FAIS Data Entry Guidelines for Liberal Arts

FAIS Data Entry Guidelines for Liberal Arts

Click on the URL: or go to the College home page and click on Faculty and Staff/Faculty Activity Insight System/Access the Faculty Activity Insight System.

When you arrive at yourscreen, note the menu in blue on the left-hand side.

Also note that there is a link on this page to the helpdesk ‘Contact our Helpdesk.’ However, we prefer that you contact your departmental staff with questions, or you can contact Nicola Kiver ( – 814 865-7691) or Faye Maring ( – 814 865-7691).

Click on ‘Manage Your Activities.’You will see the following list of screens.Note that the ‘State Mandated Collection System’ link is included here for your convenience. It is a separate online system replacing the formerly used ‘bubble sheets’ for PA state mandated reporting of faculty activities.

This guide is designed to walk you through the screens in a way that will make your use of the system easier.

Three most important rules:

There are NO mandatory fields. If you are not sure whether to enter information,don’t. If you would NOT expect to see a particular piece of information in your Vita, Dossier or FAR, you do not need to enter theinformation in FAIS;
The single exception to the ‘no mandatory field’ rule is that you must enter at least one date (can be just the year, or the year and the month) on each entry. This is so the entry will appear in the correct report/s. The system will not allow you to save an entry without entering at least one date.
Do not enter the same information on more than one screen

You can run a Rapid Report at any time (see button at the bottom right of the screen) to see how your reports look using APA style (the default style). This is a very good best practice early on to avoid multiple data entry errors.

Under ‘Report’, select the report you want.The most commonly used reports are:

Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report (for Annual Reviews)
University Dossier (for Promotion and Tenure dossiers)
Liberal Arts Senior Faculty Review Dossier (for Senior Faculty/Post Tenure reviews - optional)
Vitas such as Vita, Liberal Arts Humanities Vita, Liberal Arts Social Sciences Vita

Select your File Format (MS Word is most commonly used) and click RUN REPORT. Open the generated report and look it over for accuracy. You may need to go back to some of your inputs and edit accordingly. If items need descriptions you can use the comments fields provided on mostscreens.

Select a start date and an end date for your report:
Date range for a Dossier: use the date range that is applicable for your dossier for the service and teaching sections. However, note that ALL of your data in the scholarship/research section will automatically be included since the information in this section of the dossier should encompass your entire career.
Date range for a Faculty Annual Report (FAR): This question should be directed to your department head as it will vary by department. Note that if you are asked to submit a report for the dates April 1 20xx to March 31 20xx, and your department head would like you to include your teaching information for the previous Spring semester, then your teaching information for the previous Spring semester will need to be manually entered into your generated word document. The quickest way to do this is to run a second Rapid Report for the earlier date range and copy and pastethe teaching information from the second report into the first report.

Run a Custom Report at any time to see how your reports look using MLA or Chicago styles (APA is the default citation style used by ‘Rapid Reports’).

For further information, please refer to the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document found on the College’s website under Faculty and Staff/Faculty Activity Insight System.

GUIDE TO THE SCREENS

The data points generally needed for Faculty Annual Reviews (FARS) and/or University Dossiers are described below.

TIPS:

Clicking on the ‘edit’ function (pencil icon) allows you to edit an item.
Clicking on the ‘copy’ function (document icon) allows you to copy an item and modify it for another similar entry.
Clicking on the ‘delete’ checkbox and then the delete button allows you to delete an item.
Clicking on the ‘Search’ button will help you locate individual entries within a screen. Type the key word, phrase, date range, status, publication type, or any other search criteria in the box, click ‘search’ and only the entries with that criteria on that screen will appear.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Personal and Contact Information: check your details. Data from this section appears in the ‘Biographical Data for Promotion/Tenure Review’ form within the University Dossier report. Data from this section also appears on the first page of the Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report.Selected information in this section will eventually pull onto the department’s website. So if you enter a bio it should be less than 30 words, and your teaching and research interests should be similarly brief. You can store a photo here too if you wish.

Administrative Data - Permanent Data: check your details. Your PennState appointment began ten days before the first day of classes in the year you were hired. Where applicable, your tenure or promotion date is July 1 in the year you were tenured or promoted.

