Resources for others in the PTR review process

Sections below include:

  • Serving as an external reviewer
  • Reviewers (administrators or PTR committees)
  • Writing an internal letter of support
  • Dossier Managers

 

Serving as an external reviewer

You may be asked to serve as an external reviewer for a candidate for promotion and/or tenure. It is important to respond quickly with a yes or no--if you will not be writing a letter, then another external reviewer must be found. When replying, be sure that you will have the time to write a thoughtful and thorough letter. It can easily take one or two full days to review materials and write a letter. 

Sometimes the request letter and materials are all you need. However, you might want to get more information about the promotion standards or the candidate's position. You should address questions to the person who solicited the letter. You must not contact the candidate.

Download This excellent essay by Misra and Lundquist (2016)

gives valuable advice for those asked to serve as an external reviewer. It assumes the review is solely of scholarship, but most of the advice would also apply when reviewing teaching materials. 

Reviewers (administrators or PTR committees)

Dossiers are reviewed at many levels. Reviewers have a responsibility to carefully read the candidate's materials and use the unit PTR guidelines to determine whether the candidate has met the criteria for promotion or reappointment. Here are some helpful guidelines. Download PTR Dossier Reviewer Guidelines

.

Here are some helpful documents:

This is updated every August, but the dates are about the same every year (e.g. third Friday in August). This can help you know the deadlines. It is critical to meet the deadlines, since each succeeding level of review has more cases to consider.  Tenure cases are on the first page of the calendar--Category V. Promotion to Senior Lecturer or full professor calendar is on the second page. Download PTR Calendar 2019-20

Dean Elizabeth Dunn provided a workshop on writing PTR letters at the 2016 PTR Summit. She shared this helpful Download list of hints and strategies.

FACET, the all-IU teaching group, has issued a Download statement on excellence in teaching

. This provides excellent advice on evaluating teaching. 

This article gives advice to reviewers about the uses and limits of student evaluation data when assessing faculty teaching.  Download Linse Use of student evals in PTR.pdf

 

Writing an internal letter of support

Faculty seeking promotion often want letters of support from colleagues here at IU South Bend. Letters typically address service, but could also discuss teaching or scholarship if you have knowledge of those areas. Letters are solicited by the Dossier Manager, the Department Chair or a senior faculty member. The Manager will send an email asking for a letter of support by a certain date. The candidate's vita is often included. You should respond quickly with a yes or no, and then follow up with the letter by the due date.

You should NOT write a letter if you will be voting on the promotion case at any level, whether department, school, or campus. You should NOT write a letter if you have very little knowledge of the candidate's skills or accomplishments. You should not write a letter if you don't think you can finish it by the deadline

Letters are typically one or possibly two pages in length, depending on how much experience you have with the candidate. As with the external letters, start with how you know the candidate and then give descriptions of their work. A few concrete examples are always helpful. Close with an overall summary of support.

Download Sample internal letter

 

Dossier Managers

Dossier Managers are those who help the candidate put together the dossier by collaborating on the list of names for solicited letters, soliciting those letters, uploading the letters with correct file names to the eDossier, and checking to be sure the eDossier is complete before the candidate submits it. The Dossier Manager is often the Chair or Dean, but might also be a senior faculty member. (Even if secretaries help send out soliciting emails and uploading letters, they are not responsible for being sure everything is done correctly.)

We have a spring meeting to update Dossier Managers on current policy and practice. Here is the most recent handout from that session.

Download PTR Dossier Manager guidelines

You might also find this Download Checklist for candidate and dossier managers

 to be useful.

Over the years we have gathered some templates for the soliciting letters which you are free to adapt and use.

Download PTR Letters info.doc

Keeping track of all the names and letters can be tricky. Here is a spreadsheet that can be helpful. The candidate should fill it out for you. (A copy is also on their Page.)

       Download Solicited letters checklist.xlsx

Dossier managers typically send a brief email first, to see if someone is willing to be a reviewer. Here is a template for that email. 

Download Email to request external review.docx

Once a reviewer has agreed, you send a more formal letter to them, along with the candidate's mini-dossier. These days, those are usually email PDF files. The letter they write back may be an email sent from their work address, a scanned letter on letterhead, or a hard copy.

Download external letter template all three areas 3.20.2014.docx

Download external letter bushnell.docx

The internal letters are typically emails accompanied by the candidate's vita. You do NOT have to ask first--you can just send that email.

Download Internal letter template.doc

The letter to students typically has no attachments--just the letter.

Download Student Ltr.doc

A few candidates may request letters from the community. You may add a vita or other information, depending on the situation.

Download community ltr.doc

Once the letters have arrived, you need to save them as PDF files and upload to eDossier.

Here is a screenshot of the eDossier folders as seen by reviewers. Dossier managers put letters into the "External Review Letters" folder or "Solicited Letters" folders at the top.

The "Internal Review Letters" folder is for recommendation letters internal to our campus--the department, chair, dean, the Senate PTR and EVCAA. 

eDossier contents.jpg 

Here is a typed version which is easier to read and has some annotations of what goes into various folders. Download eDossier+Folders+contents

You should also be aware of current policies and practices. This table is updated frequently.   Download PTR Policy Practice Advice.pdf

Finally, here is a link to an essay on Download getting external review letters

. It is written with a research 1 perspective, so not everything is applicable. But it still provides some interesting points.