Review for promotion from Lector to Senior Lector I

Last updated: 10/23/2023

Senior lectors I may be appointed to a term varying from one semester to three years, in each case depending on professional accomplishment, development as a teacher, programmatic needs, and available resources. 

A lector in a multi-year appointment may be considered for promotion to senior lector I; typically, the promotion review occurs in the penultimate year of an appointment (in lieu of a reappointment review). In unusual circumstances, promotion may be considered earlier, if authorized by the FAS Dean’s Office. 

No lector may be reviewed for promotion more than once in any three-academic-year period. 

Given that the rank of lector is limited to a maximum of six years (all terms combined; see section IV.I of the Faculty Handbook), a lector must undergo a successful promotion no later than the fifth year in that rank, provided TRAC identifies sufficient curricular need and available funding for their position. 

A lector reappointment review cannot be converted midstream into a promotion review at the request of the candidate, review committee, or department faculty; rather, consideration for the rank of senior lector I must be approved by the Teaching Resource Advisory Committee (TRAC) at the outset of the review as described below. 

Related Documents

Materials Request Letter - Instructional Promotions (MRL)

Referee Request Email - Instructional Promotions (RRE)

Referee Instructions Letter - Promotion to Senior Lector I (RIL)

Department Faculty Vote Form

Departmental Committee Report - Senior Lector I

Criteria for lector-track ranks

Contact

Jason Zentz, Associate Dean

Process

  • Promotion Review Request
    • ​A lector in a multi-year appointment seeking promotion provides a copy of their current CV to the department or program chair and discusses with the chair their potential candidacy, with reference to the criteria for senior lector I. The candidate is also encouraged to seek advice from the Director of the Center for Language Study. If the chair and other eligible faculty in the department agree to conduct a promotion review, the chair sends the CV and a brief justification to the relevant (senior) associate or assistant dean, who brings the request to TRAC for consideration. 
  • ​TRAC Assessment
    • ​TRAC considers promotion requests in the course of its annual fall assessment of the positions of lector-track faculty. If TRAC identifies sufficient curricular need and available funding for a senior lector I position that has been requested, the relevant (senior) associate or assistant dean informs the department or program of approval to conduct a promotion review. 
  • ​Candidate Notification
  • ​Case Creation
    • ​Chair’s assistant creates case in Interfolio, leaving Type blank, selecting the Lector/Sr. Lector I/Sr. Lector II template, and selecting YES for candidate being involved with the review. 
    • Chair’s assistant sends case forward to notify the candidate, pasting text of the Materials Request Letter previously sent via email in the message section. 
    • Additional information regarding case creation can be found on the Office of Faculty Administrative Services (OFAS) website. 
  • ​Departmental Review Committee Selection
    • ​By Thanksgiving, chair submits a review committee proposal to relevant (senior) associate or assistant dean, with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu. 
    • The review committee must be composed of at least three members, including: 
      • ​At least one ladder faculty member from the department 
      • At least one lector-track faculty member who holds a higher rank than the candidate’s current rank (may come from another department or program if none is available from within the department) 
      • The language program director (LPD) or equivalent (if of a higher rank than the candidate) or relevant course coordinators (if of a higher rank than the candidate) 
      • One committee member designated as the committee chair 
    • ​Remaining members of the committee may include the Director of the Center for Language Study or faculty whose rank renders them eligible to vote on the promotion (see Section IV.F.1 of the Faculty Handbook, regardless of their appointing department or program. 
    • Relevant (senior) associate or assistant dean reviews committee proposal and sends approval to chair and chair’s assistant, with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu.
    • Chair’s assistant adds the approved review committee to the Departmental Review Committee step in the Interfolio case. 
  • ​Referee Selection and Approval
    • ​Department chair consults with the review committee to identify suitable referees. The final dossier must include letters from at least two appropriate faculty either internal or external to Yale, depending on the candidate’s experience. Members of the review committee may not serve as referees.
