Faculty Appointments & Review — Participation of Absent Faculty Members in DCG Discussions

The following guidelines have been formulated in response to questions from departments about the mechanisms by which members of the Departmental Consulting Group (DCG) can participate in promotion and/or tenure decision-making if they are prevented from attending the DCG meeting in person.

The DEO must ensure that all members of the DCG are informed that they have the options described below. Eligible faculty who wish to use either of the methods below must, like all members of the DCG, have studied the promotion record carefully.

  1. Electronic Participation in Discussion and Vote. Faculty who must be away from campus on the day of the DCG discussion may arrange to contribute to the discussion and vote with the approval of the DEO and the College. The College must receive the request from the DEO at least 10 working days in advance of the DCG meeting. Download the CLAS form to be used for this request. On the form, which must be signed and dated by both the faculty member and the DEO, the DEO in collaboration with the faculty member must specify how the participation will take place (e.g., via videoconferencing or a Skype connection). The faculty member must designate a staff member who will receive the faculty member’s vote via confidential email at the time the DCG vote is being taken, will transcribe the vote onto the same type of ballot used by other eligible faculty, and will place the ballot in ballot box on behalf of the faculty member so that it can be entered into the count. The staff member must also sign the form to signify that s/he agrees to perform this task.
  2. Submission of Confidential Evaluation without Voting. Eligible faculty who are unable to participate electronically (as in 1, above) in the DCG discussion and vote may (like any other eligible faculty member) submit a confidential evaluation for inclusion in the promotion record (see section I.H.4 of the UI//CLAS Procedures for Promotion and Tenure Decision-making). This confidential evaluation should begin by stating that the individual was not present for the discussion and therefore was not included in the vote, with the reason for non-attendance, and a description of how much of the promotion record was available to the individual writing the comment.