Candidate’s Guide to the Contract Reappointment with Rank Promotion Process

Multi-year contract faculty undergo contract reappointment evaluation for their next contract in the penultimate year of their current contract. Faculty who are scheduled for evaluation will be notified by the Office of Faculty Affairs by March 1 prior to the evaluation year. 

Eligible faculty may apply for rank promotion at the same time they undergo contract reappointment evaluation.  In these cases, faculty may use the same evaluative materials for both processes.  Faculty who elect to apply for rank promotion at the same time as contract reappointment evaluation must submit a Letter of Intent by published deadlines and will follow the packet requirements for rank promotion.

After initial rank is determined and granted, the faculty member will be eligible to apply for rank promotion in their sixth year of continuous employment no matter what length of contract was offered and accepted at the initial hiring. 
For subsequent applications for rank promotion the faculty member will be eligible to apply five years after their last promotion.

Any negotiated years toward rank promotion must be articulated on the Rank Recommendation for New MYC Faculty form, endorsed by the Faculty Rank Committee and the Provost, and included in the original faculty contract.

Subsequent rank promotions must be a minimum of five years from the previous rank promotion. 

Before You Begin

• To determine your eligibility, please see the Rank Promotion Eligibility Paths.  Faculty who are eligible to apply for rank promotion must discuss their readiness for rank promotion with their dean before submitting a Letter of Intent.  

• Read the guidance documents and review the forms on this web page so that you understand what is expected of you.

• Attend Faculty Rank Promotion informational workshops to understand what will be expected of you.  Look for workshop announcements in your email and the UNCSA Campus announcements or contact your Faculty Rank Committee representative for workshop dates/times.

•  Start thinking about external reviewers that you and your dean can agree upon.

What Guidance Documents Will Be Helpful?

• Procedures & Deadlines for Contract Reappointment Evaluation with Rank Promotion

• Packet Requirements for Contract Reappointment Evaluation with Rank Promotion

• Packet Checklist for Rank Promotion (DOC)

• Procedure for Faculty Self-Evaluation for Rank Promotion

• Sample Self-Evaluations (contact your Faculty Rank Committee representative)

• Definitions & Sample Criteria for ESP Rank Promotion

• Guidelines for Reviewers of Rank Promotion Applications.

• External Review Guidelines for Candidates & Deans

• External Reviews FAQ

• UNCSA Faculty Manual (PDF) (see Section 8.1 Procedures for Contract Reappointment Evaluation and Section 8.2 Instructional Multi-year Contract Faculty Appointments)

• Optional COVID-19 Impact Statement Guidelines

 

Procedures and Deadlines

Letter of Intent for Rank Promotion (Due May 1)

Submit the Letter of Intent for Rank Promotion (DOC) to Faculty Affairs at rankpromotion@uncsa.edu by May 1.  This is an aboslute deadline and no submissions will be accepted after this date.

Contract Reappointment Evaluation with Rank Promotion Packet                      (Due September 1)

• Faculty Affairs will initiate your contract reappointment evaluation with rank promotion case in Interfolio RPT after you submit your Letter of Intent.  This is where you will upload your packet materials. You will receive an email from the Office of Faculty Affairs via the Interfolio platform with a link to “View Case” when your case has been initiated.  Instructions for using Interfolio RPT will be included in your case initiation notification email and can also be found on the Interfolio Login and Help page. 

• Until your case is created, you may assemble your materials in Interfolio Dossier Institution.  Information about using Dossier to prepare for reviews can be found here.

• More information about preparing your contract reappointment evaluation with rank promotion packet can be found in Packet Requirements for Contract Reappointment Evaluation with Rank Promotion, the Packet Checklist for Rank Promotion (DOC) and Procedures for Faculty Self-Evaluation for Rank Promotion.  Be sure to read these -- they provide specific details about your packet requirements.  You may also contact your Faculty Rank Committee representative for sample evaluations that are designed to help you write your self-evaluation and engaged & sustained resume. 

• Submit your contract reappointment evaluation with rank promotion packet by uploading your materials to your contract reappointment evaluation with rank promotion case in Interfolio RPT.  The due date is September 1.  This is an absolute deadline and no extensions will be given.

• You will maintain read-only access to your packet after the due date.  At that point, you will no longer be able to add or edit packet materials.

External Reviews

• You will submit the External Reviewer Nomination Form (DOC) as part of your contract reappointment evaluation with rank promotion packet which is due September 1. Your dean will use this to aid in the selection of external reviewers.

• Your dean will work with you to select a minimum of three external reviewers. One will be from your External Reviewer Nomination form. The second will be selected jointly by you and your dean and may or may not be drawn from your nomination form. The dean has discretion to select the final reviewer from your nomination form or select someone of his/her own choosing.

• Your dean will send a letter to the approved external reviewers asking them to provide a review.  If they agree, your dean will send them your packet materials.

• Your external reviewers will upload the External Reviewer Evaluation for Contract Reappointment Evaluation with Rank Promotion to Interfolio RPT. 

• More information about the external reviewer process (including how to choose an external reviewer, how many reviewers you need, the procedure for soliciting external reviews, and evaluative criteria) can be found in External Reviews FAQ and External Review Guidelines for Candidates & Deans for Rank Promotion.  

Peer Review Committee Evaluation & Candidate's Optional Response

• Your peer review committee will complete its review and upload its evaluation to Interfolio RPT by October 28 for the Dean’s review. 

• The dean will meet with the peer review committee to discuss only its contract reappointment evaluation and recommendation.  The committee’s rank promotion evaluation and recommendation will not be discussed.

• The Office of Faculty Affairs will share the peer review committee contract reappointment evaluation with you via Interfolio RPT after it is submitted by the committee. You may elect to submit to the dean an optional response regarding the peer review committee’s evaluation. Responses must be uploaded to Interfolio RPT using the provided link within seven calendar days from the date Faculty Affairs shares the evaluation with you. 

• The Office of Faculty Affairs will share the peer review committee's rank promotion evaluation with you at the conclusion of the rank promotion process. 

• More information about peer review committees including membership and evaluative criteria can be found in Section 8.1 Regulations on Faculty Employment and Section 8.2 Instructional Multi-Year Faculty Appointments of the UNCSA Faculty Manual (PDF).

Dean’s Evaluation & Candidate's Optional Response

• Your dean will meet with you to discuss your contract reappointment evaluation by December 6.   Your dean will provide to you the external reviewer evaluations, with the comments related to rank promotion redacted You will also receive the dean’s contract reappointment evaluation. You will sign an acknowledgement statement indicating you have met with the dean and received copies of the aforementioned documents. 

• The dean will complete their review and upload evaluations to Interfolio RPT by December 13.   

• You may elect to submit to the provost an optional response regarding the dean’s contract reappointment evaluation.  Faculty Affairs will send you the Interfolio RPT link by which to submit the response after the dean’s office uploads the dean’s evaluation and the signed acknowledgement statement confirming the dean has met with you to discuss the evaluation.  Responses must be uploaded within seven calendar days from the date Faculty Affairs shares the evaluation with you.

Provost Review

• The provost will complete his/her review of the contract reappointment evaluation portion of the case and provide a written decision by February 1.  The Office of Faculty Affairs will share the provost’s decision letter with you via Interfolio RPT.

• In the case of a negative recommendation from the peer review committee or dean, the provost will convene the Reappointment Advisory Committee to review the evaluation and act in an advisory capacity. 

• If the provost does not reappoint the candidate, the rank promotion application will be cancelled.

Faculty Rank Committee Review

• The Faculty Rank Committee will complete its review and upload its recommendation to Interfolio RPT by April 1.

Provost Review

• After the Faculty Rank Committee completes its review, the case will go to the provost for rank promotion review.

• The provost will present his/her recommendations to the Board of Trustees at its last meeting of the academic year and the Board will vote on those recommendations.  See Procedures & Deadlines for Rank Promotion for specific dates.

Notification to Candidate

• After the Board of Trustees has voted, Faculty Affairs will send you a notification letter via the Interfolio RPT platform.

• Faculty Affairs will share the rank promotion evaluations submitted by the provost, dean, peer review committee, and external reviewers with you at the conclusion of the rank promotion cycle.