Review Committees
The purpose of a College level of review for promotion and/or tenure is to apply criteria related to the College mission and standards and to ensure that criteria are applied evenly across Divisions. Thus, the College review will bring broad faculty and administrative judgment to bear and will also monitor general standards of quality and equity of academic unit policies and procedures. It is at the academic unit level that specific expectations and standards are given and evaluated.
Composition
Each committee shall consist of five members elected from the Altoona College tenure-line faculty as follows:
- One member elected from the Division of Arts and Humanities;
- One member elected from the Division of Business, Engineering, and Information Sciences and Technology;
- One member elected from the Division of Education, Human Development, and Social Sciences;
- One member elected from the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences; and
- One member elected at large.
Selection
Each division with an open seat will provide at least two candidates for a college-wide election in which the faculty will vote for one person from each division. The candidate in each division receiving the greatest number of votes will be the division representative. A separate election will be conducted for an open at-large seat, for which each division will provide at least one candidate, and the candidate receiving the most votes will be the at-large member. This election should be conducted only after results from any division seat elections have been made public. This will allow all potential candidates, including those remaining from division seat elections, to run for the at-large seat. All standing tenure-line faculty members are eligible to vote.
The term of committee members will be two years. Terms shall be staggered so that half the committee is elected each year. In the first year, half of the terms will be for one year. After each term, members are eligible for re-election.
In the case of ties for division members, the division will be responsible for resolving the tie. Ties for the at-large member and replacements for elected members who become unable to serve will be decided by a vote of standing tenure-line faculty. Should a tie remain after this vote, the Chancellor will select the at-large member or replacement from the remaining candidates.
The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for ensuring that the election of these committees is completed by the end of the second week in April. Each committee will select its own chair.
Eligibility
Any tenured Altoona College faculty member holding the rank of Associate Professor or higher, regardless of locus of tenure, is eligible to serve on the Altoona College Promotion and Tenure Review Committee.
Only those members of higher rank than the candidate shall make recommendations concerning promotion. Faculty members on leave of absence, including sabbatical leave, are prohibited from participating in promotion and tenure committees.
Special Provisions for Promotion to Professor
In case of a candidate being considered for promotion to Professor when there is not a sufficient number of Professors elected to the Altoona College Promotion and Tenure Review Committee to constitute the full 5-member committee, a Special Review Committee of either 3 or 5 members of appropriate rank shall be appointed by the Chancellor to review the candidate per the following guidelines:
- A 3-member Special Review Committee shall have representatives from three Divisions, while a 5-member Special Review Committee shall have representatives from four Divisions.
- The candidate’s Division must be represented on the Special Review Committee.
- Committee membership of the Special Review Committee shall be chosen from among the elected members of the Altoona College Promotion and Tenure Review Committee.
- If there are not enough elected members on the Altoona College Promotion and Tenure Review Committee with the required rank, the Chancellor will augment membership by appointing eligible college faculty members to the Special Review Committee.
- In cases where there are insufficient eligible faculty at the Altoona College to complete the required membership for a Special Review Committee, the Chancellor will work with the Division Heads to identify faculty members of appropriate rank from other Penn State locations to serve as divisional representatives, and augment membership of the Special Review Committee accordingly.
A Special Review Committee is specific to the candidate under review. It is disbanded once it has fulfilled its duty to conduct the college level review for the candidate. Members are eligible to serve on several Special Review Committees during each reviewing cycle in case there are multiple candidates under consideration for promotion to Professor.
Duties
The Altoona College Promotion and Tenure Review Committee, as well as any Special Review Committees, shall be responsible for conducting the college-level review of faculty whose locus of tenure is in the Altoona College, and the campus-level review of faculty whose locus of tenure is in the academic department and college at University Park.
Previous Versions: September 2017
Approved by the Altoona College Faculty Senate on October 14, 2021
Editorial revisions approved by Altoona College Faculty Senate, March 16, 2023