Tenure and Promotion

Survey Results

October 2, 2015

Tenure & Promotion Survey 1

44%

33%

8%

9%

4%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Question 1: There should be a formalized committee of tenured faculty from a department or discipline

who vote to recommend or not recommend tenure.

43%

29%

11%

11%

4%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Question 2: There should be a formalized committee of tenured faculty from a department or discipline

who vote to recommend or not recommend promotion.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 2

36%

35%

11%

11%

5%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 3: A tenured faculty committee's recommendations on tenure should be included as part of the Department Head's recommendation.

36%

33%

13%

11%

4%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 4: A tenured faculty committee's recommendations on promotion should be included as part of the Department Head's recommendation.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 3

33%

37%

11%

11%

4%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 5: Each department should set specific standards/guidelines for scores in teaching.

33%

34%

13%

10%

6%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 6: Each department should set specific standards/guidelines for scores in service.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 4

39%

37%

9%

8%

4%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Question 7: Each department should set specific standards/guidelines for scores in scholarship.

25%

31%

18%

17%

6%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Question 8: Faculty members are currently evaluated on teaching, service and scholarship. They should also be evaluated on collegiality and conduct in a

professional manner.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 5

9%

22%

25%

27%

14%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Question 9: Portfolios should contain recommendations from peers who are not faculty at

Arkansas Tech.

30%

40%

8%

10%

9%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Question 10: On annual evaluations, deficiencies in scholarly activities should be counterbalanced by

excellence in other areas.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 6

30%

44%

7%

12%

4%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Question 11: On annual evaluations, deficiencies in service activities should be counterbalanced by

excellence in other areas.

10%

21%

22%

33%

12%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Question 12: Satisfactory annual evaluation scores (a rating of 3 out of 5) are generally not good enough

for earning tenure.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 7

24%

30%

20%

16%

7%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Question 13: Satisfactory annual evaluation scores (a rating of 3 out of 5) are generally not good enough

for promotion to full professor.

11%

14%

29%

31%

12%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Question 14: Minimum standards for tenure should be raised.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 8

11%

16%

33%

26%

12%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Question 15: Minimum standards for promotion should be raised.

22%

42%

11%

11%

11%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Question 16: Merit pay should be tied to the annual evaluation process.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 9

35%

24%

8%

16%

13%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 17: Tenure should be limited to those with a terminal degree in the field.

34%

28%

6%

18%

12%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 18: Promotion should be limited to those with a terminal degree in the field.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 10

20%

37%

24%

10%

6%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 19: There should be an optional post-tenure review process tied to merit pay.

43%

26%

20%

7%

1%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Question 20: The university should accept digital as well as paper portfolios.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 11

9%

36%

18%

28%

6%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 21: This is the current annual evaluation rating

system: 1.Unacceptable 2.Needs Improvement 3.Satisfactory 4.Good 5.Excellent. Rate your agreement with this statement: The current evaluation rating system clearly

communicates faculty progress.

13%

22%

14%

28%

19%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Question 22: Given the university's role and scope changes

with the addition of a doctorate program, percentages (weightings) assigned to each of the three criteria of

evaluation should be changed to reflect a greater emphasis on scholarship.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 12

10%

8%

24%

38%

17%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 23: Percentages (weightings) for teaching, scholarships and service should be eliminated.

16%

40%

21%

14%

6%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Question 24: The percent (weighting) applied to teaching, scholarship, and service is important in

tenure and promotion decisions.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 13

43%

48%

6%

0%

0%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Question 25: A sample annual evaluation form should be included in the handbook.

50%

35%

4%

6%

3%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Question 26: The handbook should explicitly identify items to be included in all portfolios.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 14

15%

37%

21%

13%

11%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 27: Direct evidence of student learning should be required in materials provided for annual

evaluation.

8%

24%

19%

28%

18%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Question 28: The university-wide standard student evaluation provides meaningful feedback to department heads preparing annual faculty

evaluations.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 15

27%

28%

11%

20%

11%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Question 29: All courses should be evaluated under the university-wide standard student evaluation

regardless of instructor rank.

29%

28%

16%

16%

9%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Question 30: The university tenure and promotion committee should be replaced with college tenure

and promotion committees.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 16

54%

32%

6%

4%

1%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Question 31: A written explanation of reasons for non-renewal of a contract should always be

provided at each level of review rather than just upon faculty request.

56%

38%

3%

1%

0%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Question 32: Formal procedures for third year review should be specified with examples in the

handbook.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 17

23%

20%

23%

23%

9%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Question 33: The Tenure and Promotion Committee should review and evaluate third year review

portfolios.

18%

22%

25%

23%

9%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Question 34: The maximum allowance for credit from another university toward tenure should be

capped at 3 years.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 18

16%

18%

26%

26%

11%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Question 35: The maximum allowance for credit from another university toward promotion should

be capped at 3 years.

43%

43%

8%

3%

1%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Question 36: A teaching-centered annual evaluation process for adjuncts and other non-tenure track faculty should be specifically spelled out in the

handbook.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 19

16%

15%

19%

34%

13%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Question 37: Peer review should be completely separate from and not considered as part of the

annual evaluation and tenure and promotion process.

19%

27%

24%

16%

11%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Question 38: Scheduled classroom visitations should be a common and accepted practice at Arkansas

Tech University.

Tenure & Promotion Survey 20

23%

43%

12%

13%

6%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Question 39: Peer review should include service and scholarship along with teaching.