Senate President Appointing Faculty to Peer Review Committeesbest Practices

Cosumnes River College

Academic Senate

2012-2013

Senate President Appointing Faculty to Peer Review CommitteesBest Practices

Revised 3/8/13

It is the interest of the faculty of Cosumnes River College to have a strong and meaningful peer review process. This includes making sure that peer review committees are comprised of the best possible members.

The LRCFT Contract (2011-2014) establishesthat:

8.7.2.2.2The Academic Senate President (or designee), in consultation with the Area Dean or appropriateadministrator and the Department Chair(s), if any,shall select the faculty to serve on the team.

The Cosumnes River College Academic Senate interprets this clause to mean that:The Academic Senate President’s primary role in appointing faculty to peer review committees is to ensure that the interests of the department, as communicated by the Department Chair, are met by the proposed peer review team.The Academic Senate President should rely upon the recommendation of the department chair (who is the elected voice of the department) for Peer Review committees. In the extraordinary cases where a change needs to be made to the proposed committee, the Academic Senate President should be abele to provide compelling reasons for not following the initial recommendations.

The LRCFT Contract (2011-2014) does not establish the role of the Academic Senate President to consult with the faculty member being reviewed or their agents. Faculty who are to be reviewed have the right to exercise one preemptory challenge within three weeks of being notified of the membership of the peer review team. (8.7.2.2.3)

If a faculty member (or their LRCFT representative) has concerns about an upcoming committee (i.e. concerns before the reviewee is notified about the makeup of their committee)—the Academic Senate president should, of course, be notified—especially as the confidentiality clause in the LRCFT contract (8.5.3) almost guarantees that the Academic Senate President will have little knowledge of the issues. This notification should prompt the Academic Senate President to closely question the Department Chair and Dean about why the committee was selected and make a decision as to whether or not the committee should stand as recommended.

If a reviewee has concerns about their committee after they have been notified of the team members, they can utilize their preemptive challenge—they should not lobby the Academic Senate President to change their committee. If the committee needs to have different members, the Academic Senate President should work with the Department Chair and Area Dean to identify the replacement team members—not with the reviewee or their designee.