Chapter 9B
1. Review and Reappointment Schedule: Lecturers and Preceptors
Notes:
- Ongoing Assessment: In years where there is no scheduled first-year review or review for reappointment, departments will assess teaching and performance on an at least annual basis and provide feedback to the lecturer or preceptor, following departmental protocols.
- See Chapter 2H, “Important Deadlines” for the deadline for lecturer and preceptor reviews.
- Ordinarily, multi-year appointments for lecturers and preceptors begin on July 1.
- All lecturers and preceptors must undergo a first-year review to be eligible to teach in the following academic year.
- Non-dependent lecturers and preceptors must adhere to the FAS eight-year rule, unless they are lecturers holding annual appointments on or after July 1, 2010, who have not accumulated 3.0 annual lecturer FTEs within eight years. In these circumstances, lecturers who have reached the eight-year limit may be appointed at the equivalent of up to one four-credit course per year, under the appropriate conditions, until they have accumulated 3.0 annual lecturer FTEs. Note: This allowed accrual of 3.0 annual lecturer FTEs beyond the original eight years of service is intended to support FAS curricular needs and is not intended as a general endorsement of long-term affiliation with the FAS beyond what is ordinarily eight years for term-limited appointments.
2. First-Year, Ongoing, and Annual Reviews of Lecturers and Preceptors
See Chapter 2H, “Important Deadlines” for the deadline for reviews.
For reappointment beyond the first year for lecturers and preceptors with annual appointments, the department must first assess its curricular needs and request and receive authorization for the FTE from the divisional dean.
For first-year reviews, the department/area chair (or the chair’s designee) should review evaluations from the candidate’s first semester of teaching. For annual and ongoing reviews, the department/area chair (or the chair’s designee) should review evaluations not reviewed since the prior year’s review.
To access evaluations from Fall 2019 onward, please follow these instructions.
If course evaluations are not available, please consult with your Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs for instructions on how to proceed.
If the chair decides the case warrants reappointment (or continuation of appointment, in the case of a multi-year appointment), the department/area sends to the associate dean for the division/SEAS 1 digital copy of the lecturer or preceptor’s teaching evaluations and 1 digital copy of a draft letter of reappointment.
Please securely send one digital copy of each of the items listed below to the associate dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform:
- 1 digital PDF of student teaching evaluations.
- A draft letter for the individual, to be reviewed by the associate dean for the appropriate division/SEAS. The letter includes dates of reappointment, teaching duties, salary, and an accounting of the individual’s remaining eligibility within the lecturer or preceptor rank.
If the chair does not feel the case warrants reappointment (or continuation of appointment), the chair sends to the divisional/SEAS associate dean a draft of the letter to the candidate and explains the department/area’s decision. After divisional/SEAS associate dean approval, the department/area chair gives the letter to the candidate.
The divisional/SEAS associate dean makes the final decision regarding whether or not to reappoint the candidate (in the case of an annual appointment) or continue the candidate (in the case of a multi-year appointment).
Note: The divisional/SEAS dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.
Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
Following approval by the divisional/SEAS associate dean, the department/area chair (or the chair’s designee) provides verbal feedback to the candidate and the department/area chair issues the final signed letter to the candidate.
Verbal feedback is provided to the candidate based on their course evaluations. The chair (or the chair’s designee) should document in department/area files what date the feedback was provided, by whom, and if any specific issues were raised.
The department processes the reappointment (in the case of an annual appointment) or salary increase (in the case of a multi-year appointment) in Aurora.
The department securely sends to the associate dean for the division/SEAS:
- 1 digital PDF copy of the final letter for the candidate, signed by the department chair
Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
3. Reappointments of Preceptors into a Multi-Year Term
See Chapter 2H, “Important Deadlines” for the deadline for preceptor reviews.
The department chair requests materials from the candidate during the fall term of the third 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 as well as their approach to creating a learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas. In the statement, the candidate should reflect on continuing areas for growth and ways in which they might improve as a teacher and advisor.
