E. Senior Preceptors

Please scroll down or click on the links below to read about this process.

a.   Description
b.   Search Flowchart
c.   Steps
d.   Dossier Checklist

(2)   Reappointment of Senior Preceptors

(1)   Appointment to Senior Preceptor

a.  Description

In addition to teaching, senior preceptors assume administrative responsibility for language, skill-oriented, or other special instruction (including some introductory disciplinary instruction) and for training preceptors in their areas. Ordinarily, such an appointment is made only in an area where there are multiple sections to administer; senior preceptors are expected to teach at least one course or section in the system of courses that they are coordinating. Ordinarily, senior preceptors teach the equivalent of three courses or sections per year, and at least half of their total work should be comprised of in-classroom teaching and not course-equivalent or administrative duties. Usually, only one such appointment is made for any one language program. Ordinarily, appointments begin on July 1st and are made for five-year terms, which are renewable contingent upon review and approval of the divisional dean. Senior Preceptors are voting members of the Faculty.

 

b.  Search Flowchart: Senior Preceptor

search flowchart sr preceptor

 

c.  Steps: Appointment to Senior Preceptor

 

Step

Explanation

1

The department chair writes to the divisional dean requesting authorization for a search

The search plan should address:

  • The names of the proposed search committee members, including the chair, who will have primary responsibility for ensuring that the search is broad, wide-ranging, and thorough and that proactive efforts are made to identify candidates from diverse populations, including women and minorities. The committee must consist of at least 3 senior and/or ladder faculty members.
  • How the anticipated appointment is expected to serve the needs of the department.
  • The space that will house the proposed appointment.

2

The divisional dean reviews the request

The divisional dean reviews individual requests in light of divisional priorities and resources (including space). If the search is authorized, the divisional dean will provide a written response to the department, setting out the conditions of the search

3

The department advertises the position and makes inquiries at other institutions

  • All advertising copy must be reviewed and approved by the assistant dean for the division before it is submitted to the appropriate journals and other venues. Advertisements and inquiries should describe the position broadly and should list a date after which the department will stop accepting applications, or the department can encourage candidates to apply by a specific date, while indicating that applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. At least one form of the advertisement should be published in print. Advertisements should clearly state required documents and must indicate that Harvard is “an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, protected veteran status, disability, genetic information, military service, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or other protected status.”
  • The dossier for the finalist must include a teaching/advising statement that describes the candidate’s philosophy and practices related to undergraduate teaching and advising.  The dossier should also include teaching materials, including a teaching chart listing courses in reverse chronological order, any teaching awards, representative course syllabi, and teaching evaluations. (Note: In the teaching chart, please indicate which, if any, courses were taught remotely, whether partially or in full, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) The advertisement should ask all candidates to submit with their original application materials a teaching/advising statement as well as a statement describing efforts to encourage diversity, inclusion, and belonging, including past, current, and anticipated future contributions in these areas. The department may request the other teaching materials later in the process.
  • Candidates should not solicit student letters and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the final dossier.
  • The dossier for the finalist must also include at least three letters of recommendation.  The advertisement should ask candidates to submit contact information for references with their original application materials.
  • Harvard is required to solicit and record, when available, each applicant’s gender and racial/ethnic information, which is accomplished through the ARIeS system. Applicants are not required to provide demographic information.

4

The department reviews the candidates’ materials and drafts a case statement for the finalist

The draft case statement for the candidate summarizes the department’s conclusions, including the strengths and weaknesses of the case with regard to teaching/advising, service, and administration, including contributions related to diversity, inclusion, and belonging (see Step 6 for all of the necessary elements of the final case statement).

5

After reviewing all of the candidate’s materials, the department discusses the case and votes

  • The department reviews the draft case statement, all letters of recommendation (of which there must be at least three), and all of the candidate’s materials and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the case. This discussion should be in-depth and rigorous. The department should also assess whether the candidate has met the criteria for senior preceptor.
  • The department votes according to its standard procedures.

6

After a favorable vote, the case statement is finalized by the department chair

The finalized case statement, prepared and signed by the department chair and the chair of the search committee, should include the following:

  • Background and context: An explanation of how the appointment serves the needs of the department and how it fits in with the department’s future development, and why this need can be met better by a senior preceptor appointment than by annual appointments at the preceptor level. Describe the teaching needs that the appointment would address.
  • The search process: A description of the search, including how the finalist was identified; please address the demographics of the pool as displayed in the Departmental EEO Report available in ARIeS. This report displays aggregate demographic data from the search.
  • The case for the candidate:
    • A discussion of the finalist’s expertise and teaching/advising abilities, as well as administrative experience, and contributions related to diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
    • A comparison of the candidate with all other leading candidates (in particular, women and minorities), and reasons why the other leading candidates were not chosen.
  • A summary of the department's discussions of the case.
  • Departmental vote: A record of the department vote, by name, with an “as of” date for the vote tally.
  • Signatures: An indication of the primary author of the statement.

