Annual School Review

The AFR reflects the School and University’s commitment to faculty development through first retrospectively identifying work to date and then prospectively creating a development plan. A number of key principles underlie the AFR process:

• Formal efforts to enhance faculty development are important for recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty. Faculty may need mentoring and specific skill development as the academic environment becomes increasingly complex and competitive; the AFR can help identify areas where support would be helpful.
• Periodic review is a critical aspect of faculty development that provides valuable feedback to faculty and administration. Every faculty member wants to know what is expected of them, and all faculty deserve to know how they are performing relative to expectations.
• The department chair plays a central role in both faculty review and development. A formal annual meeting with the chair is a central component of the review process because it provides the opportunity to discuss activities, accomplishments, expectations, and development plans.
• SPHsupports the mandate from President Brown for all schools to conduct annual faculty evaluations and link those evaluations to merit raises, thus the AFR is used to inform decisions regarding annual merit.

The AFR is designed to incorporate the above principles and provide the basis for a productive annual meeting between each faculty member and his or her department chair. The process focuses on faculty activities as summarized on the CV and has three sections:

1. Data required for CEPH accreditation.
2. Looking back. A reflection on the past year as highlighted on an updated CV.
3. Looking ahead. A plan for the year ahead which will serve as the basis for the annual letter.

Though we must still gather data in support of our CEPH accreditation efforts, this approach aims to minimize the reporting burden and includes an annual review of the CV to inform discussions about longer-term goals such as promotion. The collection of data for CEPH accreditation is not a formal component of the AFR; however, these data are collected here for convenience so that data collection from faculty only happens once per year. The annual meeting with the Department Chair will focus on a discussion of Part 2 (Looking back) and Part 3 (Looking ahead).

Schedule for Completing the Form

To avoid duplicating information from last year’s AFR, faculty will be asked to only report activities during the last calendar year, January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017.

The timeline for this process varies for primary, secondary, and adjunct faculty:

• December 15, 2017 – January 15, 2018: primary faculty complete the AFR form
• February – mid-March, 2018: primary faculty have individual meetings with chair
• April, 2018: primary faculty receive annual letters
• April – June, 2018: secondary and adjunct faculty meetings with chair
• July 1, 2018: for primary faculty, new contracts issued as needed and salary increases go into effect; secondary and adjunct faculty receive annual letters

Prior to meeting with each faculty member, the chair will review the form and complete the Overall Assessment Ratings. The chairs will return the completed assessment to the faculty member at least 48 hours before their meeting.

Faculty and department chairs are encouraged to see the AFR as but one tool in a mutual and ongoing effort in faculty development at SPH.  Faculty wishing to learn more about the AFR process or appeal their review may contact Professor McClean, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Advancement, at mmcclean@bu.edu.

A key responsibility of management is to provide written meaningful and substantial feedback for each individual direct report during this process. This engages employees and managers in a discussion around key accomplishments and contributions, opportunities for development and improvement, and goal setting for the upcoming year.

Performance evaluations are due to Krissy Zambouras no later than Friday November 11 for all administrative staff hired on or before September 30, 2016 (excluding those covered by a collective bargaining agreement). Temporary (casual) and student employees are not required to receive a formal evaluation, but we strongly encourage meeting to discuss performance.

We ask that all managers complete the following by the specified due date:

• By Friday November 11, all completed and signed performance evaluations must be emailed to Krissy Zambouras.  Central HR has requested that each evaluation use the following naming convention: LastName.FirstName.PEP2016.pdf

• By Friday November 18, all completed merit sheets must be emailed to Krissy Zambouras and all increase recommendations will be reviewed by the Dean’s Office. Please note: Merit increase sheets containing merit pool for all eligible staff will be emailed to each Department/Center from Tom Dauria on November 7.

• Approved merit increases will be included in employees’ paychecks on January 13, 2017 for nonexempt employees and January 31, 2017 for exempt employees.

We recognize that this process requires a substantial time investment on behalf of managers and staff, and would like to thank you in advance for your support of this important work.  For support and guidance on how to complete the forms, conduct a performance discussion, or for any assistance with employee performance issues, please do not hesitate to reach out to Krissy Zambouras.

Performance Evaluation Form – Exempt Employees

Performance Evaluation Form – Nonexempt Employees

One important component of this Annual School Review is the Annual Leadership Review, a review of the dean, associate deans, department chairs, and center directors. The School is committed to fostering the success of its leaders and enhancing their effectiveness in a constructive way. The Annual Leadership Review aims to support this commitment and ensure we are proactive, responsive to the needs of the field, our faculty, our staff, our students, and our alumni, and that the entire leadership team works to promote excellence in scholarship, education, and service.

For the purposes of this review, leadership includes the following members of the Governing Council:

• Sandro Galea, Dean
• Harold Cox, Associate Dean of Public Health Practice
• Susan Foster, Associate Dean for Administration
• Mike McClean, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Advancement
• Lisa Sullivan, Associate Dean for Education
• Yvette Cozier, Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion
• Josée Dupuis, Chair of Biostatistics
• Rich Saitz, Chair of Community Health Sciences
• Jon Levy, Interim Chair of Environmental Health
• Martha Werler, Chair of Epidemiology
• Pat Hibberd, Chair of Global Health
• Michael Stein, Chair of Health Law, Policy, and Management
• George Annas, Director of the Center for Health Law, Ethics, and Human Rights
• Kara Peterson, Director of Communications
• Jacoba van Heugten, Assistant Dean of Development and Alumni Relations

All faculty and staff are invited to contribute to the review of the school leadership team by providing honest and constructive feedback at https://bostonu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0exSOlnPf5SWHvT. Feedback via open-ended comments is particularly valuable so that the Dean may better appreciate strengths and weaknesses, and also identify opportunities for improvement.

The process of providing such feedback can be sensitive. Anonymous responses will be used judiciously and only shared in the aggregate so that comments may not be traced back to those who submit them. As an alternative to providing anonymous feedback, faculty and staff also have the option of including their name on the Annual Leadership Review form or send feedback directly to Dean Galea at sgalea@bu.edu. His email is personal and confidential.

• Alumni: Jacoba van Heugten, Assistant Dean of Development and Alumni Relations,jjvh@bu.edu
• Current Students: Mary Murphy-Phillips, Director of Graduate Student Life,mcmurph@bu.edu
• Employers: Lisa Toby, Assistant Dean of Career Services,ltoby@bu.edu
• Faculty: Yorghos Tripodis, Chair of the Faculty Senate,yorghos@bu.edu
• Staff: Susan Foster, Associate Dean for Administration,shfoster@bu.edu

In an effort to be transparent about both our successes and areas of improvement, survey results, both quantitative and qualitative, are shared with the appropriate survey coordinator.  Survey coordinators will gladly discuss results with anyone who is interested.

Please contact Vanessa Edouard, Director of Strategic Initiatives, at vbe@bu.edu with any questions about the BUSPH School Survey.