During the third year of service of a faculty member on a tenure-track appointment, the Faculty Personnel Committee, the provost and the department conduct a thorough evaluation of the faculty member’s work. This evaluation of progress after the first years of service provides the principal evidence used in deciding whether the faculty member should be reappointed and, in addition, provides the candidate with guidelines for priorities and improvements in his or her teaching and scholarly work following the review.
The procedures for third-year reviews are laid out in the Faculty Handbook. Faculty coming up on their third-year review may find it helpful to see a timeline for how the process will take place. The timeline is laid out in the Department Chair Handbook.
Junior faculty preparing for the third-year review can turn to a number of different people who are situated outside of the formal review structures if they have questions or want additional support. Both the LTC Director and the assigned faculty mentor can be valuable resources. In addition, faculty personnel advisors (found on the campus governance list) are former members of the Faculty Personnel Committee, who are available to consult with any faculty member with questions about third-year reviews or other personnel matters.