Smathers Libraries Career Development Handbook

III. C. 1. Sustained Performance Evaluations for University and Associate University Library Faculty

Policy
Tenured faculty will receive a sustained performance evaluation once every seven (7) years following the award of tenure or their most recent promotion and are evaluated for sustained performance for the previous six (6) years.
- Purpose
  -to document sustained performance as a tenured faculty member during the previous six years of assigned duties
  -to encourage continued professional growth and development.
  -to determine if a tenured faculty member’s performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
- Documentation
  -Annual evaluations -- last six years
  -Annual Assignments -- last six years
  -Activity Reports -- last six years
  -Current Vita
Note: The Sustained Performance Evaluation letter does not replace the Annual Evaluation letter.

Exception: Tenured faculty with administrative appointments of chairperson and above will not be eligible for this review until they resume faculty duties for the required six year period.
Evaluation Guidelines
The employee annual evaluations, including the documents used to develop the annual evaluations, will be the sole basis for sustained performance evaluation. An employee who received satisfactory annual evaluations during 4 or more of the previous six years, including one or more of the previous two (2) years shall be rated satisfactory or above in the sustained performance evaluation and cannot be subject to a performance improvement plan.

The employee may attach a concise response to the evaluation

For either Departmental Chair/Supervisor or the individual members of the SPEPC to make a finding that sustained performance is unsatisfactory there must be a clearly documented pattern of unsatisfactory performance of one or more assigned duties explicitly stated in two or more of the annual letters of evaluation over the six-year period of review.

Employee Improvement Plan
A performance improvement plan will be developed only for those employees whose performance is identified through the sustained performance evaluation as being consistently below satisfactory in one or more areas of assigned duties. The employee is responsible for attaining the performance targets specified in the performance improvement plan. If the targets are not met, the unit has the responsibility to take appropriate actions under the provisions of University Rule 6C1-7.048, F.A.C.,

The performance improvement plan will be developed by the employee in concert with his/her supervisor, and include specific performance targets and a time period for achieving the targets. The performance improvement plan will be approved by the President or representative [Dean of University Libraries]. Specific resources in an approved performance improvement plan will be provided by the university. The supervisor will meet periodically with the employee to review progress toward meeting the performance targets. It is the responsibility of the employee to attain the performance targets specified in the performance improvement plan.

Appeal Process. In instances where the library faculty member and the Chair/Supervisor cannot agree upon the elements to be included in the performance improvement plan, the library faculty member may use the University's appeal process. This includes a review by the Dean of University Libraries, whose decision is final.
Procedures
The Sustained Performance Evaluation Program Committee (SPEPC) is comprised of six tenured librarians. Representatives serve for two years with the terms being staggered. The individual members of the SPEPC will review the documentation of tenured faculty members up for review in the respective academic year.

The Human Resources Officer notifies individuals, Department Chairs and Directors to prepare information for an assessment of sustained performance during the seventh year following a library faculty member's award of tenure and/or promotion or the last decanal recommendation that they receive a Salary Performance Plan award.
1. The library faculty member and the chair/supervisor assemble the evaluation packet, consisting of a current vita, annual letters of evaluation, annual assignments, and activity reports from the previous six years and submit them to the Human Resources Officer for coordination and review by the Sustained Performance Evaluation Program Committee.
2. The individual members of the SPEPC will review the materials in accordance with the guidelines and will provide a written assessment to the Chairs/Supervisors.
3. The Department Chair/Supervisor will prepare the library faculty member's Sustained Performance Evaluation letter in accordance with the guidelines, incorporating the written assessment provided by the committee. The evaluation will summarize the library faculty member's overall performance during the six-year period being reviewed and the performance will be rated as:
  1. Sustained performance is satisfactory.
  2. Sustained performance is below satisfactory in one or more areas of assigned duties.
4. The library faculty member may prepare a response to the evaluation that will be attached to the evaluation and become part of the personnel record.
5. The Chair/Supervisor will meet with the faculty member to review the evaluation letter.

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