Third-Year Reviews

Step 1: Notify Faculty

Departments may choose to conduct the review in a candidate's 5th, 6th, or 7th semester in rank. The faculty member must be notified of intent to review at least four months in advance of the review.

Example: A faculty member is hired September 1, 2020. In this scenario, Fall 2020 is their first semester at UT. Therefore, third-year review should be conducted in either Fall 2022 (5th semester), Spring 2023 (6th semester), or Fall 2023 (7th semester).

Step 2: Establish Review Committee

The Department Chair is responsible for establishing a review committee to conduct the review. The review committee must consist of faculty who are of a higher rank than the individual undergoing the review. 

Step 3: Evaluation Report

The review committee is responsible for writing an evaluation report documenting the faculty member's contributions to the primary area of specialization: research, teaching, mentoring, and and their overall contributions to the academic enterprise during the evaluation period (preceding three years). The committee must assign an overall review rating as well as a rating for each relevant area of review of either exceeds, meets, does not meet, or unsatisfactory. Reports are typically no longer than two pages and must include a brief description of the process that was employed, including how the review committee was constituted, what materials were reviewed and the conclusions that were reached, including any recommendations in problem areas.

Step 4: Submittal

Once the review committee completes the evaluation report, it should be submitted to the Department Chair for their review and comments. The Department Chair is responsible for meeting with the faculty member to discuss the evaluation results as well as present the faculty member with an opportunity to provide a written response, if needed.

The report and any written responses should be submitted by the Department Chair to the Dean's Office no later than January 5th (for reviews conducted in the Fall semester) or May 16th (for reviews conducted in the Spring semester). Please ensure the evaluation report is signed by all members of the review committee as well as the faculty member undergoing review before it's submitted to the Dean's office.

Third-Year Review (for Professional-Track Faculty)

1. Current CV
2. Primary Area of Specialization
   • If teaching is primary, then required materials include:
     • 1 CETAP external evaluation
     • 1 peer assessment
     • At least 1 reflective teaching observations (conducted by the candidate) of colleague's teaching
     • Please refer to the Teaching Assessment Templates for more information.
   • If research is primary, then required materials include:
     • FARs for the previous years in rank
     • All publications since arriving at UT
     • Grant support at UT
     • Graduate student supervision
   • If service is primary, then required materials include:
     • Evidence of department, college, university, or professional service.
3. Statement on Contributions to the Academic Enterprise
   • These additional contributions might be made at the intersection of one or more of the areas of specialization and cannot repeat accomplishments or performance already documented in the primary area of specialization. For example, if teaching is a faculty member's primary area or specialization, excellence in terms of contributions, performance and trajectory in organized teaching might be the focus for that primary area. The faculty member might then highlight their contributions and leadership in curriculum development and undergraduate student advising and mentoring as their additional contributions to the academic enterprise.

Deadline to notify faculty of their upcoming Third-Year Review

The faculty member must be notified of intent to review at least four months in advance of the review. We recommend that departments notify faculty of their review by March 31st of the prior academic year. 

Deadlines for Submitting the Third-Year Review

A written report on the third-year review, along with any responses provided by candidate, must be submitted to the Dean's Office before the end of the candidate's third year in rank.

For faculty undergoing review in the Fall semester (August 16th - December 31st), reports are due by January 5th.

For faculty undergoing review in the Spring semester (January 1st - May 15th), reports are due by May 16th.