Document achievements
Buidling a case of achievement
The purpose of the tenure file is to tell a story of your work as a faculty member in the areas of teaching, research and service. The file should demonstrate a building case of engagement and involvement with multiple aspects of faculty life. It should indicate an underlying philosophy driving the activities, a pattern of accomplishment toward specific goals that are clearly articulated, a record of collaboration with colleagues in and outside your field of study, within your department and across campus, and across universities. Often tenure files begin with a personal statement, backed up by evidence of the activities outlined in the statement. The particulars vary from campus to campus, and even at colleges within a campus, but the undertaking of building the case is not to be taken lightly, and should be a gradual process that begins the day the faculty member arrives to begin a position.
Varying formats
Faculty members use various means of communicating their professional accomplishments to others, whether to be evaluated for tenure or to compete to serve in other roles within the university system. The formats may vary, from creating a binder, to placing documents in hanging file folders in a file box, to an electronic gathering of evidence, or others. Find out what format is the norm at your campus, and follow that format to ensure you have a file that meets expectations.
Choosing a format
Do research on tenure early on in the process. From the day new faculty members arrive on campus or even consider a position, they should begin familiarizing themselves with the documents that outline expectations for this important indicator of success. Seek out opportunities to examine the materials your colleagues have used to document their work, and look to outstanding examples in similar academic settings. While completing a comprehensive search for appropriate formats in your setting, begin constructing the file by collecting evidence of every accomplishment.
Collecting evidence
Literally every day of your academic career will bring opportunities to document accomplishments. Retention, tenure, and promotion documents spell out the types of evidence of achievement that each campus or department requires. Each time new faculty members engage in an activity, they should be thinking about the type of evidence that might demonstrate their participation. For teaching this may be sample syllabi, teaching awards, letters from students, sample assignments and student work, copies of student course evaluations, numbers of students enrolled in a course as an indication of demand, and a list of all courses taught by semester. For research this may be published ariticles, conference proceedings, funded grant proposals, papers in progress, research awards, articles about research projects, or research presentations. For service this may be a list of committee members with your name on it, a thank you letter for service on a committee or from a community member, copies of proposed course changes or program development documents, or copies of policies you have developed. Be purposeful in collecting this evidence from the day you arrive on campus. Some people use a box to place items in, or a dedicated file drawer, others prefer a hanging file with folders for Teaching, Research and Service, and still others collect items in an inbox on their desk. Choose a collecting style that works for you, but whatever style you choose be certain to gather these items from the outset. If you wait until the file is due to locate the evidence, you will spend hours just trying to locate documents rather than spending time on the critical task of articulating your professional narrative.
Weighing the evidence
All evidence is not created equal, so read carefully through the tenure documents for the campus to determine which activities carry the most weight. For example, student evaluations are important for teaching, and using constructive criticism from students to adjust teaching practice is an indicator of a good teacher. Refereed publications or conference presentations carry more weight than publications in non-refereed venues, and review committees look for a pattern of activities that follow a clearly articulated research agenda. Variety in service activities and a pattern of increasing responsibility demonstrates high caliber service. Be thoughtful, conscientious and purposeful about the sorts of activities you engage in for all three areas of faculty life to ensure positive feedback and recommendation for retention, tenure or promotion when you go up for these benchmarks of academic responsibility.
Going the extra mile
Always exceed expectations in order to set your work apart from the crowd, whether competing for a faculty or administrative position, or seeking retention, promotion or tenure. This is not the time to do the minimum to get by, if there ever is such a time. Take the opportunities that arise and align with your professional goals, put extra time into crafting that course you are teaching for the first time, set a clear research agenda and make strategic decisions about ways to bring it to life, and volunteer for service that addresses issues about which you feel most passionate. It is the individuals who arrive at various stages of the tenure process having exceeded expectations that are successful at making their case.
Tenure File Tips and Guidelines
Presenting Your Tenure File
Perlmutter, D.D. (2009). The Chronicle of Higher Education
This article asserts that the best thing you can do for your tenure packet is make it as impressive in design as in content.
Cornell University Teaching Evaluation Handbook
Center for Teaching and Learning, Cornell University
This handbook addresses the way to prepare a tenure file that addresses teaching accomplishments. The five chapters describe in some detail the way to provide examples, support the case, and criteria to use when evaluating data, references, and a bibliography.
Nursing Faculty Secrets
Scheetz, L.J. (2000). Elsevier Health Sciences
Using a popular question and answer format of a larger Secrets Series, this resource offers practical tips, answers and secrets from expert nursing faculty. From securing the first faculty assignment to preparing for tenure review, it addresses those frequently asked questions posed by faculty members in their early years.
Evidence for the Tenure File
Ask Publisher for Letter for Tenure File?
Chronicle of Higher Education blog
This blog addresses how to or whether to elicit evidence from others to place in your file.
Issues with Tenure
Fighting for Tenure: The Jenny Harrison Case Opens Pandora’s Box of Issues About Tenure, Discrimination and the Law
Jackson, A. (1994). Reprinted from Notices, Vol. 3, No. 41, p. 187-194
This is a case review intended to inform the math / science community about a tenure case that has received international publicity, and raises broader issues about tenure reviews, grievance procedures, and dispute resolution that are of interest to the academic community.
