California State University, Long Beach
POLICY STATEMENT
April 15, 1986
Number: 86-07
File: External Evaluation
The following policy was recommended by the
Academic Senate in its meeting of March 20, 1986,
and received the concurrence of the President on
April 8, 1986.
SUBJECT: PROCEDURES FOR
EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS
In rare instances a
candidate for retention, tenure, or promotion may submit materials
for review and evaluation that represent a subdiscipline or field
of interest that is outside the expertise of the individuals who
serve in the evaluative process. When this is determined to
be the case, the University may provide, under certain circumstances,
an external review of the materials in question. This procedure
is to be appended to University Policy 85-04, "Retention, Tenure,
and Promotion," or its successor.
Determine of Need for an External Review
The request for an external
review of RTP materials submitted by a candidate may be initiated
at any level of review by the candidate, the department committee,
the department chair, the school committee, the dean, the Vice President
for Faculty and Staff Relations, or the Vice President for Academic
Affairs. Such a request shall document (1) the special circumstances
which necessitate an outside reviewer, (2) the specific RTP criteria
involved, and (3) the nature of the materials needing the evaluation
of an external reviewer. The request must be approved by the
Vice President for Academic Affairs with the concurrence of the
candidate.
Process for Selecting the External Reviewer
After an external review
has been approved, the Vice President for Faculty and Staff Relations
shall request from all individuals in the review process and the
candidate nominations of off-campus experts who are judged to be
competent to review and evaluate the quality of the materials in
question. Each individual nominated shall be approved by the
candidate. A list of all approved reviewers shall be submitted
to the dean and the school committee who will jointly select three
off-campus experts and submit this list to the Vice President for
Faculty and Staff Relations. The Vice President shall then
select one or more off-campus expert(s) from the three recommended
and invite the person(s) selected to serve as an external reviewer.
After consultation with the candidate, the Vice President shall
forward to the external reviewer(s) the agreed upon materials needed
to complete the review process and shall set a date for the completion
of this task. The candidate shall be privy to all correspondence
involving evaluative procedures and decisions. The cost of
the external review, if any, shall be borne by the University.
The Reviewer's Report
The external reviewer
shall be expected to examine all the relevant materials forwards
by the Vice President and write a comprehensive report assessing
the quality and value of the faculty member's contributions in terms
of the RTP criteria in question. The final report shall be
shared with the candidate and included in the RTP review process.
The report shall be treated as additional evidence and considered
along with all other evidence by each level of review starting with
the department committee. When an external reviewer is made
a part of the RTP process, timelines shall still be observed for
forwarding recommendations to the next level of review. If
the external evaluator fails to meet the relevant deadlines, the
candidate's material shall be forwarded to the next level without
prejudice.
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