Department of Psychology

POLICY ON MENTORING ASSISTANT PROFESSORS

The Promotion and Tenure Committee (PTC) will begin an annual review of Assistant Professor’s professional development and progress toward tenure starting in the spring semester of his/her third year of employment.  In the interest of providing mentoring, guidance in professional development, and formative feedback to an Assistant Professor and to serve as a liaison between him/her and the PTC prior to the tenure decision, the following Mentoring Committee Policy for the Department of Psychology applies. 

The composition of the Mentoring Committee will be as follows:

1. Lead Mentor:  The newly hired Assistant Professor will select a PTC member from his/her program area prior to the first semester of employment in consultation with the Department Chair.  This individual will call requisite meetings of the Mentoring Committee and be responsible for written documentation, representing PTC feedback, for the Assistant Professor (see Feedback Form below).
2. By September 15 of the Assistant Professor’s second year, the Lead Mentor will consult with the Assistant Professor to choose a PTC member outside of the program area.
3. By September 15 of the Assistant Professor’s second year, the Department Chair will appoint the third member.

Although membership of this committee is intended to be stable throughout the pre-tenure-decision period, the composition of the committee may be changed through the Department Chair, at the request of the Assistant Professor or any member of the Mentoring Committee at the start of a given semester. 

The Mentoring Committee members and Assistant Professor are encouraged to meet informally as needed across the pre-tenure-decision semesters. They must meet formally a minimum of once each semester and at least twice during semesters involving PTC reviews, once in preparation for the review and once following the PTC review, for feedback and consultation. 

The charge of the Mentoring Committee includes the following:

1. Offer formative advice and guidance regarding professional development of teaching, scholarship, and service (e.g., workload prioritization, suggestions for collaboration);
2. Serve as a liaison between the Assistant Professor and the full PTC, beginning in the third year;
3. Offer advice on assembling the Promotion and Tenure dossier, per yearly requirements;
4. Provide qualitative, representative feedback, using the form below, at a face-to-face meeting within one week of each PTC review.

All Mentoring Committee oral and written feedback is intended for developmental purposes only and does not represent a binding agreement between the PTC and the Assistant Professor.  The Assistant Professor should review the Mentoring Committee’s feedback with the Department Chair, who will use a similar form to provide feedback, during their annual review meetings.

The Department Chair will maintain a record of the membership of all Mentoring Committees and remind members of the schedule and duties for each semester.