Note: The finalized case statement should be made available to the faculty in the department involved in the review.

7

The candidate’s dossier is prepared by the department and sent, with a draft offer letter, to the assistant dean for the division

Note: The department should secure from applicants at the short-list stage (or from the finalist, if the department’s process does not include a short-list stage) a draft course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) that the candidate(s) intend to teach during their first semester, for approval. This information will be included in the finalist’s dossier. (Obtaining this information is not necessary for candidates who would be teaching established courses such as certain language or mathematics courses, etc.)

Please securely send one electronic copy of the dossier, including a draft offer letter, to the assistant dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform. For a full checklist of what the dossier should include, please see below.

Note:  The divisional dean/SEAS Dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.

8

The divisional dean, with a CAP subcommittee, reviews the dossier, and the divisional dean decides whether to approve the appointment

 

9

If the decision is favorable, the offer letter is sent to the candidate

Once approval for the appointment has been granted, the department should ask the individual during the hiring process to confirm the department’s understanding of what the course title, description, and syllabus are. 

Acceptances of the offers should be made in writing to the department chair.

10

If the offer is accepted, the appointment is processed in the Aurora system by the department

  • The department sends 1 electronic PDF copy of the final dossier (excluding teaching evaluations), including the signed offer letter, to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora.
  • The department delivers the original I-9 form and any necessary payroll documents to Central Payroll.
  • The department securely sends 1 electronic PDF copy of the candidate’s acceptance letter to the assistant dean for the division. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform.
  • The department administrator will remind the faculty member to sign electronically the Harvard University Participation Agreement by the start of their appointment.

 

After a senior preceptor has been appointed: In years where there is no scheduled review for reappointment, departments will assess teaching and performance of the senior preceptor on an at least annual basis and provide feedback to the senior preceptor, following departmental protocols.


d.  Dossier Checklist: Senior Preceptors

Please securely send an electronic copy of the preliminary dossier, including a draft offer letter, to the assistant dean for the division (AD). Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform. To facilitate storing and sharing of files, please name the file as follows: a) alpha-numeric characters only (no dashes, commas, slashes, etc.).  b) [Last Name] [First Name] [Department Name] Sr Preceptor dossier [Month, Date, and Year of dossier submission, expressed numerically: XX YY ZZ]. E.g., Smith John Psychology Sr Preceptor dossier 1 4 15.  c) If a dossier is revised and resubmitted, please repeat the original title, followed by “rev” and [Month of resubmission] [Date of resubmission] [Year of resubmission]. E.g., Smith John Psychology Sr Preceptor dossier 1 4 15 rev 1 15 15.

After the offer is finalized, please send 1 electronic PDF copy of the final dossier (excluding teaching evaluations) to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora. Please use the naming convention outlined above. Departments should retain documents according to practices recommended by Harvard Archives at https://grs.harvard.edu/ (please log in). 

______1.     Case statement (including department vote by name). See description in Step 6 above.

______2.     The Departmental EEO Report displaying aggregate demographic data from the search, available through ARIeS.

______3.     The department’s request for search authorization and the divisional dean’s letter approving the search request.

______4.     Candidate’s curriculum vitae.

______5.     Summary teaching chart and teaching materials (including teaching awards, representative course syllabi, and teaching evaluations).

______6.     A teaching/advising statement describing philosophy and practices related to undergraduate teaching and advising.

______7.     Course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) the candidate intends to teach during their first semester.

______8.     Statement describing efforts to encourage diversity, inclusion, and belonging, including past, current, and anticipated future contributions in these areas.

______9.     All (at least three) letters of recommendation.

Note: The candidate should not solicit student letters, and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the dossier.

To be added to the final dossier after the appointment is finalized:

_____10.     A copy of the offer letter, which includes information about the responsibilities of the position and the standard and timing of review for renewal, and all subsequent emendations to it.

_____11.     A copy of the candidate’s letter of acceptance.

After the offer is finalized, please securely send 1 electronic PDF copy of the candidate’s acceptance letter to the assistant dean for the division. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform.

Please deliver the original I-9 form and any necessary payroll documents to Central Payroll.

 

(2) Reappointment of Senior Preceptors

 

Step

Explanation

1

The department chair requests materials from the candidate during the penultimate year of appointment

Materials should include:

  • Curriculum vitae.
  • Teaching and advising materials, including representative course syllabi and evidence of teaching effectiveness, such as teaching awards.
  • A teaching/advising statement that describes the candidate’s philosophy and practices related to undergraduate teaching and advising. In the statement, the candidate should reflect on continuing areas for growth and ways in which they might improve as a teacher and advisor.
  • A statement regarding administrative duties, accomplishments, and supervisory responsibilities.

2

The chair requests divisional dean approval of a proposed review committee and, following this approval, appoints the committee

The committee should include at least two tenured faculty members, including a tenured faculty member from another department/SEAS area. The request should name the committee chair and other review committee members.

