Use these guidelines when preparing your RTP file for review.

I.  Faculty Going Through RTP are Subject to Performance Reviews.

a. Probationary Faculty Are Subject to Performance Reviews Pursuant to Article 15, Evaluation for the Purpose of Retention. See Article 13.10.

i. The President shall review and consider the Performance Review recommendations and relevant material and make a final decision on retention. See Article 13.11.
ii. For those who have served less than TWO years of probation, the President must notify you of the final decision no later than February 15. See Article 13.12.
iii. For those who have served more than TWO years of probation, the President must notify you of the final decision no later than June 1. See Article 13.13.

1. Official notifications of terminal years serve as notification of no further appointment rights. See Article 13.13.
2. Terminal Years are limited to those who have served a minimum of THREE years of probation. See Article 13.13

b. Probationary Faculty Are Also Subject to a Performance Review for the Purpose of Award of Tenure, Pursuant to Article 15, Evaluation. See Article 13.15

i. The President shall review and consider the Performance Review recommendations and relevant materials and make a final decision as to the award or denial of tenure to a probationary faculty employee. See Article 13.16.
ii. The President shall officially notify the probationary faculty unit employee of the final decision no later than June 1. See Article 13.18.

1. If tenure is denied, the president shall notify by June 1 of a subsequent probationary appointment or a terminal year appointment. See Article 13.18.
2. Official notification of a faculty unit employee of the denial of tenure is included with a statement that s/he has not further reemployment rights. See Article 13.18.

c. Faculty Unit Employees Shall be Subject to a Performance Review for the Purposes of Promotion, Pursuant to Article 15, Evaluation. See Article 14.6.

i. The President shall review and consider the Performance Review recommendations and relevant materials and information. The President shall a final decision on promotion. See Article 14.8.
ii. The President shall notify the faculty unit employee in writing of the final decision on the promotion no later than June 15. Such response will include the reasons for approval or denial and shall indicate the effective date of promotion. See Article 14.9.

II.  Performance Reviews and What they Entail

a. Under Article 15.35, Performance Reviews are required for the following:

i. Retention
ii. Award of Tenure
iii. Promotion

b. Performance Reviews minimally consist of:

i. Evaluations of teaching performance, if the faculty unit employee teaches;
ii. Peer Reviews and
iii. Administrative Reviews. See Article 15.36

III. RTP Decisions Should be Based Entirely on the Information Held in Your Personnel Action File (PAF)

a. Consideration of your case is based entirely upon the information that is in your Personnel File (both the permanent file, PAF, and the supplemental file, WPAF). See Articles 11.7, 11.8, 11.9.

b. During any personnel action, such as retention, tenure, and/or promotion, your PAF (Personnel Action File) and your WPAF (Working Personnel Action File, or supplemental file) are merged into one single file. You have the right to make an appointment to inspect your Permanent File before any review cycle begins to make sure that it is correct and complete. You also have the right to ask for a copy of your personnel action file and the sign-in log associated with it. See Articles 11.9, 11.11, 11.12.

c. If after examination of your PAF, you believe that any portion of the file is inaccurate, you may request corrections of the material and/or deletion of all or a portion of it. This request is made to the custodian of the file. See Article 11.13.

d. Except during the review itself, the WPAF resides in your possession. Thus, its safeguarding, contents, organization, and presentation are your responsibility.

e. It is your responsibility to get the right information into your WPAF, and to ensure that your permanent file is in order. You are responsible for identifying all materials you wish to be considered and for the submission of those materials. See Article 15.12(a).

i. NOTE: THIS STEP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE! Please make sure to fully read and become familiar with all RTP policies in effect at the time of each review. Overall, look for the following:

1. University Policies-The University has standards and procedures for how RTP evaluations shall be handled. University Policies are broad in nature and trump college or department policies.
2. College Policies-Colleges might have standards and procedures and criteria of how RTP evaluations shall be evaluated. These are most times going to differ from the University policies, which tend to outline standards and procedures and some general criteria.
3. Department Policies-These are usually the criteria and standards to which you need to pay the most attention. They will guide you on what you need to do in order to pass your performance reviews.

ii. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN YOUR POLICIES:

1. Ask the Chair of your Department/Division/School and/or the Chair of your Department Personnel Committee to provide you with a copy of any specific Department, College, or University procedures, criteria, and standards that have been approved by the University. If your department or College has such policies, be sure to review them carefully. Make sure that your file and your narrative address these criteria as closely as possible.
2. If you still have questions, seek assistance from departmental colleagues who have recently been tenured and promoted. Ask them if you can look at their WPAF (you will need their permission to do so) to see how they organized it, what materials they included, and how much needs to be included.

f. Do not underestimate the organization of your file. Many an evaluation has turned on how well the faculty member organized his/her file. Reviewers want to give you retention, tenure, promotion. Give them all the information in an easily accessible file that is neatly organized. Do not make them work for it. The physical presentation of the file is important. Your reviewers must be able to easily find information they are looking for (and will in all likelihood penalize you if they are frustrated in this effort). Organize the file carefully, and follow the order of the categories in the Faculty Handbook. You should include:

i. A preface letter or overview
ii. Your C.V.
iii. Your narrative explaining your accomplishments in each of the following areas:

1. Teaching performance and related educational activities
2. Scholarly/Creative Activities/Professional Achievement
3. Service to the University/Community

iv. A carefully and well catalogued WPAF, including a table of contents, put together to correspond to your narrative of the above three items.

g. All claims made in your WPAF and narrative should be well documented and substantiated with clear evidence.

i. Examples:

1. If you say that you published a peer-reviewed article, include in your file a copy of the article, letters from the editor documenting the importance of the work and the journal and also stating that your paper has been published.
2. If your paper has been accepted but not published, give as much evidence to show that your paper has been accepted.
3. If you have presented a paper at a conference, include in your file a copy of the official program that lists your paper and a copy of the text of your presentation.

h. Remember that your file will be reviewed by colleagues who are familiar with your discipline as well as by colleagues who may have no familiarity with it. Be sure to prepare your material so that it is as understandable as is possible to those unfamiliar with your discipline.

i. Give full names of journals in which you have published.
ii. Also clarify the importance of organizations, activities, and journals, etc. You should explain that a conference or journal is the most important in your field, and you should explain the quality of the journals in which your publications appear. For example, if the acceptance rate is 10%, you should explain this.

i. Pay attention to: Your Scholarships/Creative Activities narrative and supporting evidence. While the CSU may state that it is a “teaching” University system, review committees will expect to see accomplishments in this area.

i. Be honest with regard to your scholarship/creative activites.
ii. Be exact in what you say here, and be honest.

1. Explain clearly the following: whether articles have been submitted and are under review; whether the article has yet to be submitted; whether it is has been accepted; and whether it has been published.

iii. Always include a complete copy of anything that you cite.

j. List contributions in chronological order—Recent to oldest. List onyour  C.V. everything you have published, even if published while working somewhere else. But make sure to point out and put the most emphasis on those things which were done during the review period. Be meticulous and be selective.

k. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread! All Committee Reviewers are judging the quality of your work and your file.