LibGuides: Library Faculty Promotion: FAQs

Start your first day on the job.
Keep records of your activities, accomplishments, etc.
To get a head start on compiling your dossier, organize your records by promotion criteria:
- job performance
- professional development
- research and creative activities
- service to the University, the Law School, and the Law Library
- community service
Make sure your position description is up-to-date each year as part of the performance appraisal process.
Become familiar with the promotion Guidelines.
Get permission from your potential references to list them as references. You may include your Law Library colleagues but remember that the Law Library Director and the members of the Committee can not supply reference letters.
Talk to colleagues who have been promoted recently, and/or colleagues who have served on the Promotion Committee.
Examine dossiers of colleagues. They are held in the Archives - Law School Materials section. They may not be removed from the library.

2. How should I determine whether I am ready to go up for promotion? Whom should I consult for guidance?

The Guidelines give typical lengths of service that candidates for each rank will have completed before applying for promotion:
- Librarian II - 2 years
- Librarian III - 5 years
- Librarian IV - 10 years
Length of service is the number of years from start of your professional career to the promotion application deadline, not necessarily the beginning of your employment at the Law Library. Candidates may be recommended for early promotion if they are especially meritorious.
Discuss your readiness for promotion with your supervisor.
Show your resume to experienced colleague(s) for a candid appraisal.

3. I have several years of professional experience from another institution. How will this be considered in determining eligibility?

Years served elsewhere count the same as years at UGA; years elsewhere were considered when your rank at UGA was first assigned. The Promotion Committee will expect you to include them, and your significant professional activities, when applying for promotion.

4. What types of documentation are required in the promotion process? When are they due?

Consult the current timeline
Names of references are due the first Monday in July. The Promotion Committee will make the request to your references to provide letters.
Dossier and letters of reference are due the Tuesday after Labor Day.

5. What does a dossier include?

See the Procedures - 4. Dossier
Read the FAQs on Dossier & Documentation

6. What information should the letter of application include?

The letter of application should explain why you believe you are qualified for promotion, including:
- a summary of your activities, significant contributions, and other reasons why you should be promoted
Optionally, you may include a statement granting the committee permission to see previous evaluations from your personnel file.
Be aware that the full dossier does not get sent to the Office of Faculty Affairs (See Procedures), You should prepare the letter of application to stand alone in setting out and explaining your important accomplishments.

7. Where can I get my current job description?

They are maintained by the Administrative Associate on L:\Law Library\job descriptions

8. May I include more than my most current performance evaluations in my dossier?

The most recent evaluation is the only one required. Because the committee evaluates your entire professional career, more evaluations may be appropriate. Candidates relatively new to the profession may wish to include all evaluations; those with more years of service may prefer to include selected evaluations, or refer the committee to previous evaluations from the candidate’s personnel file.

9. If I can't find copies of my performance evaluations, where can I get them?

You should get a hard copy of your evaluation every year from your supervisor. Copies are also kept in Administration, contact the Administrative Associate.

10. What kind of supporting documentation should I include in my dossier?

Include material that succinctly documents and explains your work to the people who will review your dossier.
Your dossier may include but is not limited to:
- citations to publications, with links to text where available
- conference programs with abstracts of your presentations
- in-house reports and publications
- photos of exhibitions you have created
- screen shots and links to web pages you have created
- PowerPoint slides from conferences or in-house presentations
- thank-you notes and certificates of participation
- syllabus or handouts from classes taught

11. How much detail should I provide in the dossier about my activities?

Different levels of detail are appropriate for different sections of the dossiers.
You should briefly mention your most important contributions in the letter of application.
Your resume/CV can be concise or lengthier depending on whether you also include a highlights section.
The chronological descriptions should be the most detailed part of the dossier.
The amount of detail in each section will also vary with rank. You may be quite inclusive applying for the move between I and II, but more selective when moving between higher ranks.

12. What type of proof should I include to document my activities?

The purpose of including documentation is to enhance and explain, not to prove; for example, you may wish to include the program from a conference where you presented a paper, but you do not need to include programs from every conference you have simply attended. If in doubt, it does no harm to include something.

13. Should I include copies of in-house reports and publications?

Yes.

14. How should I document web pages and other electronic creations?

Because web pages change frequently, include dated screen shots of your work as well as links.

15. What types of things should NOT be included?

Your dossier represents your professional career.
Include items that represent your growth as a faculty member; consider carefully its impression on the committee before adding anything that may be overly detailed, personal, or negative.

