Guidelines for Assembling the Contents of a Tenure File

Part I: Candidate File

The portfolio file submitted by the candidate includes the following categories and contents:

Core Information and Summary Materials:

  1. Governing handbook: current handbook or pre-2017
  2. Governing Departmental (or Interdisciplinary Program) Faculty Development Document (FDD) (if following 2017 or later handbook)
  3. Current Curriculum Vitae
  4. Faculty Activity Reports
  5. Department Head Year-End Letters of Evaluation
  6. Other faculty or colleague letters of support (if any)

Teaching:

  1. Personal statement on goals and methods of teaching
  2. Summary of courses and their enrollments  
  3. Course syllabi and representative teaching materials
  4. Lists of individually mentored students (including but not limited to theses, independent studies, advisees)
  5. Peer letters detailing classroom visitations
  6. Summary of student evaluations (including any courses taught outside the departments) prepared according to departmental standards
  7. Raw Student Evaluations
  8. Other material as specified in the FDD (if following the 2017 handbook)
  9. Additional supporting documentation

Scholarly, Artistic, or Professional Work:

  1. Personal statement on the goals and development of scholarly, artistic, or professional activity
  2. Evidence of scholarly, artistic, or professional excellence. For details, see the appropriate handbook.

 

Academic Citizenship:

  1. Personal statement on academic citizenship
  2. Chronological list of committee assignments or other service responsibilities
  3. Other material as specified in the FDD
  4. Additional supporting documentation

Part II: Committee File

The second part of a tenure candidate’s file is gathered and submitted by the promotion committee chair and uploaded to Watermark. Its contents, except for the Committee Chair’s report (which is given to the candidate as well as the committee) are not shared with the candidate and are only available to the committee.

  1. Confidential letters of evaluation from a random sample of former students and advisees who are alumni and/or advisees and former students who are still enrolled at W&L
  2. Confidential letters from scholars in the candidate’s field regarding the candidate’s scholarly, artistic, or professional work (optional in the 2015 Handbook)
  3. Late or missing items
  4. Confidential letters of support from other colleagues (if any)
  5. Confidential letters from each member of the promotion committee
  6. Vote Tally from promotion committee
  7. Committee Chair’s summary report (shared with the committee and the candidate)
  8. Candidate Response Letter (if any)
  9. Committee Response Letter (if any)