Article 16. INSTITUTIONAL CAREER SUPPORT/PEER REVIEW

Preamble. Recognizing the traditional and current importance of tenure as protection of the exercise of academic freedom, and recognizing the importance of competent teaching, research and community service, the following Institutional Career Support/Peer Review plans have been agreed upon.

Section 1. Objectives. The intent of the Institutional Career Support/Peer Review process is to promote and sustain high standards of performance and professional development for all unit members holding tenured positions at Portland State University, regardless of their particular function.

The following are specific purposes addressed by this plan:

(a) To provide a positive and systematic process for career review and development planning, involving the member and a supportive group of peers.

(b) To provide institutional support for the realization of a mutually agreed upon professional development plan. Career review and planning will center on the individual's particular past and desired future contributions to the member's academic unit.

(c) To assure a balance between the personal commitment to specific goals on the part of the member, the institutional support necessary to help achieve these professional goals, and the goals of the relevant department as formulated by its faculty.

(d) To provide recognition for demonstrated high standards of professional, institutional, and public service.

Section 2. Review Committee.

(a) Each member holding tenure shall be assigned a review committee, normally composed of three (3) persons, whose responsibilities are set forth in Section 3 below. The faculty of each department (or other appropriate unit) shall adopt formal procedures for the selection of members of these committees. These procedures must be published and distributed to all members of the organizational unit to which they apply. They must also be filed and approved in the Office of Academic Affairs as part of the departmental guidelines.

(b) Members of review committees may be persons outside the department, and when appropriate, qualified persons outside the University.

(c) Alterations in the foregoing procedures may be necessary due to the special problems of small departments, of persons holding appointments in more than one department, etc. Such alterations shall be made in consultation with the Provost.

Section 3. Procedures and Committee Responsibilities.

(a) Each tenured member eligible for review according to a departmental schedule shall first meet with the assigned review committee for an informal discussion concerning the member's work, professional needs, difficulties, and goals for future professional development. To promote maximum candor, no record of the substance of this meeting will be kept, and the discussion will be regarded as confidential. Prior to this first meeting, the member will furnish the committee a current resume and a narrative review of the member's past professional achievements and plans for the future.

(b) If the faculty member being reviewed believes that additional institution support is important to his/her continued professional growth he/she will notify the committee of this in writing within one (1) week of the meeting in Subsection (a) of this article. If the committee does not receive such notification it shall meet within two (2) weeks to determine on the basis of the faculty member's past record and future plans whether procedures in Subsections (c) through (h) of this article would, in their opinion, be beneficial. They shall inform the faculty member of their decision within one (1) week.

(c) If the faculty member has informed his/her committee of his/her need for additional support, or if the committee has determined that procedures in Subsections (c) through (h) of this article should be followed, then the committee shall notify the department chair that a professional development plan will be forthcoming. This notification shall reach the department head no later than December 1 of the year of the review.

(d) If the department chair has been notified that a professional development plan will be presented, then by January 15 the individual under review will give the committee a brief written plan for professional activities and development over a specified period of years.

(e) After the review committee has received the plan in Subsection (c) above, it shall meet again with the individual to determine jointly a formal development plan and what reasonable special institutional support may be necessary to carry out the plan. This joint recommendation shall be sent to the department chair no later than February 15 of the year of eligibility. The department chair will forward the joint recommendation to the appropriate school or college office by March 1. The school or college office will forward the joint recommendation with an attached evaluation to the Office of Academic Affairs by March 15. The Office of Academic Affairs shall notify the faculty member being reviewed by April 1 whether the institutional support requested in his plan will be provided. If the support required to carry out the plan is not provided, the individual will not be held responsible for failure to complete the plan. In this circumstance, the committee and the faculty member will determine jointly whether an alternative plan is feasible.

(f) During the period covered by the plan, the review committee, the department chair, the dean, and other persons able to provide help shall be available to the individual to provide all possible assistance, consultation, and advice. The person being reviewed will keep in touch with the assigned committee concerning progress made towards reaching the goals of the plan. Since, by its very nature, scholarly and creative work is unpredictable, an individual shall be free at any time to propose to alter, revise, supplement, or abandon a particular plan for professional development. The member should, however, obtain approval for any such change from the assigned review committee and department chair.

(g) At the end of the period covered by the professional development plan, the individual shall present the results or accomplishments of the plan to the review committee and other interested persons including the department chair, in the most appropriate fashion.

(h) If, in the judgment of the majority of the review committee, the professional development plan has been successfully concluded, the review committee shall so inform the individual being reviewed and the department chair in a statement signed by the members of the committee. A minority report of the committee may accompany this statement. A copy of the complete statements shall also be sent to the appropriate departmental committees dealing with pay and promotion. Based on its evaluation of the work done, the review committee may, at its discretion, include in its report specific recommendations to the department chair or appropriate departmental committees concerning promotion, merit pay, etc.

(i) If, on the other hand, the committee finds that the proposed professional development plan has not been completed within the period agreed upon, it shall present to the individual written suggestions outlining how the situation may reasonably be remedied. The committee shall not report such action to the department chair or to departmental committees until the individual in question has had a reasonable opportunity [within one (1) academic term] to discuss the committee's suggestions and possible alternatives with the committee.

Section 4. Frequency of Peer Review.

Reviews will normally take place every three (3) years with scheduling to be at departmental discretion. They may take place more often at the request of an individual or at the end of a planned period of professional activities and development, as determined jointly by the individual and the assigned committee. If a faculty member has indicated a definite retirement date, no review will take place within a three- (3) year period immediately preceding his date, unless it has been recommended by the committee as a result of a previous review or unless the faculty member requests it.

Section 5. Rewards.

It will be the responsibility of the departmental Promotion, Tenure, and Salary Committee(s) and/or the department chair, the appropriate dean, the Provost, and the President to ensure that the promotion/merit reward system be maintained and supported so as to provide recognition for excellence. In addition, the University agrees to establish a career support fund in the amount of $50,000 per year during the term of this Agreement for the purpose of supporting development plans consistent with this Article.

Section 6. Additional Provisions.

(a) Nothing in this article shall be used to limit the freedom of a member to do the research, or the scholarly or creative work of the member's choice; or to carry out this work in a manner the member regards as appropriate.

(b) Refusal of a tenured professor to present a plan for professional development to the assigned review committee or to otherwise cooperate with the committee [see Section 3 above] shall not be used as prima facie evidence of failure to perform academic responsibilities.

(c) No plan for professional development shall commit a member to an activity over which the member does not have substantial control [e.g., a plan may call for writing a book, but not for publishing it].