This information about application narratives and portfolios is for faculty who plan to apply forpromotion,pre-promotion,tenure, or reappointment in AY 25-26.

Important Notes

• Please review the language below about documentation of teaching effectiveness (excerpted from Resolution 54-05 and incorporated into the updated 2025-8-16 Faculty Personnel Policy, Article 3. Section 2. A. for AY 25-26)
  • The application narrative and portfolio shall provide a reflective self-assessment of teaching during the review period. Candidates will include a variety of evidence to make the case for teaching effectiveness. Supporting evidence should include qualitative documentation. Examples of such documentation may include but are not limited to: sample syllabi; selected course assignments; anonymized student work; grading feedback; peer reviews of teaching; mid-semester and supplemental student surveys; self-assessment; new course development; pedagogical innovations; and teaching improvement activities such as course revisions or professional development. Such measures are necessary for a holistic and complete evaluation of teaching effectiveness.
  • Information about student experiences in the classroom and overall satisfaction is important and relevant in the personnel process; as such, student course survey results should also be reviewed. However, course survey results do not provide an objective measure of teaching effectiveness; they can be useful to demonstrate trends over time, but they should not be the sole or overriding criterion used to evaluate teaching and should not be used to make fine distinctions about quality of teaching. Response rates should also be carefully considered in measuring the weight and meaningfulness of course survey results. Although quantitative course survey comparisons are not required, if a candidate includes them in their materials, the comparisons should emphasize relevant factors such as course level, core/elective course type, student and faculty characteristics, etc., more than largescale comparisons with the unit, the college, and the university where the relevance of those comparisons is not clear. Candidates may also use quantitative survey results to demonstrate their growth and development over time. Summative survey data alone is not sufficient for assessing teaching, and numerical thresholds should not be used for evaluation.
  • See Appendix 10, UIS Portfolio Guidelines for more details. 
• If you wish to request department/school, college, and/or university level cumulative course evaluation reports for the review period, please do so as soon as possible: uisfacultyfiles@uis.edu. We will not have access to run these reports from the legacy course evaluation system after August 15, 2025. Cumulative course evaluation reports by instructor are available in full-time faculty personnel files.

Key Resources

• Faculty Personnel Policy (FPP)
  • Article 3. Professional Evaluation and Advancement 
  • Article 5. Reappointment, Article 6. Promotion, Article 7. Tenure 
  • Appendix 10. Portfolio Guidelines 
• U of I Webstore – Adobe Creative Cloud for University Staff (if needed to create pdf documents) is available free to UIS employees 
• Academic Personnel Calendar (APC) 

Application Submission 

• Applicants upload their materials according to Academic Personnel Calendar deadlines (see Application & Portfolio Upload Timelines below) to a temporary confidential Box folder created by the Faculty Files Custodian.

Application & Portfolio Upload Timelines  

• Tenure and Reappointment: The Faculty Files Custodian will create a temporary Box upload folder for each applicant by July 1 and send applicants a temporary link to upload application materials. The Faculty Files Custodian will send a reminder at least two weeks in advance of each application deadline.
• Tenure by Exception (Early Tenure): Faculty planning to apply for tenure by exception (early tenure) are to notify the VCAA (provostvcaa@uis.edu) in writing no later than August 25, 2025 of their intent to apply. The Faculty Files Custodian will create a temporary Box upload folder for each applicant as soon as possible after notification has been received and send applicants a temporary link to upload application materials.
• Promotion and Pre-Promotion: Applicants should contact the Faculty Files Custodian as soon as they finalize plans to apply for promotion/pre-promotion. The Faculty Files Custodian will then create a temporary Box upload folder for application materials. This will also prompt the Faculty Files Custodian to review personnel file functionality and ensure documents are linked to the file log for reviewer convenience.
• The Faculty Files Custodian will upload a cumulative course survey report to the temporary Box upload folder for your use, as soon as the report is available. If the review period includes courses taught before Spring 2025, a separate summary report will be available with pre-Spring 2025 archived course evaluation data.
• Applicants are encouraged to upload items at least two days before the application deadline, to ensure there is time to add any required items that may have been overlooked.
• Application Deadlines for AY 25-26
  
  
  • Tenure-track promotion to the rank of professor: Application materials due by 5:00 pm, Tuesday, September 9, 2025
  • Tenure and tenure by exception (early tenure): Application materials due by 5:00 pm, Tuesday, September 16, 2025
  • Non-tenure track promotion and pre-promotion: Application materials due by Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
  • Reappointment:  Application materials due by 5:00 pm, Wednesday, January 7, 2025

Document Upload Protocol

• Upload six separate PDF documents into the temporary Box uploads folder, named as follows:

01    Application Narrative – Last name, First name

02    CV – Last name, First name

03    Log of Portfolio Contents – Last name, First name

Note: Items within the Teaching, Scholarship, and Service master documents may be continuously numbered overall, or by section (e.g. Teaching – 1, Teaching – 2, Scholarship – 1, Scholarship – 2), so long as numbering aligns with the log of contents.

04    Teaching – Last name, First name

05    Scholarship – Last name, First name 

06    Service – Last name, First name

• Notify the Faculty Files Custodian uisfacultyfiles@uis.edu when you have finished uploading your documents. The Faculty Files Custodian will confirm successful upload of six appropriately-named documents or notify you of any missing items (if time allows prior to the deadline).The Faculty Files Custodian will not review documents for content formatting, scan quality, or page quantity.
• Retain a copy of uploaded materials, if you wish. Your editor access to the temporary Application & Portfolio Uploads folder in Box will end once the application deadline has passed.
• The Faculty Files Custodian will transfer complete application and portfolio uploads (i.e., all six documents uploaded) from the temporary Box upload folder to the faculty personnel file and portfolio folder for the review process.
• Incomplete applications and portfolios will not be accepted.

Portfolio Considerations

• Reviewers are not expected to consult audio-visual materials during the review process.  
• If you plan to include links to digital media, may wish to provide a transcript (in whole or in part, highlighting something from the digital source) and provide a link as documentation.

Questions

• Questions about the application/portfolio upload process may be directed to uisfacultyfiles@uis.edu.
• Application narrative and portfolio content questions should be directed to your UEO.

NOTE: Failure to submit an application narrative and portfolio to the Personnel File and an application narrative to the Dean and UEO by the date specified in the personnel calendar constitutes a waiver of the right to apply for reappointment, tenure, or promotion (Faculty Personnel Policy Article 5.3.B, Article 6.3, Article 6.5.D, Article 7.1). 

2025-7-2

The following information may be helpful in ensuring that correspondence intended for inclusion in your faculty personnel file is added to your file without delay:

• Faculty personnel review memos must be signed with a wet or electronic signature by the reviewer/committee chair.
• Supporting documents from colleagues and students, as well as documents you wish to include in your file, should be sent to: uisfacultyfiles@uis.edu.