3

The department compiles a summary teaching chart  and gathers information on the candidate’s performance as a teacher and administrator, if applicable  

  • The summary teaching chart summarizes, in reverse chronological order, all courses the candidate has taught, including course titles, enrollments, and overall course scores and instructor scores. (Note: In the teaching chart, please indicate which, if any, courses were taught remotely, whether partially or in full, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
  • All teaching evaluations not already seen during the last review should be collected. Please include:
    • 1 electronic PDF of student teaching evaluations
      •  For evaluations prior to Fall 2019, please go to https://course-evaluation-reports.fas.harvard.edu/fas/list Select “Term” and click “Select another term” to update.
        • Select department and click on a course.
        • "Print Full Reports" tab and download for each course:
          • “Course Evaluation and Instructor/TF Summary” (Printable Version (PDF)
          • Student Comments: go to “View Comments by Question” and select "Show Questions." Print out "Whole Course" option.
      • For evaluations from Fall 2019 onward, please go to https://q.fas.harvard.edu/results-2019-20-and-later. Click on “Results 2019-20 and later" and log in.
        • Select the “Course Heads-Instructors report” for the specific year/term.
        • Type the course number abbreviation (e.g. COMPSCI 50) in the “Search report title” field and click to search.
        • Download for each course:
          • Select "View the {term} Individual Report -- Comments included report" and click on the course from the listing. Click the (PDF) icon next to the corresponding instructor to download the report.
  • The review committee should:
    • Solicit feedback from the candidate’s current and former students, as appropriate. To gather student feedback, which should be summarized in the case statement, the department chair (or their designee) either speaks with or writes to the candidate’s students. If the feedback takes written form, the chair should make clear that the emails or letters will be kept confidential and students’ names will be redacted (as is also the case with oral feedback) before the emails or letters are shared with committee members (although the dean or the dean's designee may request any information regarding the case if questions arise). The emails or letters should not be included in the dossier.
    • Solicit feedback from the candidate’s teaching fellows, teaching assistants, and/or preceptors under the candidate's supervision, as appropriate.
    • Observe the candidate’s teaching.
    • Review the candidate’s teaching evaluations.
    • Evaluate the candidate’s administrative and supervisory capabilities.
    • Evaluate the candidate's role and their performance relative to the role: i.e., what are the person's duties (and what proportion of their time is spent on teaching vs. other responsibilities), how do those duties relate to the position description, and how is the individual's performance of those duties?

4

The committee considers the case

The review committee should take into account all aspects of the candidate’s job description, including the candidate’s teaching/advising and administrative service, if applicable.   

5

The committee decides if the case is sufficiently strong to warrant reappointment, drafts a case statement, and reports its findings to the department

The draft case statement for the candidate summarizes the committee’s conclusions, including the strengths and weaknesses of the case with regard to teaching/advising, service, and administration (see Step 7 for all of the necessary elements of the final case statement).

6

Members of the department review the materials, discuss the case, and vote on the reappointment

This discussion should be in-depth and rigorous. If the department decides against reappointment, the department chair sends to the divisional dean the current dossier, including a record of the department vote, and a draft of the letter to the candidate and explains the department’s decision. After divisional dean approval, the department gives the letter to the candidate.

7

After a favorable vote, the department sends the dossier, including a draft letter for the candidate, to the assistant dean for the division

Please securely send one electronic copy of the dossier, including a draft letter for the candidate, to the assistant dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform.

The dossier should consist of:

  • A case statement describing the review procedures and making the case for the reappointment of the candidate. It includes an evaluation of the candidate’s teaching and advising effectiveness (including a summary of student feedback solicited by the department chair) and contributions to the department, as well as a record of the department vote, by name, with an “as of” date for the vote tally. The case statement should also indicate who authored it and be signed by both the author and the chair. Note: The finalized case statement should be made available to the faculty in the department involved in the review.
  • The candidate’s curriculum vitae.
  • Summary teaching chart.
  • A teaching/advising statement.
  • Teaching and advising materials, including: representative course syllabi and evidence of teaching effectiveness, such as teaching awards.
  • All teaching evaluations not already seen since the last review.
  • The candidate’s statement regarding administrative duties, accomplishments, and supervisory responsibilities.
  • A draft letter to the individual, to be reviewed by the divisional dean, discussing the review. The letter covers any concerns about performance and/or need for services that might affect the future. The letter also indicates the dates of reappointment and the schedule for the next review.

Note: The candidate should not solicit student letters, and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the dossier.

Note:  The divisional dean/SEAS Dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.

8

The dossier is reviewed by the divisional dean

 

9

Following approval by the divisional dean, the department issues the final signed letter to the candidate and processes the reappointment in Aurora

  • The department securely sends 1 electronic PDF copy of the final letter for the candidate, signed by the department chair, to the divisional dean, cc’ing the assistant dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform.
  • The department sends 1 electronic PDF copy of the final letter for the candidate, signed by the department chair, and 1 electronic PDF of the review dossier to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora.