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Proposed Tenure Process

Process, Operations and Governance Taskforce

Revising the Tenure Process

Part of the Reinvention effort is to change the tenure process.  Two of us in Reinvention are heading up this effort: Jennifer Meresman (HW faculty) and Michael Maltenfort (TR faculty).

In order for changes to take place successfully, all those involved need to know what the new process will look like.  Additionally, the process is not yet complete, and we would like your input.  Our contact information is at the bottom of this page, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Below is a high-level overview of new process; at the bottom are links to online documents and our contact information that give more details.

Please note:  The new tenure process will only affect credit faculty members who begin their full-time employment in Fall 2012 or later.  Those hired in Spring 2012 or before will complete their three years of tenure under the old system.

Standard for Tenure

Tenure should be granted to faculty members who exhibit excellence in teaching and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to serving the institution beyond the classroom.

Goals of the Tenure Process

Faculty members will be evaluated in order to determine at the end of the process if they should be grated tenure, and during the process to determine if they are making adequate process.

The tenure process will be formative, designed to assist the faculty members in achieving the excellence necessary to receive tenure.  Both during and beyond the tenure process, faculty members will develop a commitment to grow professionally and to serve their college and its community.

Through this process, faculty members will foster a sense of collegiality and shared mission.

Some Highlights of the Proposed Plan:

There will be no requirement to complete fifteen hours of graduate credit.  (However, this will still be required for lane advancement.)

A tenure project, in its current form, will be replaced by an Individualized Learning and Service Plan, which may accomplish some similar goals but in a rather different way.

The process intends to foster growth in addition to measuring quality. There will be explicit feedback before final documents are submitted, and there will also be a formal mentorship program and a Tenure Assistance Program.

The role of Academic Affairs at the district office will focus on supporting the tenure process.  Academic Affairs may provide input to the colleges but will not separately evaluate candidates after the colleges complete their evaluations.

Central Features of the Proposed Plan

Outcomes-based and Growth-oriented

·        All evaluation forms and major portfolio documents are tied to the Talents of Teaching so that faculty members have a clearly defined idea of excellence. (See the link to the Talents of Teaching below.)

·        The required portfolio documents are designed to focus on self-reflection and demonstrated growth and the final portfolio will be organized as an argument for why tenure should be granted. (See the “Portfolio Documents” sections of the Overview by Semester link below.) The final portfolio also includes a plan for ongoing learning and service post-tenure.

Supported

·        Examples of completed portfolio documents along with their accompanying rubric scores and commentary will be made available so that standards are clear.

·        New faculty members will participate in a Tenure Assistance Program (TAP), run by two college-based tenured faculty members who act as TAP Leaders. (See the link to the Tenure Assistance Program Leadership Model below.) The TAP will include:

o   An extensive orientation and syllabus workshop before the start of the faculty members’ first semester of teaching. (This orientation will replace their participation in registration week.)

o   A second-semester seminar, organized as a hybrid course, which provides faculty members with an opportunity to reflect on best practices and current research in pedagogy with new faculty cohort and TAP leader. Faculty members will study the Talents of Teaching and create, peer review and revise tenure documents for the portfolio due in their third semester.

·        New faculty members will receive significant guidance from tenured faculty members through a three-year mentor program.

Individualized

·        In place of the 15 graduate credit hours and the tenure project, each faculty member will create an Individualized Learning and Service Plan (ILSP), which is a personalized plan to improve teaching and offer service to the department, college and district in a meaningful way. The ILSP will include ways to address self-identified areas for growth in a variety of ways (which may include course work); it will also include a significant service component (which may take the form of one large project or a few smaller projects).

Transparent

·        Faculty members will receive both formative and summative rubric-based feedback from multiple sources, including the department chair and the college administration.

·        Explicit explanations and suggestions will be provided to faculty members for any areas of their performance or portfolio that do not meet expectations.

·        Academic Affairs at the District Office will oversee the process to ensure consistency among colleges and departments, but they will not independently evaluate individual faculty members.

Links to Online Documents

You can download some documents that will give you an idea of what we're talking about using the following links.  Note that these documents (and this Web page itself) will be updated from time to time.

Technical Note:

If you are having trouble opening documents from the links below, please use Firefox or Internet Explorer 9.  (You can also use Windows Update to get Internet Explorer 9.)  Please contact Michael if you still can’t access the documents.

·        Proposed Tenure Plan:  Rationale and Goals

·        The Talents of Teaching — an articulation of exemplary faculty practices (New:  updated May 1, 2012; Significant changes:  Student Support was merged with Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect; also, some indicators are marked as essential; typo fixed May 7)

·        Short Summary — broken out by semester (added March 29, 2012)

·        Proposed Tenure Plan — an elaboration of the previous document that also includes sections that list:  objectives, indicators of success, faculty member activities, portfolio documents, and formal procedures (updated March 27, 2012)

·        Tenure Assistance Program (TAP) Leadership Model — an outline of the responsibilities of Tenure Assistance Program leaders, along with their compensation, term length, and hiring procedures

Please Send Us Feedback!

Here’s how to contact us:

Michael Maltenfort:  mmaltenfort@ccc.edu (312) 553-2610

Jennifer Meresman:  jmeresman@ccc.edu (312) 553-3301

Revised Monday, May 7, 2012.  Posted by Michael Maltenfort