one of these awards, non-tenure track faculty members should follow the regular faculty evaluation process outlined in CBA Article 10.000.

  • The cover letter of applicants’ IPRs should state the non-tenure track faculty member’s desire to be considered for an Outstanding Performance Award. IPRs should document performance since the documentation was prepared for the last granted award, or the most recent seven (7) sequential years, whichever is less. (UFA CBA 10.220; MCFA CBA 10.210)

  • Outstanding Performance Awards will be recommended by unit Faculty Evaluation Committees, unit chairs/directors, and deans based on the IPRs submitted and accompanying recommendations.

  • If more than one non-tenure track faculty member from an academic unit applies, the Chair will rank their recommendations.

  • Deans will rank their recommendations for applicants from each school/college.

  • The Provost will make recommendations for Outstanding Performance Awards based on IPRs submitted and accompanying recommendations and rankings.

(CBAs 10.110, 10.210, 10.220, 13.230, 13.240, 13.245, 10.290)

• In most cases, tenure-track faculty can apply for tenure only after completing five years of service at UM

• The awarding of tenure is independent of any salary increment determinations

• The awarding of tenure is effective upon Board of Regents approval (usually at the September meeting)

• Faculty can apply for tenure after completion of 5 years of credited service toward tenure; usually during their 6th or 7th year of employment. If tenure is not awarded by a faculty member's 8th year of service, the last year will be carried out on a non-renewable contract.

• A faculty member may exercise an extension of the tenure clock through the Faculty Modified Duties program

• No faculty member may apply for tenure more than twice under any circumstances

• Under no circumstances will tenure be granted to an Assistant Professor, though a faculty member can simultaneously apply for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor

(CBAs 9.310)

Different criteria are associated with promotions to different ranks.

• Promotion to Assistant Professor

  • Requires possession of the appropriate terminal degree or equivalent

• Promotion to Associate Professor

  • Requires 4 or more years of full-time service as Assistant Professor (except in unusual circumstances)

  • An Assistant Professor may apply for promotion to Associate Professor in their 4th year of service 

  • To be promoted to Associate Professor, one must clearly demonstrate professional growth and evidence of increasingly valuable contributions to the University

• Promotion to Full Professor

  • Requires 5 or more years of full-time service as Associate Professor

  • An Associate Professor may apply for promotion to Full Professor in their 5th year of service after promotion to Associate Professor

  • To be promoted to Full Professor, one must clearly demonstrate professional growth and evidence of increasingly valuable contributions to the University

  • In addition to teaching and service, research/creative scholarship activity shall be demonstrated to be at appropriate levels for this rank

(CBAs 10.110)

• If unit standards have changed since the time of a hire, a faculty member may choose which set of unit standards they would like to use for their application for tenure and/or promotion

• After a faculty member is awarded tenure, only the current unit standards will be used to assess performance for future evaluations

(CBAs 10.200)

• If a faculty member has assumed a non-union administrative position and then returns to a faculty position, the IPR they submit upon return to their faculty appointment shall include activities carried out during the administrative appointment (UFA CBA 10.200)

• Administrators with an academic home are not required to undergo faculty evaluation

• Evaluation is conducted within the unit in which the greatest portion of FTE is assigned

• Remaining counterparts will be consulted by the FEC, Department Chair / Director and Dean

• If assignment is split equally, evaluation is conducted within the initial hiring unit or best qualifying unit

(CBAs UFA 10.220; MCFA 10.210)

• Faculty on post-retirement contracts must submit a Post-Retirement Recommendation form every year to the FEC by October 15.

• The FEC, Department Chair / Director and Dean evaluate faculty on post-retirement contracts using this form.

(CBAs 13.743)

A Department Chair / Director who must be evaluated per the evaluation schedule or who wishes to be evaluated (and request tenure, promotion, or merit) should:

• Submit their IPR to the FEC as all faculty members undergoing evaluation do

• If they are a member of the FEC they should recuse themselves from conversations or votes related to their evaluation

• Prepare the confidential ranking of faculty requesting merits for the dean excluding any recommendations or rankings for themselves