4-36 Procedures for Evaluation of Deans and Other Academic Senior Officers

• Effective date of this revision: January 7, 2026
• Contact for more information: Provost's Office

BACKGROUND

These guidelines have been established to outline the evaluation procedures for academic senior officers who report directly to the Provost.

PURPOSE

This document outlines procedures to guide the Provost in the evaluation of their direct reports. There are two processes directed below: (1) Annual Review and (2) Three-Year Recurring 360* Assessment (Assessment).

The first review heavily emphasizes attaining annual goals as elaborated through a yearly meeting with the Provost for input into the university’s performance review system. The Three-Year Recurring 360* Assessment (Assessment) is designed to invite formative feedback from students, staff, faculty, department chairs, colleagues, the Provost, and others as appropriate.

PROCEDURE

1. Annual Review
   • Inputs for academic senior officers who report directly to the Provost: Since this review is of two groups with very different responsibilities, only those inputs that are appropriate to the position need to be included in the annual review. All academic senior officers are expected to complete an annual performance review process with the Provost, which will include a review of goals previously established by the Provost and that are outlined in the unit’s annual report, which may include areas such as personnel management, fund raising, management of fiscal resources, and others.
2. Three-Year Recurring 360* Assessment
   • Many factors affect the effectiveness of academic senior officers. In addition, that effectiveness is perceived differently by various constituent groups. The criteria for the evaluation are based on the university’s Leadership Standards and accountability to those standards. The Assessment provides the opportunity for constructive input from many constituencies to offer feedback on areas of performance. Ultimately, the Provost is responsible for the evaluation of academic senior officers who directly report to them.

Overview of the Process:

In partnership with Human Resources and Professional Development Programs, the academic senior officer will develop and distribute an Assessment every third year of employment at CMU. Following the assessment, the academic senior officer will participate in a one-on-one coaching session with the Manager of Professional Development Programs to understand the results, including areas of strengths, challenges, and development goals.

Output:

• The Provost will host a constructive performance review with the academic senior officer to discuss the feedback collected via the Assessment.
• The Provost will develop a summary of the evaluation to be retained in the Provost’s Office and to be shared with the Associate Vice President for Human Resources for inclusion in the individual’s personnel file. This will complete the performance evaluation of the academic senior officer.

Central Michigan University reserves the right to make exceptions to modify or eliminate this policy and or its content. This document supersedes all previous policies, procedures or guidelines related to this subject