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PPM 1-17, Selection and Evaluation of Deans |
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Responsible Office: Office of the Provost |
1.0 PURPOSE
This policy describes the process for the selection and evaluation of deans.
2.0 REFERENCES
2.1 PPM 1-5, University Organization
2.2 PPM 1-16, Academic Deans
2.3 PPM 8-3, Academic Rank Held by Administrative Officers and Non-Teaching Personnel
3.1 Dean - the administrative officer over an academic college or division; this includes academic deans, who serve over an academic college, and a non-academic dean, who may serve over a division or other area appointed by the President. (See PPM 1-5.)
4.0 APPOINTMENT
A dean may be directly appointed by the President, in consultation with the provost. (See PPM 1-5.) The dean does not hold tenure in the administrative position. (PPM 8-3). This policy does not apply to the Dean of Students.
5.0 SCREENING COMMITTEE COMPOSITION
5.1 In the event of a vacancy, or in the creation of a new position of an academic dean, the provost, under the direction of the President, may utilize a screening committee. The screening committee membership and selection is at the discretion of the provost, and should consider including the following:
5.1.1 One tenured faculty representative elected from each department or academic program, if the college is organized by programs rather than departments, within the appropriate college (two tenured faculty representatives if the college is comprised of three or fewer departments or programs). In the event that there are no tenured faculty members in a department or program, that department or program would be allowed to be represented by a non-tenured faculty member with the highest rank in the department.
5.1.2 One administrative representative appointed by the President or by their designee;
5.1.3 One tenured faculty or administrative member from outside the college to be chosen by the other committee members;
5.1.4 One student member to be appointed by the WSUSA President;
5.1.5 One dean appointed by the provost after consultation with the deans;
5.1.6 One staff member appointed by the provost after consultation with the Staff Advisory Council chair.
5.2. In the event of a vacancy in the position of the dean of the Division of Online & Continuing Education, the provost, under the direction of the President, may utilize a screening committee. The screening committee membership and selection is at the discretion of the provost, and should consider including the following:
5.2.1 One elected representative from each of the administrative units of the Division of Online & Continuing Education;
5.2.2 One tenured faculty member from each academic college appointed by the dean of that college;
5.2.3 One administrative representative appointed by the President or their designee;
5.2.4 Other committee members as stipulated in sections 5.1.5 and 5.1.6.
6.0 PROCEDURES
6.1 The screening committee shall operate in accordance with procedures created by the provost, which may include the following:
6.1.1 Elect its chair;
6.1.2 Allow each member to vote, including the chair;
6.1.3 Establish its working procedures;
6.1.4 Review the current job description for the dean's position and recommend additions and/or modifications to the provost for approval;
6.1.5 Assure appropriate advertising;
6.1.6 Adhere to University equal opportunity guidelines;
6.1.7 Evaluate, screen, and recommend a minimum of three candidates for final selection.
6.2 The President may award a dean tenure (in consultation with the Board of Trustees) and/or rank upon appointment, which will normally be included in the employment offer. The President should request the credentials of that candidate be reviewed by the department/program in which the candidate desires tenure and/or faculty rank and by the College Ranking Tenure Evaluation Committee, in order to provide a recommendation to the President. A dean who is not awarded tenure and/or rank upon appointment may thereafter be awarded academic rank and/or tenure pursuant to established procedures of the institution. (See PPM 8-3.)
6.3 In the event a new deanship is created, the new dean may be screened, selected, and appointed according to the procedures outlined above. The procedures for a dean that is not an academic dean may follow a similar process as for the dean of Online and Continuing Education.
7.0 EVALUATION OF ACADEMIC DEANS
7.1 The provost will conduct periodic evaluations of academic deans. These periodic evaluations will include a review during the second year of the appointment, and a formal evaluation at least every four years. More frequent reviews may be conducted at the discretion of the provost or President. The following sets forth a typical review process, but the process is left to the discretion of the President in consultation with the provost. Prior to the evaluations, deans will submit a status report about the college for public examination. The evaluations will include, but not be limited to, a formal survey of all faculty and staff serving under the dean's leadership, and input from all pertinent constituencies of the dean, both internal and external. The reviews are intended to provide feedback to academic deans and their administrative superiors on a regular and formal basis. The survey instrument will normally be created by the provost’s office, considering the unique needs of the college and input from the faculty and staff of the college.
7.2 Administration of the Dean's Evaluation Survey. Prior to each dean’s evaluation, each full-time faculty and staff member of the college will be notified by the provost's office of the ability to complete the survey. Faculty and staff shall have a reasonable time to complete the survey.
7.3 Interpretation of the Dean's Evaluation Survey. The survey data will be interpreted the year in which the dean is evaluated. The provost may establish an advisory committee for each dean, which will normally consisting of that college's rank and tenure committee, at least one department chair, or equivalent in the case of programs, from the same college, and another dean to be chosen by the provost, to interpret the survey data and assist the provost in the assessment and formal evaluation. The provost may grant the dean access to the survey feedback. A dean may request the opportunity to discuss the survey feedback with the committee prior to its recommendation to the provost and President.
7.4 Distribution of Evaluation Data. A summary of compiled survey feedback, as well as advisory committee recommendations, will be provided to the dean, the provost, and the President.
7.5 Additional Evaluations. In the event a concern is raised regarding a dean’s conduct, the President, in consultation with the provost, may require a review be conducted. In their roles as executives, deans are not reviewed under faculty processes described in PPM Section 9.
8.0 APPOINTMENT OF ASSOCIATE AND/OR ASSISTANT DEAN
The President may directly appoint an associate and/or assistant dean, in consultation with the provost and dean, and may utilize the procedure as outlined above for deans, except that the screening committee should include representation from each department or equivalent program with the dean as ex-officio. The recommended candidates shall be sent to the dean. The dean will recommend one or more candidates from those approved and send the names forward for approval to the President for consultation with the provost.
9.0 APPOINTMENT OF INTERIM DEAN OR ASSOCIATE/ASSISTANT DEAN
The filling of an interim appointment of a dean or an associate or assistant dean may be made by the President, in consultation with the provost, and with the dean when the appointment involves an associate or assistant dean, without the formal screening process. Interim positions will normally be authorized for no more than a one-year term.
10.0 EVALUATION OF ASSOCIATE AND ASSISTANT DEANS
Associate and assistant deans may be evaluated in the same manner as deans, as described in section 7.0, except that the dean of the college will conduct the evaluation and the committee will be limited to the college's rank and tenure committee.
Revision History
Creation Date: 4-20-77
Amended: 5-7-13, 3-16-21; 9-19-24