Guidelines for Faculty 5-Year Plan

Faculty Senate Guidelines for Faculty 5-Year Comprehensive Work Plan – to be used in conjunction with the Performance Review of Tenured Faculty and blank form, as follows:

UNC Board of Governors’ policy 400.3.3 titled “Performance Review of Tenured Faculty (Post-Tenure Review” require each faculty member to develop a five-year comprehensive work plan in collaboration with the unit administrator at the beginning of a post-tenure review cycle. This plan may be modified by the faculty member during the five-year period as deemed appropriate based on changes in institutional, departmental, or personal circumstances. Plans should be brief, not to exceed two pages, and be written in terms comparable to how faculty members might describe their career goals on the first day of service or after initial conferral of tenure. When no major changes in institutional, departmental or personal professional directions are expected, there may be little difference between successive five-year plans for a given faculty member.

The plan should describe, in general terms, projected activities in education, scholarship and professional service that are consistent with the duties associated with the faculty member’s position and the expectations of their respective discipline. A five-year comprehensive work plan is not intended to set specific targets in teaching, scholarship/creative activity, and service. It should not set benchmarks that in any way restrict a faculty member’s desire or ability to pursue new intellectual, creative or professional directions; such academic freedom is the foundation of the tenure system. The five-year comprehensive work plan is distinct from the individual success plan for faculty members who do not meet expectations in the performance review of tenured faculty.

Notes:

Do include statements of expectations that specify unit or university actions/requirements that are necessary to accomplish the goals of the five-year comprehensive work plan.
Do not include accomplishment reporting. The plan is an overview of projected goals and expected activity in the next five-year period.
Do not use language that states or implies specific dates for achieving goals; for example, statements like “this year I will …” or “by year three I expect to…” should be avoided.

Sample statements: What follows is representative language for five-year comprehensive work plans; appropriate content will vary across programs and disciplines.
____ % Teaching. Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in my field of expertise, including at least one course that fulfills a General Education requirement. Advise undergraduates and serve on graduate student thesis/dissertation committees.

____ % Research/Creative Activity. Carry out research in my discipline. Seek research funding and publish results in disciplinary refereed journals, keeping research output in line with expectations in my field and with teaching and service activities (As appropriate, specify other forms of scholarly or creative products using the most general descriptions reasonable for the given code unit).

____ % Service to the Profession and University. Be an active member of a professional society in my discipline, serving on committees and seeking leadership roles as an officer, committee chair or conference organizer. Serve on departmental, college and university committees, keeping both university and professional service in balance with expected teaching and research productivity.

____ % Other (as specified in the unit code). For example, clinical service directorships may fall under this category. Use the most general descriptions reasonable, ensuring that the statement plan is consistent with the unit code and/or explicit contractual obligations.

Forms:

Faculty Senate Resolution #24-37

Approved by the Faculty Senate: March 26, 2024

Approved by the Chancellor: September 30, 2024