Types of Performance Reviews for Academic Professional and Administrative Employees

Annual Performance Reviews (Required).

Responsible administrators/supervisors must conduct an annual performance review for P&A employees that report to them. Annual performance reviews are designed as a formal mechanism to evaluate the past year's performance of P&A employees. They are conducted in general for the following purposes:

1. Evaluating performance for the year;
2. Improving individual performance to benefit personal, unit and institutional effectiveness;
3. Recognizing professional growth and achievements;
4. Determining salary increases based on an assessment of the performance of responsibilities and, where applicable, service activities; and
5. Identifying performance goals and professional growth areas for the next year.

General criteria to be used in the review of all P&A employees include:

1. Achievement of goals that support the mission of the department/division, the campus, college or administrative unit, and the University;
2. Behavioral and functional competencies;
3. Service delivery to internal colleagues and external constituents;
4. Promotion of, and sensitivity to the University’s diverse community with attention to equal opportunity, affirmative action, and improvement of climate for diverse groups;
5. Responsible leadership, management, and use of the University’s human, physical and financial resources; and
6. University Service (e.g., serving as a member of a task force, University governance participation)

Additional criteria for reviews will vary according to the nature of the position and the unit in which it is located.

The campus, college or administrative unit head is to ensure that an evaluation and development process is conducted for each P&A employee for which responsibility is held, and that the process is properly and fairly implemented within the unit.

Periodic Comprehensive Reviews of Deans and Senior Administrators (Required).

The periodic comprehensive review process for deans includes a three-year evaluation and one optional developmental assessment. For other senior leaders the periodic review is carried out through a developmental assessment. These performance reviews are based on defined leadership competencies aligned with the kinds of responsibilities held by individuals in these kinds of positions. They are designed to foster professional success and enhance performance effectiveness in a constructive way that supports the broad goals of leadership excellence and managerial accountability. They are reviews that are in addition to the reviews conducted annually by the responsible administrator/supervisor. The evaluative review incorporates use of a standardized survey in which assessment information is solicited from multiple reviewers, both internal and external to the University. The developmental assessment is a 360-degree web-based process from a more focused group of raters that typically includes subordinates, peers, and supervisors with possible inclusion of external sources. Coaching may be an outcome of this process. Responsible administrators are expected to conduct and budget for appropriate performance appraisals and are held accountable for doing so.

The description and procedures for a comprehensive three-year evaluation and a 360-degree developmental assessment are outlined in Administrative Procedure: Assessing Performance of Senior Leaders.

Periodic Reviews of Other Administrators (Optional).

Comprehensive Reviews

Responsible administrators/supervisors may choose, at their discretion, to conduct a comprehensive review for those administrators, other than senior leaders, reporting to them. Comprehensive reviews are broad in scope and dimension and build upon the results of the annual performance reviews that have occurred since the initial hire or last comprehensive review. Assessment information may be solicited from a wide spectrum of people who are affected by the individual’s performance. Such evaluations might be sought from colleagues, from others with whom the P&A employee interacts or for whom the administrator performs a service, from other administrators at both higher and lower levels, and from faculty, P&A employees, civil service and union-represented staff and students or other constituencies as appropriate. Done well, the reviews provide a more robust view of performance and a more sweeping assessment of effectiveness in carrying out responsibilities.

Comprehensive Reviews are conducted for the purposes of:

1. Providing a formal systematic and reliable means of reviewing performance over a longer period of time, providing one measure of administrative accountability to both internal and external constituents;
2. Recognizing, on a more broad basis, professional growth and achievements attained over time;
3. Improving individual performance to benefit personal, unit and institutional effectiveness and achievement of goals; and
4. Providing information for making personnel decisions including those related to compensation and reappointment.

This type of review usually includes a small committee specifically appointed for purposes of assisting in this effort. Such reviews may be conducted every three to five years for administrators on annual or multiple year contracts.

Developmental Reviews.

Responsible administrators/supervisor may choose, at their discretion, to conduct developmental reviews for those P&A employees reporting to them. Such reviews are designed to provide feedback that can be used to help identify areas for professional growth and development. Feedback is solicited from a variety of individuals with whom the administrator generally interacts when carrying out their responsibilities. A multi-source (e.g., “360-degree”) assessment is a typical type of tool used to gather information for this purpose. It is contrasted with feedback specifically from direct reports or specifically from the employee’s responsible administrator/supervisor. The option of coaching is often provided based on the outcomes of this type of review. The results of this type of review may or may not be shared with the responsible administrator/supervisor and are not used in making personnel decisions.