Guidelines for Fifth-Year Review of Deans

Purpose

The Statutes of the University of Georgia (Section 3, page 14) specify that an evaluation of each Dean will be undertaken by the faculty every five years. These guidelines are intended to provide a procedure whereby an assessment can be made that balances the accomplishments of the Dean with any recommendations that may improve the quality of administration.

Formation of Dean Review Committee

The Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will form a review committee with a membership usually in the range of from five to seven faculty members. The Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will solicit nominations from the faculty for membership on the committee and for a person to chair the committee. The chair may be from inside or outside the school/college.

The Dean’s Preparation

The Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will ask the Dean to prepare a statement for the committee that includes: a description of his/her responsibilities, a summary of the principal accomplishments over the period since the last review or initial appointment, a brief report on major plans and challenges for the next several years, and a list of names (not to exceed ten) of individuals both local and national who are familiar with his/her work. This document will form the initial working document for the committee.

Charge to the Committee

The committee will meet initially with the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost to review the charge. The Dean’s statement will be provided to each committee member. The principal charge to the committee will be to prepare for the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost a report on the performance of the Dean. The report should not be lengthy and should be designed to address two questions: (1) What accomplishments, administrative or programmatic, over the past five years are most significant? and (2) What recommendations could be offered to the Dean in administrative style, policies, or procedures to improve school/college administration?

Committee Process and Report

Although the committee will develop its own process, the process chosen must include input from Department Heads and the Dean’s immediate staff, whether as a group or individually, and university administrators who have working relationships with the Dean. The committee shall establish some form of reporting from chairs of school/college committees, faculty, staff, and, when appropriate, external constituencies and alumni. A concise committee report must include a summary of principal accomplishments, directions for the future, and barriers to and suggestions for future progress. Individual forms, surveys, letters, notes, and other raw data should not be part of the report.

Follow-Up

The committee will meet with the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost to review and clarify points in the report. Following this, a copy of the report will be provided to the Dean to review before he/she meets with the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. The Provost will meet with the Dean to discuss the contents of the report, consideration of changes, if any, that need to be made, and plans to disseminate the information to the college.