Faculty Files

1. PERSONNEL FILES
   These files contain correspondence concerning the hiring of the faculty member, Form 200's, correspondence with the faculty member, graduate faculty appointment forms, etc.
2. COMMITTEE FILES FOR TENURE AND/OR PROMOTION
   Each tenure-track faculty member holding the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor, and each tenure-track faculty member without tenure, should have a file in SH 237A. It contains all material pertinent to consideration for promotion and/or tenure other than correspondence, such as letters of reference. The faculty member is entirely responsible for the contents of this file. He or she should periodically peruse the contents, update the resume, remove out of date materials, etc., and return the file to the office staff. (NOTE: Items are not automatically filed in this particular file by the office staff. Committee members are cautioned to maintain the integrity of this file by not relocating any of the items.)

In addition to the suggestions below, faculty should consult the Dean's "General Overview of Promotion and Tenure Procedures" and the College's "Faculty Affairs Committee Suggestions", both available from the Department Head.

Suggested items for this file are:

• Resume containing the usual vita information, publication lists, and summary of teaching and professional service record. (The resume should be dated according to the date it is placed in the file.)
• Complete set of reprints of research publications.
• Preprints with information on current status. For example, if the paper is accepted for publication, a copy of the letter of acceptance can be stapled to the preprint.
• Position papers on research and teaching.
• Student and peer evaluations and/or other information or evaluations related to teaching.
• Faculty Annual Reports (or a summary of the information in these reports could be included in the resume).
• Any other items the faculty member believes would be useful to the committee.

Suggested times for updating committee files:

• Each spring by the middle of March.
• Each year at the beginning of the fall semester.
• Whenever one receives a fresh stack of reprints or any other pertinent documents to add to the file.
2. PROMOTION AND TENURE FILES --- CORRESPONDENCE
   This file contains letters of reference, committee reports from previous years, and current correspondence. This file is maintained by the Department Head.
3. FACULTY ANNUAL REPORTS --- PAST CALENDAR YEARS
   A complete set of copies of faculty annual reports without attachments is maintained for each faculty member.
4. FACULTY ANNUAL REPORTS --- CURRENT CALENDAR YEAR
   Information that might be pertinent to various faculty members' annual reports is collected in the main office throughout the year. However the individual faculty members have the primary responsibility for reporting information. Forms for filing the annual report will be distributed early in the fall semester of each year, together with a schedule for returning the form to the office for final typing and review. Information should be reported for the period from November to October. They should be as complete as possible for internal review by the Department Head and Advisory Committee by the first of November. They are forwarded to the Dean in the final form around the first of December.
5. FACULTY RESUMES
   Resumes should be updated by the faculty member each year and submitted with the Faculty Annual Reports. Additionally, the faculty member should update them when a resume is needed for a proposal or some other purpose.

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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE

It is the principal responsibility of the faculty member under consideration for promotion and/or tenure to prepare the materials for the department and other reviewing entities that make recommendations on promotion and/or tenure. The faculty member will be assisted by the department head in the preparation of these materials. The suggested outline for the organization of the materials submitted should be modified if necessary to present as much relevant information in support of the candidate as may be useful.
A two-part presentation is suggested. Part A should be an outline of the faculty member's background, emphasizing experience prior to appointment at NMSU. Part B should be a detailed summary of activities at NMSU. The faculty member is encouraged to include a subjective evaluation of the factual material.
The faculty member should feel free to add items, ignore items, or improvise in other ways to make the recommendation as complete as possible.

Suggested Outline

1. Background information (Please give appropriate dates)

Provide a typical curricula vitae, including such items as university education, professional position, titles held and responsibilities, visiting professorships, honors and awards, professional activities, editorial positions, etc. before coming to NMSU.

2. Service at NMSU (Please give appropriate dates)
1. Teaching
1. Factual information - courses taught, involvement in graduate and undergraduate education (seminars, formal and informal, reading and independent study courses, etc.), advising, administrative responsibilities pertinent to teaching, thesis and dissertation titles and students directed, degree levels of programs supervised, etc.
2. Comments on above experience - include all evidence of personal accomplishments felt to be applicable to quantity and breadth of teaching contributions (all facets), and quality of teaching.
3. Extraordinary efforts such as off-campus development, distance education work, curriculum development.
2. Scholarly achievement and awards - summarize achievements that have occurred during your career. List any that you consider pertinent and identify those, which have occurred since appointment or last promotion. Examples include fellowships, scholarly awards, publications, results of unpublished but significant scholarly work, project technical reports, experiment station bulletins, computer software, patents, art shows, performances, informal recognition by student societies, etc. Also include grants and contracts obtained (and efforts to obtain them) and evaluate their significance.
3. Professional service - in addition to any formal activities listed above, list all contributed services related to professional background (for example, services related in professional capacity to city, state or nation, professional societies, journals, etc.: also included might be services related to professional background contributed to organizations such as mental health centers, youth groups, artistic organizations, etc.) and certain types of international assignments. Candidates for advancement to the rank of professor should describe their leadership efforts and activities.
4. University activities - in addition to listing the more formal activities such as committee memberships, and membership on the Faculty Senate, include interdepartmental work, international assignments, administrative assignments, institutional project development activities, and all other kinds of assistance rendered to the university.

Please check the University Policy Manual for further information on material needed for promotion to specific ranks. 

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Last Modified: February 7, 2003