Reviewing Promotion Dossiers as a Professional Responsibility

Area of Science:

• Academic Medicine
• Faculty Development
• Higher Education Administration

Background:

• External peer review is essential for promotion and tenure decisions in academia.
• Reviewers provide an objective perspective on a candidate's scholarly impact and standing among peers.
• The external reviewer's letter significantly influences the final promotion and/or tenure outcome.

Purpose of the Study:

• To encourage associate and full professors to serve as external reviewers.
• To offer guidance on conducting thorough external reviews of promotion dossiers.
• To provide advice on writing effective evaluative letters for promotion and tenure.

Main Methods:

• The commentary outlines the responsibilities of an external reviewer.
• It details the process of familiarizing oneself with candidate criteria and dossiers.
• It discusses strategies for critical reading and composing evaluative letters.

Main Results:

• Faculty members are called upon to actively participate in the peer review process.
• A structured approach to reviewing dossiers ensures comprehensive evaluation.
• Clear, evidence-based letters support informed promotion and tenure decisions.

Conclusions:

• Engaging as an external reviewer is a vital service to the academic community.
• Properly executed reviews contribute to fair and accurate promotion and tenure assessments.
• Institutions and professional organizations should support faculty in this important role.