Revised: April 2, 2018

I. Policy
All tenure-track faculty members, regardless or rank, are formally reviewed during their probationary period at the university. A formal tenure progress review gives input to the Dean regarding retention decisions, and ensures that both the faculty member and the institution are aware of the progress of the faculty member relative to the unit's criteria for awarding tenure. This Third Year Review usually occurs during the faculty member's third year but can occur in the second year if agreed upon by the Dean and the faculty member as a result of the Colleague Evaluation and Annual Performance Review process.

The outcome of a third year review does not guarantee either a positive or negative result in later tenure or promotion decisions.

II. Procedure

1. A discussion of whether the faculty member should undergo Third Year Review during the typical third year or earlier, in the second year, will be a part of the first probationary faculty member's Annual Performance Review with the Dean. This discussion is intended to be instructive for the faculty member, but the decision of when to undergo the Third Year Review will rest with the faculty member.
   
   The Dean must inform the faculty member, in the second semester of the faculty member's second academic year, to submit a tenure progress file to the Dean's office if the decision is to undergo the Third Year Review. This process will occur a year earlier if the decision of the candidate is to undergo the review in the second year of the probationary period.
   
   If the decision from the first Annual Performance Review meeting is that the candidate wishes to undergo the Third Year Review in the second year of the probationary period, then this meeting will serve as the official notification to the faculty member that in the following year a tenure progress file must be submitted to the Dean's office.
2. The faculty member must follow the usual tenure and promotion file format (http://www.sc.edu/provost/facultyinfo.html) and process. The primary exceptions to this process are:
   1. Statements of referees and reviewers outside the unit will not be solicited or used.
   2. The Third Year Review file does not require a summary of student evaluations of teaching.
   3. The Third Year Review file should include all student evaluations.
   4. The Third Year Review file and supporting materials (secondary file) will not be forwarded past the dean.
   5. The Third Year Review file and supporting materials (secondary file) will be due in the dean's office on January 31.
3. The faculty member's Third Year Review file will be reviewed as follows:
   1. The Chair of the Select T&P Committee, or a Select T&P Committee member designated by the chair, will review the Third Year Review files during the first two weeks of February.
   2. The unit T&P Committee will review the Third Year Review files during the last two weeks of February. Consideration of the candidate's Third Year Review file by the unit T&P Committee will take place at a late February or early March meeting. After a discussion of the candidate's Third Year Review file at this meeting, a vote will be taken recommending retention or non-retention of the faculty member. Individual ballots will be used during the deliberations. The ballots will be destroyed after being counted. The vote of the unit T&P Committee is advisory only and is not binding in regard to any decision ultimately made by the Dean.
   3. Any member of the unit T&P Committee may also send a letter of evaluation to the Dean prior to March 7.
   4. The Dean will review the Third Year Review files after the February/early March meeting of the unit T&P.
4. Within two weeks of the unit T&P Committee's February/March meeting, the chair of the Select T&P Committee, or a Select T&P Committee member, designated by the chair, will write a summary of the points of discussion that took place at the T&P Committee meeting, which also indicates whether the retention vote was positive or negative. This summary report will be forwarded to the Dean. The chair's summary report must specifically address the candidate's progress in each of the three areas of the unit's tenure criteria. The chair's summary report is advisory only and is not binding in regard to any decision ultimately made by the Dean.
5. The Dean will then make the final decision after reviewing the Third Year Review file, the letters, the summary report, and the vote on retention indicated by the unit T&P Committee at their meeting. The Dean will write an evaluation, send a copy to the faculty member, and schedule a conference to discuss the results.
6. The faculty member's file must be returned to him/her after the conference with the dean, but a copy of all evaluation reports and letters must be retained in the faculty member's personnel file in the dean's office.

III. Appeal
Neither the Faculty Manual nor the Academic Affairs Policy Bulletin (ACAF 1.05) offers procedures for an appeal of the results of a Third Year Review. In the case of non-retention following a third year review, the third year faculty member may wish to consult the Faculty Manual in the section, "Academic Grievance Procedures." Section I states:

• Grievances concerning non-reappointment are limited to the grounds of denial of academic freedom or denial of procedural due process. Due process applies particularly to required annual faculty evaluation and the observance of the timely notice requirements.
• If these grounds are believed to exist, the faculty member shall have access to the grievance procedures outlined in section II.

The procedures outlined above are in compliance with regulations on Third Year Review established in the University Faculty Manual. Should discrepancies between the preceding procedures and the Faculty Manual be identified, the Faculty Manual will take precedence.