Administrative Data - Yearly Data: check your details.Multiple departments should be entered if you have a joint appointment. Data from this section appears in the ‘Biographical Data for Promotion/Tenure Review’ form within the University Dossier report.Data from this section also appears on the first page of the Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report.

Academic, Government, Military and Professional Positions:enter your employment history on this screen. Positions you have held that are NOT at PennState appear in the ‘Biographical Data for Promotion/Tenure Review’ form within the University Dossier report.

Administrative Assignments:this page is only relevant to those doing major administrative service such as Deans, Department Heads, Program Directors, Associate Deans, Associate Directors, Graduate Directors, Undergraduate Directors, Honors Directors, MFA Directors, Directors of Composition, Center Directors, etc. There is a drop down menu. Please select your service commitment and describe accordingly. Data from this section appears on the first page of the Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report.

Honors and Awards: enter your awards and honors for the past five years. Include fellowships andteaching, research, and service awards and honors. Do not enter grants and contracts here – list those under ‘Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research’ in the Scholarship/Research section For an award like the Atherton that you received on a particular date please fill in only the end date. For an honorary post or fellowshipthat, say, lasted a year and had a beginning and ending date, fill in both and starting date and an ending date. Teaching awards will appear in the Teaching section of the University Dossier report, all other awards will appear in the Research section of the University Dossier report.

Education: check your details. Data from this section appears in the ‘Biographical Data for Promotion/Tenure Review’ form within the University Dossier report.

Professional Development: use these fields to enter professional development such as events by others that you attended to increase your expertise. Do not enter scholarly conference presentations, talks that you gave, roundtables at which you presented, etc. here. Those items should be entered under ‘Papers, Presentations, Seminars and Workshops’ in the Scholarship/Research Section.

Licensures and Certifications:not relevant to most Liberal Arts faculty. Data from this section appears in the ‘Biographical Data for Promotion/Tenure Review’ form within the University Dossier report.

Narrative Statement for Annual Review:Enter a 500 word overview of your achievements during the FAR period. This statement appears in the Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report.

Narrative Statement for P&T Review: Enter a1100 word overview of your achievements during the review period. Note that 1100 words equals approximately two pages in 10 point font which matches the P&TCollege guidelines for the maximum length of the narrative statement for a P&T review. This statement appears in the University Dossier report.

Narrative Statement for Post-Tenure Review: There are two statements to enter here, a600 word statement of past accomplishments during the review period and a 1100 word summary of your plans for the next five years in teaching, research and service. These statements appear in the Liberal Arts Senior Faculty Review Dossier report.

TEACHING

Academic Advising:use this page to enterundergraduate students you have supervised (Honors students, B.Phil students and other undergraduate students). Add the names of the students under the relevant heading, note the number of hours spent with them (in total) for each calendar year, and add start and end dates. Do not enter graduate students on this screen. Data from this screen appears in reports under the heading ‘List of Advising Responsibilities.’

Student Mentorship and Supervision:use this page to entergraduate students you have mentored/supervised. Include student name, involvement type, degree and start and end dates. List all graduate and undergraduate independent studies, research projects, and internships you have taught or supervised during the review period. You will find the various designations under the “Involvement Type” drop down menu.

If you have played a significant role (i.e. read and commented on multiple drafts of a piece) in helping graduate students publish who you are not assistingat the level of a graduate committee or in an independent study, select ‘Graduate Student Advisor’ from the Involvement Type menu and use the ‘As appropriate, provide …’ fieldto explain your involvement with that student.

Use the ‘As appropriate, provide …’ fieldto note where the student has been placed and, if an academic job, whether it is on the tenure-track. Update this if the current job is different from the initial appointment. Optionally, you can use the field to describe your role in helping the student create publishable work.

Data from this screen appears in reports under the heading ‘Supervision of Graduate and Undergraduate Dissertations ….’

List of Courses Taught in Resident Instruction: this screenis populated with your courses taught going back to either the year of your arrival at Penn State or if you came to Penn State before 2004, to approximately 2004. The data is uploaded in June and January of each year. Small discrepancies in enrollment data between courses taught data and SRTE data are not a concern. They happen because the data comes from two different university offices and cannot be cross-checked. Check for large discrepancies and cross-listed classes. It is a best practice to enter the other course number for cross-listed courses on this screen. Data from this screen appears in reports under the heading ‘List of Courses Taught in Resident Instruction at PennState ….’

