Digital portfolio for Tenure Decision

R23P

Teaching faculty members standing for tenure will create a tenure digital portfolio, which will serve as the basic resource in the tenure decision. When tenure and promotion are sought simultaneously, a single digital portfolio will suffice for both reviews. The digital portfolio is drawn from material in the faculty personnel file, but may be supplemented by material of the candidate’s choosing (e.g., personal recommendations). The digital portfolio will include material organized in sequential order from Part 1 through Part 8 described below. The digital portfolio shall be in PDF format and the organization should include tabbed, linked sections to facilitate review. The peer-reviewed scholarship statement from the candidate’s department or school and the Elon Teacher-Scholar-Mentor Statement must be inserted as the first page, preceding Part 1. Once this process has been completed, the digital portfolio is returned to the candidate.

Part 1 : This part includes a letter of consideration for tenure that focuses on the candidate’s activities and reviews while at Elon and subsequent to any successful promotion application. The letter should summarize the candidate’s case for tenure with specific reference to the candidate’s performance relative to the Criteria for Evaluation of Teaching Faculty.

Part 2 : This part includes a current curriculum vitae. Candidates are asked to provide clear indications of the types of scholarship listed in their curricula vitae. In particular, reviewers of portfolios must be able to distinguish peer-reviewed and refereed scholarship from other kinds of academic products. It is also important that candidates follow accepted professional documentation guidelines (e.g., APA, CBE, MLA style) in formatting each entry. Candidates should be particularly careful to follow these guidelines when listing multiple authors and researchers.

Part 3 : This part includes the Teaching Faculty Member’s Annual Self-Review (Unit I) for the faculty member’s term of employment at Elon University or the previous six years, whichever is shorter.

Part 4 : This part includes a description, self-evaluation, documentation, and representative samples of the candidate’s achievement relative to the Criteria for Evaluation of Teaching Faculty. The primary focus should be upon activity at Elon and subsequent to any successful promotion application. Evidence as to the status of scholarship that is not yet public, such as “in press,” or “under contract,” must be provided, if that scholarship is listed in support of the candidate’s application. Such evidence might include galleys, letters from editors, and so on.

Part 5 : This part includes the Department Chair’s annual evaluation (Unit III), including probationary midpoint review – Midpoint Unit III for each year of the candidate’s term of employment at Elon University or for the previous six years, whichever is shorter.

Part 6 : In this part the candidate will include a letter from the candidate’s Department Chair assessing the candidate’s performance relative to the Criteria for Evaluation of Teaching Faculty and concluding with an overall recommendation.

If the candidate standing for tenure is the Department Chair, they, in consultation with the Dean, will determine which senior colleague in the department should write the letter. If a candidate’s Department Chair is serving on the Promotions and Tenure Committee, the Chair will not write the letter for the candidate. Rather, a senior member of the department, selected by the Dean and in consultation with the Department Chair, will write the letter.

Candidates who have a joint appointment or have significant responsibility in two or more departments or programs (for example, a math faculty member teaching in education) should have the Chair/Director from the secondary department or program submit an addendum to the Chair’s letter.

Part 7: The candidate will submit annual summaries of Student Perceptions of Teaching (Unit IV) for the candidate’s term of employment at Elon University or for the previous six years, whichever is shorter.

Part 8: The candidate will include the most recent Dean’s evaluation of the candidate (Unit V) from a midpoint review during the candidate’s term of employment at Elon University or the previous six years, whichever is shorter.

Part 9 : A candidate being considered for tenure may include letters of support for teaching, service, and professional activity from colleagues at Elon University and other institutions, not to exceed 15 letters. Letters required in Parts 1-8 above are not included in the 15-letter maximum.

A candidate being considered for tenure may include self-solicited letters from external reviewers that address the candidate’s professional activity, but such letters are not required. These letters are included in the 15-letter maximum stipulated above.