Materials to be Submitted for Faculty Member Annual Evaluation

Faculty members are to submit:

  1. Impact reports (one for each of the faculty member’s apportionment areas or one that describes impacts that cut across all apportionment areas)
  2. A statement of goals or expected outcomes and a descriptive summary of accomplishments during the reporting year (2 pages maximum)
  3. A statement describing other contributions (optional; 1 page maximum)
  4. Their current CV.
  5. Other materials requested by the unit administrator

Impact reports (Item 1) are to be submitted through the IANR Impacts portal using the provided text boxes. Items 2 and 3 should be combined into one document that will be uploaded to the IANR Impacts portal. This document should not exceed 3 pages and should maintain a minimum 1-inch margin using an 11- or 12-point Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman font.

The unit administrator responsible for the annual review ensures that they and the peer review committee have:

  1. the faculty member’s current position description
  2. descriptions of performance standards, expectations and metrics
  3. the appropriate evaluation form
  4. any other documentation that informs the evaluation

1. Impact Reports

(Respond to the prompts on the IANR Impacts portal)

Briefly describe an achievement, contribution or something you are working on about which you are particularly proud or excited about because of its impact. Impact reports will inform annual evaluation and be elevated to the deans and vice chancellor levels to help tell the story of IANR impact. Write so it can be shared with audiences external to the university. See guidance for writing impact reports. Provide at least one impact report. 

2. Statement of Goals/Expected Outcomes and Descriptive Summary of Accomplishments

(1,000 word/2-page maximum; provided by the faculty member)

The statement must include the following:

  1. Goals/expected outcomes1 for the reporting year. List the goals you were using to guide your professional efforts in the current reporting year.
  2. Accomplishments. Provide a descriptive summary of your accomplishments during the reporting year. The summary should reflect each area of your apportionment and work responsibility and should be tied to your goals. Rather than a comprehensive listing of activities, focus on describing how a small number of key accomplishments advance your program in a way that positions you to take next steps. Emphasize outcomes, products, relevance, and impact over activities.
  3. Goals/expected outcomes for the next year2. Identify a small number of goals (most identify 3-5) that you are working to achieve during the next reporting year that build on your past accomplishments and are next steps toward achievement of your long-term goal(s). You should have at least one goal related to each area of your apportionment.

3. Statement of Other Contributions

(optional; 500 words/1-page maximum; provided by the faculty member)

Including a Statement of Other Contributions is optional. Faculty members make many contributions outside of what is reported in the summary of accomplishments. The Statement of Other Contributions is an opportunity to report on other contributions you would like to bring to the attention of the unit leader. These may include, but are not limited to the following:

  1. Collaboration, the development of teams, and team science.
    IANR values both individual contributions and team science/collaborative effort (see Expectations for Team Science). If you participated in a research, teaching, and/or extension team this past year, you may want to report on this effort. Suggestions for reporting include: a) identify the collaborative effort, b) list your primary (up to 5) collaborators/team members, and c) your role on the team including the contributions that you made that were/are critical to the team’s success.
  2. Advancements in inclusive excellence.
    IANR expects faculty members to be intentional in their efforts to create inclusive environments in which every person and every interaction matters and where everyone can achieve a sense of belonging. In this section, you may want to provide one or more examples of your activities and accomplishments to create a more inclusive learning, research, Extension, and/or engagement/outreach environment. Please identify specific activities or accomplishments and briefly describe the contribution and impact these activities have made (why they are relevant and important).
  3. Mentoring.
    IANR leadership recognizes the important contribution made by faculty mentors to others’ success. If you have been serving as a mentor for one or more faculty members this reporting year, list the names of your faculty mentees. Include when the mentorship relationship began and when it concluded (if relevant) and a description of the mentorship relationship. For example: Morgan Smith. August, 2021 through present. I am mentoring Morgan in her pathway toward promotion. 
  4. Contributions to shared governance.
    As described in their position descriptions, faculty members in IANR are expected to contribute to faculty governance and to the functioning of their academic units, IANR and the university (see Expectations for Service). Describe, in narrative format, the impact of your contributions to faculty governance during the reporting year. List committees in your CV/resume. Do not duplicate these lists here.
  5. Contributions to the profession.
    Faculty members in IANR are expected to make meaningful contributions to their professions through work on committees, task forces, review panels, etc. (see Expectations for Service). Briefly describe the impact of the contributions you have made to your profession and/or the scientific community during the reporting year. List professional society memberships, leadership roles, committee membership, service on review boards, etc. on your CV/resume. Do not duplicate these lists here.
  6. Teaching innovation and course development.
    CASNR encourages teaching excellence, which includes relevant innovations in teaching to meet evolving student and disciplinary needs and expectations. If your efforts have included innovation in teaching and/or course development, you may want to document those advancements as part of your annual self-appraisal of accomplishments.
  7. Student recruitment and success.
    Regardless of apportionment, IANR/CASNR values the contributions that faculty members make to student recruitment and success at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. You may want to document your contributions to the recruitment of students to CASNR and/or UNL programs. 
  8. Other broader impacts.
    With any effort, there is the potential for research, teaching, or Extension to have broader impacts to advance the field, societal outcomes, unit goals, etc. You may want to identify these broader impacts of your work and accomplishments in this section

4. Current CV or Resume

(provided by the faculty member)

A current CV should include a listing of grant activity, publications, creative works, presentations, intellectual property, products/outcomes, and awards. Your administrative unit leader may provide guidance about the format, timeframe and length of the CV. 

5. Other Materials Requested by the Unit Administrator

(provided by the faculty member)

Some units may request additional information from all faculty members within the unit. For example, faculty members with Extension appointments are expected to include their Individual Action Plans. Faculty members are expected to provide these additional documents and/or data. Depending on the unique circumstances for a particular faculty member, a unit leader may ask that person to provide additional information or data that will be used in the evaluation. Faculty members are expected to provide that additional information.

6. Position Description

(supplied by the unit administrator)

All IANR faculty members have a position description that describes their apportionment and the responsibilities and expected outcomes for the position. Because all faculty members must be evaluated according to what they are expected to contribute and accomplish, this document is foundational to faculty evaluation.

7. Performance expectations, standards and metrics

(supplied by the unit administrator)

Each administrative unit documents performance expectations and standards on which faculty outcomes and impacts should be evaluated. These documents make transparent what these expectations and standards are and consequently are foundational to faculty evaluation. 

8. Appropriate Evaluation Rubric

(supplied by the unit administrator)

IANR has a common Annual Faculty Evaluation Form and Rubric and a common Progress Toward Tenure and/or Promotion Form.

9. Other relevant documentation

(supplied by the unit administrator)

Other relevant documentation may include:

  • letters/MOUs that describe temporary adjustments to apportionment or job expectations that deviate from what is identified on the position description.
  • modified duty plans in the case of medical maternity/adoption leave.
  • mentoring map.

1 Those with Extension appointments are expected to produce Individual Action Plans (IAP) in which they are asked to identify expected outcomes rather than goals. For purposes of annual evaluation, expected outcomes and goals are treated as synonyms. The expected outcomes from the previous year’s IAP may be reported on the current year’s annual report.

2 Those with Extension appointments are expected submit their IAPs with the annual evaluation document. Because expected outcomes are reported on these IAPs, goals/expected outcomes for these Extension programs do not need to be duplicated in the two-page summary of accomplishments. Those with Extension appointments may have other goals or expected outcomes that they will want to report in the two-page summary.