16. If my activities fit under more than one category, should I include them more than once?

No, choose one category where each item fits best.

17. Is there a preferred format for the dossier? Can I use Elements?

No. Whether your choose to submit a paper or electronic dossier, its arrangement should be clear and easy to follow. Include a table of contents.
Your dossier should be organized according to the promotion criteria: job performance, service to the University, Law School, and Law Library, professional activities, research and other creative activities, and community service.
List each activity under only one category. Avoid repetition as much as possible.
All faculty are required to enter their professional activities in UGA Elements as part the annual evaluation process. Elements is not used in the promotion review process but it should be helpful in selecting items to include in your dossier.

18. Can I use work time, supplies, and equipment to compile my dossier?

Yes.

19. Do I get my dossier back? When?

No, your dossier will be added to the Law Library Archives

20. How many names of references should I submit?

Your application requires at least 3 references, but you may submit up to 5.

21. How should I submit my references?

First, contact your references before submitting their names. Make sure they will be available over the summer to write letters.
Provide your references with your resume, an explanation and perhaps link to the Guidelines, and other information as needed.
Provide the chair of the Promotion Committee with current addresses, email and mailing, for your references

22. Does it matter who writes a letter of recommendation for me?

Yes, it does matter. Greatest weight is given to those individuals with whom you have worked closely and can address your professional qualifications.
This may include letters from Law Library colleagues, if not members of the Promotion Committee, with whom you have worked closely.
Letters from UGA faculty or administrators are encouraged.
Letters from those who can attest to your professional contributions either regionally or nationally are also encouraged.
All references must be sufficiently familiar with your work to write a letter sufficient for the committee to make an informed decision. Letters that do not demonstrate an adequate knowledge of your professional activities may not be considered by the committee.

23. How will the committee judge my dossier?

Each dossier is evaluated individually against the promotion criteria.
Promotion is not competitive.
Committee deliberations are confidential.

24. Do I have to be equally strong in service, professional activities, research contributions?

Your dossier should demonstrate consistent job performance, growth in professional activities and responsibilities, and a well-rounded career.
The committee will evaluate the full dossier but an extreme imbalance (for example, great strength in one area; no strength in another) may represent a more difficult decision for the committee, especially at higher levels.

25. Is there any difference in the way criteria are applied at different ranks?

More is expected at each successive rank.
The Guidelines require:
- "involvement" to move from I to II
- "significant contributions" to move from II to III
- "extensive contributions" to move from III to IV
The criteria are not weighed against each other differently for different ranks.

26. Does the committee consider my entire career, or just what I've done since the last promotion?

Your entire career, though the dossier you submit should emphasize your activities since your last promotion.

27. Are publications more important than in-house reports?

Both are important, but may fall in different categories.
Publications are usually listed as contributions to research, while in-house reports may be part of job performance or service to the school or library.

28. How much participation in professional activities is required for each rank? Do I have to be the chair of a committee or present papers to be promoted to the two top ranks?

There are no set rules or goals regarding professional activities; the amount of your participation should be appropriate to the rank you are applying for.
More consideration is given to more active participation; chairing a committee is more impressive than attending a conference, but neither is required for a given rank.

29. Do national organizations count more than local/regional ones?

What counts is what you did for an organization not whether it is national or regional.

30. Is community service worth including. Would it ever be the deciding factor in a promotion decision?

Community service helps to complete a well-rounded dossier, but it is highly unlikely to prove the deciding factor in a promotion decision.

31. How will I know whether I have been promoted?

The Board of Regents usually act on promotions during the first two weeks in April.
You will be notified in writing that your promotion is officially approved.

32. If I am promoted, when does my rank change and raise take effect?

July 1 following the announcement of the promotion.

33. Will my promotion raise take effect if ordinary yearly raises are suspended?

In past years when there has been no merit raise, or when merit raises have been delayed, promotion raises have still taken effect on July 1.

34. What happens if my application is turned down?

The process is confidential; nothing is added to your personnel file, and the Promotion Committee destroys its records at the end of each promotion cycle.
Generally it is best to wait through at least one promotion cycle before applying again. For example, if you were denied promotion in the cycle that began in May 2016, prepare to try again in the cycle beginning in May 2018.
If specific shortcomings are identified in the committee report, try to improve in these areas before applying again.

35. What are my options if I'm turned down for promotion?

You may accept the decision or appeal it.
The appeals procedure is described in the Guidelines