If you click on the edit pencil for each course link, you will find a box where you can optionally upload syllabi and peer reviews for each course. (Note that they can be added either on this screen or on the SRTE screen.) You may, for example, request that copies of peer evaluations that you have received for the courses listed be uploaded to FAIS. The Head’s office can send you pdf copies of your peer reviews. Download them on to your computer. Click on the “Store File” link in the peer review box, browse for the file name of the pdf, and upload to FAIS.

Note that this auxiliary information does not automatically print in your report, but can be stored in your FAIS record and printed separately if required. Use of this feature is optional. A list of the files that are stored in your FAIS record is found on the last page of your Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report.

SRTE and Teaching Evaluation: this screen is populated with your SRTE scores going back to either the year of your arrival at PennState or if you came to PennState before 2004, to approximately 2004. About 48 hours after the grades are finalized in ISIS the data will be uploaded to FAIS from the Schreyer Institute. Small discrepancies in enrollment data between courses taught data and SRTE data are not a concern. They happen because the data comes from two different university offices and cannot be cross-checked. Check for large discrepancies and cross-listed classes.

If you click on the edit pencil for each course, you will find a series of boxes where you can optionally upload supplementary documents for each course such as peer reviews and SRTE comment summaries.The Head’s office can send you pdf copies of your peer reviews. (Note that they can be added either on this screen or on the courses taught screen.) Download them on to your computer. Click on the “Store File” link in the peer review box, browse for the file name of the pdf, and upload to FAIS. You may do the same for “supplementary documentation,” such as course descriptions and syllabi. Word versions of these materials will be fine.SRTE comment summaries are relevant only for those who going up for tenure or promotion. Department heads or staff will create redactions of discursive comments that accompany SRTEs and that document may then be uploaded as a pdf into FAIS.

Narrative for Other Teaching Activities:use extremely sparingly to describe teaching activities both in your regular round of resident instruction classes and beyond in your FAR. Note that this narrative statement will only appear in your Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report. It will not appear in the University Dossier report.

Course Related Instructional Activities: Ignore if not applicable.

SCHOLARSHIP/RESEARCH

Artistic and Professional Performances and Exhibits: rarely relevant but if you do add an item on this screen include as much info as possible because it so rarely comes up.

Biographical Sketch: Ignore if not applicable. Complete if you are preparing an NIH or NSF Biographical Sketch.

Contracts, Grants, Fellowships, and Sponsored Research:VERY IMPORTANT.Enterfunding type, title (this should be the title of your project), sponsoring organization (spell out, unless very common acronym like NSF, NIH, NEH, ACLS), all investigators WITH percentage involvement, total requested and total received, submission date, current status, and award date.

Enter all grants applied for, even if unsuccessful, and keep current status updated as you know it. Applying for funding is in itself important, whether or not grants are successful. However, note that ‘not funded’, ‘purged’, and ‘withdrawn’ grants and contracts do NOT appear in the University Dossier report per the Administrative Guidelines. They WILL appear in the Liberal Arts Faculty Activity Report.

This is NOT the place to list competitive fellowships that result in money that goes directly to you. Put your fellowships under “Honors and Awards” in the “General Information” section.

Offsite/Field Research: Ignore if not applicable.

Publications:VERY IMPORTANT.Include contribution type, current status (normally just list them when they’re under review and when they’re published), title of contribution (this is your book or article title), title of journal, published in (this is where the title of the edited volume would go if the contribution is a book chapter), peer review, authors with percentage involvement, author of book for book reviews, volume number, date published (the easiest thing here is to just put the month and year)

Be as complete as possible with all the information you provide. For those who are Full Professors, load data for the last six years to cover your Senior Faculty Review (if you wish to use FAIS to generate that Dossier). For those who are Associate Professors, load ALL of your publications.(Use the reference manager import tool feature if applicable – see below.) Be sure to indicate whether or not each piece was peer reviewed using the peer review button. Please also designate your ‘role’ and the percentage of your contribution if you are a co-author (per University P&T administrative guidelines).

NEW FEATURE – PUBLICATION IMPORTS:You are able to upload multiple publications at once from reference management tools such as Google Scholar, End Note and Zotero into FAIS by saving them to a BibTeX file and then uploading them to FAIS. Go to the Publications screen and click on ‘Import Items’ and then ‘please see this link’ to review how this is done.