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Inside Iowa State
Feb. 20, 1998

Senators OK separate vote on peer review

by Diana Pounds

If the proposed promotion and tenure policy makes it to a full faculty vote in the spring, faculty will have the opportunity to approve the document with or without the portion calling for comprehensive peer review.

At its Feb. 10 meeting, the Faculty Senate agreed to separate the comprehensive peer review from the remainder of the promotion and tenure policy for an all-faculty vote. Faculty would cast two votes -- one to approve or reject the peer review portion of the document and another to approve or reject the remainder of the document.

The call for a comprehensive peer review of tenured faculty has been the most controversial part of the promotion and tenure document, and the senate continued to rework and amend the peer review section during the February meeting.

The latest amendment, introduced by James Werbel and OKed by the senate, requires a comprehensive review for faculty at least every seven years. In the original proposal, the review would have been required at least every five years.

As stated in the promotion and tenure document, the purpose of the comprehensive peer review is to support faculty development, encouraging professional growth, and ensure a peer component to faculty assessment.

The Faculty Senate will begin voting on the proposed promotion and tenure document in March. The document is divided into two parts -- one dealing with evaluation of faculty, and another, with promotion and tenure -- and the senate will vote on each part. If the document clears the senate, the all-faculty vote will occur sometime in the spring.

The next Faculty Senate meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. March 10, in 260 Scheman.

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