The Office of the Provost lists Faculty-relevant COVID-19 information here.

Temporary Voluntary Reduction (TVR) of FTE: Faculty can receive a one-course reduction during Spring 2021 by temporarily reducing their FTE from 1.0 to 0.93 for the academic year. The best consideration deadline is Oct 30th, and the information on requesting the FTE reduction is here. Faculty considering the TVR should consult hrbenefits@unm.edu to ask questions about the impact of the FTE reduction on benefits. Additional information about this opportunity can be found here.

Provost Holloway has consistently stated that milestone evaluations (mid-probationary, promotion & tenure, promotion to professor) are based on faculty records of research, teaching,and service and are not impacted by budget constraints.

Faculty can choose to include sections on the impact of COVID-19 in research, teaching, and service statements as part of milestone evaluation dossiers (mid-probationary review, P&T, promotion to professor), as well as in annual review information.

The  automatic tenure-extension applies to all assistant professors, including those starting this year. The policy and an FAQ document can be found on the OFAS home page as well as in the Provost’s COVID-related information for faculty. A key element of this policy is that faculty don’t have to decide about the extension until the Spring before they are scheduled to come up for tenure.

Student evaluations of teaching for courses taught during Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 can’t be used in annual or milestone reviews of faculty unless the faculty member being reviewed chooses to include them. Additional information is in the MOUs with UA-UNM and on the Provost’s COVID-19 Page.

Provost James Holloway and Senior Vice Provost Barbara Rodriguez had a Town Hall in May with assistant professors who are scheduled for a milestone review in the next two years. They answered a range of questions including about the tenure extension policy, on-going support for current faculty, considerations in promotion & tenure decisions, and planning for the fall. Read an edited transcript here.

The Provost had an October session with faculty who were recently promoted to Associate Professor. Watch that meeting here.

Some ideas require multiple discussions and consultation with faculty and staff, in addition to negotiations with UA-UNM. On-going discussions with Deans and Chairs:

– The Provost meets with Deans every other week. There was a Deans’ Council discussion on the ADVANCE Faculty Experiences report, including encouragement to do “less with less” re service, committee work, and curricular changes. Discussions on COVID-19 impacts and ideas in support of faculty, staff, and students are usually on the agenda.

– Deans and some Chairs have been reminded that they can balance faculty workload across multiple fiscal years. 

– Some Deans have followed up on Deans’ Council meetings by discussing options for doing “less with less” in meetings with Chairs and Directors, some of whom are having conversations in departments and programs.

– Department Chairs and Directors met with Provost James Holloway, Senior Vice Provost Barbara Rodriguez, and Associate Provost for Faculty Success Bill Stanley to discuss aspects of P&T. Provost Holloway started and ended the meeting with reminders that COVID-19 will be impacting us for years and that it needs to be taken into account in faculty reviews (annual or milestone). He also said that Chairs should expect less from faculty and from themselves while we are dealing with COVID-19.

– AP Bill Stanley met with Department Chairs and Directors to discuss peer evaluation of teaching during COVID-19. This is a current topic of discussion between the academic leadership and UA-UNM.

Annual and Milestone Reviews (starting next year for P&T and continuing for the indefinite future):

– Template for letters to external reviewers are being developed, reminding reviewers that the evaluation period includes COVID-19.

– Deans and Chairs have been reminded that the impacts of COVID-19 will have to be taken into account in annual and milestone reviews. Discussions so far are preliminary. The reminder that things are not normal and the impact will be felt for years is an important start.