Purpose
The purpose of the Faculty Mentoring and Evaluation Committee (FMEC) is to provide each full-time faculty member at 果冻传媒直播 with a small group of colleagues who are invested in supporting, guiding, and mentoring the faculty member through their process of academic growth and professional development.
An FMEC is required for all full-time faculty who are eligible for promotion in rank and is available to all full-time faculty in non-promotable positions. The FMEC policy pertains to all Faculty Mentoring and Evaluation Committees.
The integrity of the FMEC process is important; therefore, honest, open, and forthright communication is imperative. It is also necessary and important to keep the materials reviewed within the confines of the committee strictly confidential. As such, all FMEC members will complete training and sign a confidentiality agreement prior to the first meeting.
Eligibility to Establish an FMEC
An FMEC will be established for each full-time faculty member (referred to as 鈥渃andidate” when necessary to clarify the faculty member eligible for promotion) who is promotable in terms of faculty rank. (Promotion eligibility is defined in the University鈥檚 policies, and evaluative criteria for promotion are defined by the candidate鈥檚 school in the Full-Time Faculty Job Description.)
An FMEC may be established for each full-time faculty member who is not promotable in terms of faculty rank upon their request.
Academic Administrator Responsibilities
The candidate鈥檚 Academic Program Administrator (APA; direct supervisor) is responsible for initiating the process of establishing an FMEC in the first semester of full-time employment in the position. The FMEC should be fully established prior to the start of the candidate鈥檚 second semester of full-time employment.
If the faculty member is an APA, then the Dean is understood to be their direct supervisor.
The Dean is responsible for ensuring that every full-time faculty member in their school who is eligible for promotion in rank has an FMEC established. The Dean is expected to keep a complete record of FMECs in their school(s).
Composition and Appointment of the FMEC
The core members of the FMEC include:
- One full-time faculty member from any academic department within the faculty member鈥檚 school(s) of appointment.
- One full-time faculty member from any academic department at the University, including those outside the faculty member鈥檚 school(s) of appointment.
- The faculty member鈥檚 APA (direct supervisor).
Additionally, at the discretion of the faculty member and the core committee, a fourth member may be added to the FMEC from outside the University if the external member is beneficial to the faculty member鈥檚 professional development. This external member is considered ex officio and is non-voting. The external member is required to complete the FMEC training and to sign the confidentiality agreement but is not otherwise held to the same responsibilities as the three core members.
At least one of the faculty members serving on the FMEC must be at or above the rank being sought by the candidate. This requirement cannot be satisfied by a non-voting member. Senior Lecturers and Lecturers are not eligible to serve as FMEC members.
Each FMEC is appointed according to the following process:
- The faculty member and their APA meet to generate a list of faculty members best suited to serve on the faculty member鈥檚 FMEC. For candidates, this process begins in the first semester of full-time employment.
- The APA provides the Dean with a list of prospective FMEC members for each eligible faculty member. Ideally, this list will include possible alternates.
- The Dean coordinates the final FMEC appointment process in order to balance requests made of senior faculty members in the school. The Dean contacts faculty members, in writing, with the request to serve on an FMEC. The faculty member may accept or decline this request.
- Once the FMEC is established, the Dean notifies the faculty member and their APA.
- At the end of the first year, the faculty member assesses their satisfaction with their FMEC and may request adjustments to the composition of the committee as warranted.
The faculty member has the right to meet with their academic program administrator to discuss changes to the composition of the FMEC at any time. In the event an FMEC member leaves Stevenson or is no longer a full-time faculty member, the committee member must be replaced, following the guidelines set forth in this policy. Any changes for any reason to the membership of the committee must be approved by the Dean.
FMEC members are expected to complete the FMEC training session prior to signing the required confidentiality agreement. They are expected to prepare for each FMEC meeting with the faculty member and to offer substantive mentoring and evaluative feedback in support of the faculty member鈥檚 professional development.
FMEC Meetings
Scheduling FMEC meetings is the responsibility of the faculty member.
At the first meeting of an FMEC, the chair of the committee will be selected. (Note: the faculty member鈥檚 APA may not serve as the FMEC chair.)
The FMEC will meet with the faculty member at least once annually. This meeting is expected to be scheduled during the fall semester.
Roles and Responsibilities of the Faculty Member and Their FMEC
The faculty member must permit their FMEC to review assessment results, including, but not limited to, student feedback, faculty response to student feedback, the annual performance appraisal, and classroom observations. The FMEC chair provides written notes from each meeting to the faculty member and the committee members. These notes will remain confidential and become part of the committee record. All committee records are kept by the candidate, the FMEC chair, and the committee.
If the faculty member is a candidate applying for promotion, then the faculty member is expected to meet with their FMEC more frequently. The FMEC is expected to hold a substantive meeting with the candidate in the spring semester of the year prior to their anticipated promotion application, followed by at least one additional meeting in the fall semester well in advance of the date that the promotion portfolio is due to the APA. At this fall meeting, the FMEC may establish a timeline for the candidate that permits the FMEC to review the application portfolio as it is being prepared as well as the near-final draft prior to its submission.
After the promotion portfolio is submitted per the annual timeline established by the Provost鈥檚 Office and based on the evidence provided in the portfolio, the FMEC chair will draft a letter of evaluation to the Promotions Review Board (PRB) on behalf of the committee regarding the candidate鈥檚 application for promotion in rank. The FMEC members are expected to work collaboratively on the letter and to include all perspectives such that all voting committee members sign the final version entered into the portfolio. The letter will thus rely on substantive input from all committee members and will evaluate the faculty member鈥檚 qualifications for promotion in accordance with the job description and the evaluative criteria set forth by the University and the candidate’s school.
The FMEC letter is added to the promotion portfolio per the annual timeline established by the Provost鈥檚 Office. The FMEC letter is expected to be evaluative and to explicitly address the criteria set forth in the faculty promotion policy. The FMEC Chair provides the letter to the candidate at the same time that the letter is added to the promotion portfolio. The annual timeline includes a pause of 48 hours between the deadline for addition of the FMEC letter to the portfolio and the release of the portfolio to the Dean. During this pause period, no party in the process has access to the portfolio. Per the promotion policy [link], the candidate retains the right to withdraw their portfolio from consideration by the PRB at any point in the application cycle.
NOTE: The FMEC policy will be reviewed per the schedule established by the University鈥檚 Policy Manual Committee or sooner if requested by the Faculty Welfare Committee of Faculty Council.
(Revised May 2022)