The chair requests divisional dean approval of a proposed review committee and, following this approval, appoints the committee.
The request should name the committee chair and other review committee members.
The department compiles a summary teaching chart and gathers information on the candidate’s performance as a teacher.
- 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.)
- In addition, the department should include 1 digital PDF of student teaching evaluations.
- For evaluations prior to Fall 2019, please see Harvard FAS Course Evaluations.
- For evaluations from Fall 2019 onward, please follow these instructions.
- The review committee should:
- Observe the candidate’s teaching.
- Review the candidate’s teaching evaluations.
- If applicable: Solicit feedback from current and former Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows overseen by the candidate.
- 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, such as curricular development), how do those duties relate to the position description, and how is the individual's performance of those duties?
The review committee should take into account all aspects of the candidate’s job description.
The committee drafts a case statement and decides if the case warrants reappointment.
The draft case statement for the candidate summarizes the committee’s conclusions, including the strengths and weaknesses of the case (see Step 6 for all of the necessary elements of the final case statement), and makes a recommendation regarding reappointment of the candidate. The department chair must sign off on this recommendation. If the committee does not feel the case warrants reappointment, the chair sends to the divisional dean a draft of the letter to the candidate and explains the committee’s decision. After divisional dean approval, the department gives the letter to the candidate.
The department sends the candidate’s materials, including a draft letter to the candidate, to the associate dean for the division/SEAS.
Please securely send one digital copy of the dossier, including a draft letter for the candidate, to the associate dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform. The dossier includes:
- 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/advising ability (including a summary of the course observation and a summary of TA/TF feedback, if applicable) and contributions to the department. 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 describing the candidate’s philosophy and practices as well as their approach to creating a learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas.
- Teaching and advising materials, including representative course syllabi and evidence of teaching effectiveness, such as teaching awards and evaluations.
- All teaching evaluations not already seen during the last review.
- A draft letter for 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 remaining years of eligibility to hold the position.
In addition to the dossier, the feedback from current and former TAs and TFs (if applicable), are shared in their entirety with the divisional/SEAS office and the Office for Faculty Affairs. Names should be redacted from the responses. The complete responses should not be included in the dossier, nor shared with the candidate.
Note: The candidate should not solicit student letters, and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the dossier.
Note: The divisional/SEAS dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.
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 to the divisional/SEAS associate dean and to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora 1 digital PDF copy of the final letter for the candidate, signed by the department chair. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
4. Reappointments of College Fellows
Reappointment of the College Fellowship for a second year is contingent on performance, position availability, and curricular need. The department requests authorization for the reappointment from the divisional dean. After receipt of authorization, the department sends to the associate dean for the division/SEAS 1 digital copy of the fellow’s teaching evaluations and 1 digital copy of a draft letter of reappointment that includes dates of reappointment, teaching duties, salary, and an accounting of the individual’s remaining eligibility within the FAS’s eight-year rule. Please securely send these materials. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
Note: The divisional/SEAS dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.
For the teaching evaluations, please include 1 digital PDF of student teaching evaluations. For evaluations from Fall 2019 onward, please follow these instructions.
Once the associate dean for the division/SEAS has approved the draft letter, the department sends it to the candidate and processes the reappointment in Aurora. A digital PDF copy of the signed reappointment letter is sent to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora.
5. Reappointments of Dependent Lecturers
Dependent lecturers are reviewed and reappointed in one of two ways:
- In conjunction with the administrative, staff, curatorial, or research position into which they were hired (if this position has specific review procedures that include the individual’s teaching responsibilities).
- Following the review and reappointment schedule for lecturers hired with annual appointments.
- The department submits to the associate dean for the division/SEAS 1 digital copy of the dependent lecturer’s teaching evaluations and 1 digital copy of a draft letter of reappointment that includes dates of reappointment and teaching duties. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.