    • Chair (supported by the chair’s assistant) submits a proposed list of referees to the relevant (senior) associate or assistant dean, with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu. 
    • The relevant dean works with the department chair to approve the referee list and sends an approval email to the department with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu.  
  • ​Referee Letter Solicitation
  • ​Dossier Submission
    • ​Candidate uploads materials to Interfolio as requested in materials request letter. Chair’s assistant reviews for completeness. 
    • Chair’s assistant uploads candidate course evaluations for the eight most recent semesters (excluding summer terms and terms with no evaluations available) in reverse chronological order. Evaluations should be retrieved through the OCE Faculty Dashboard, selecting OCE TAC Report on the top right-hand corner of the page. All course evaluations should be saved as PDF with the naming convention [LastName]_[CourseNumber]_[Semester] [Year]. Contact the Registrar’s Office at evaluate@yale.edu if chair’s assistant does not have access to the dashboard or OCE TAC Report. 
  • ​Dossier Transmission to Referees
    • ​After the candidate’s dossier is complete and ready to share, chair (supported by the chair’s assistant) sends the Referee Instructions Letter to referees who have agreed to write. These letters should be sent through Interfolio, and all materials submitted by the candidate should be attached for the referees to review.
    • Note: Please remember that all referee letters should be held in the strictest confidence. Only those faculty members who are allowed to vote on a candidate’s case have permission to view the letters (see Sections III.K.3 and IV.F.1 of the Faculty Handbook).  
  • ​Departmental Committee Review
    • ​Departmental review committee schedules classroom observations, considers course evaluations and referee letters, reviews candidate dossier, and consults informally with the Director of the Center for Language Study and with faculty leadership within and beyond the department as appropriate. 
    • By the end of March, the review committee votes to determine whether it recommends promotion. Note: The duration of the appointment is not under consideration by the committee; their decision is only based on whether the candidate meets the criteria for senior lector I. 
    • Committee chair prepares Departmental Committee Report and submits it to the department chair with a copy to the chair’s assistant. The chair’s assistant uploads the report to Interfolio under Committee Documents. 
  • ​Departmental Review
    • ​Chair’s assistant sends the case forward in Interfolio to the eligible voting faculty at least one week prior to the scheduled faculty meeting. 
    • Eligible faculty review the case in Interfolio, discuss it with reference to the criteria for senior lector I, and vote via secret ballot. For the case to advance beyond the department, the candidate must receive affirmative votes from a majority of those present and eligible to vote. Absentee ballots may not be accepted, counted, or recorded. 
    • Note: The duration of the appointment is not under consideration by the faculty; their decision is only based on whether the candidate meets the criteria for senior lector I. 
    • The chair’s assistant records the vote using the Department Faculty Vote Form and uploads the form to Interfolio, eliminating the instructional pages and setting the access properties to Administrator Only. 
  • ​TRAC Review
    • ​Chair’s assistant sends the case forward in Interfolio to the FAS Faculty Affairs Review step, keeping the message checkbox checked to trigger a notification when the case is moved forward.  
    • Relevant (senior) associate or assistant dean reviews the case for completeness and forwards it to the full TRAC. 
    • TRAC reviews the case, discusses it with reference to the criteria for senior lector I, and votes via secret ballot.  
  • ​Promotion Processing
    • ​If TRAC approves the recommended promotion, the relevant (senior) associate or assistant dean consults with the department chair regarding length of term and other conditions of the appointment. 
    • FAS Dean’s Office sends a promotion letter to the candidate, with a copy to the department chair, department staff, and OFAS. 
    • As soon as possible after receiving the letter, chair’s assistant submits the required documents to the Office of Faculty Administrative Services (OFAS) at faculty.admin@yale.edu and processes the promotion in Workday. Workday training guides are available.

Contact

Neyza Sanchez

Senior Administrative Assistant

FAS Dean's Office