Section 4.01 Primary Review Committee-Composition and Appointment

The Primary Review Committee is the Departmental Committee and is composed and appointed consistent with the University Faculty Handbook. Units are encouraged to adopt selection procedures for committee members that will promote membership which is inclusive of the categories protected by the university Non-Discrimination Policy.

The composition of the Primary Review Committee can vary by department and must comply with the University Faculty Handbook regarding potential conflicts of interest. In their Role and Scope documents, departments may elaborate how these guidelines apply to their review processes. The committee can consist of (a) all members of the department who meet University guidelines regarding faculty rank; or, (b) a subset of all those department members who meet University guidelines regarding faculty rank.

The Primary Review Committee can be established by appointment or by election.   The method of establishment should be described in the Departmental Role and Scope.

Section 4.02 Primary Review Administrator

The Primary Review Administrator typically is the department head or director of a program. Should the Primary Review Administrator have a conflict of interest with a candidate under review, the CLS Dean will identify an individual to serve as Primary Review Administrator for the case under review.

Section 4.03 Identification of Responsible Entities

Each department, consistent with the University Faculty Handbook, shall identify in its Role and Scope Document the party that will carry out each of the following:

  • Establish the Primary Review Committee either by facilitating election or appointment of the members.
  • Select external reviewers and solicit review letters.
  • If internal reviews are part of the unit’s review process, select and solicit internal reviews.
  • Ensure the following materials are included in the dossier:
  • Letters of solicitation for internal and/or external letters, letters from the reviewers, and in the case of external reviewers, a short bio-sketch of the reviewer.
  • Applicable Role and Scope document.
  • Letter of hire, any percentages of effort changes, all annual reviews, and all evaluation letters from prior retention, tenure, and promotion reviews at MSU.
  • Candidate’s teaching evaluations from the review period. Upon request by review committees and review administrators, the unit will provide access to the original evaluations to review committees and administrators during the review.
  • Maintain copies of all review committee evaluationletters including internal letters after the review.

Section 4.04 Next review level

The next review level after the reviews by the Primary Review Committee and the Primary Review Administrator is the College of Letters & Science Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee (CLSRTPC).