We believe the rankings reported to the Dean's office make a difference in the merit raises received by faculty members. We perceive differences in the quality of the process across Departments. Our objective is to alert the Dean's Office, the Engineering APT Committee, and the Engineering Faculty Council to some key faculty concerns with respect to these differences. We have tried to define this contribution in a way that we hope will help the final decisions as fair as possible. Further, the opportunity for individual adjustments in these faculty load profiles varies across Departments.
Some Departments use firm, uniform weights.
Others strive for a standard vector of weights, but admit differences in special cases reflecting either long-standing commitments to individuals, or exceptions that serve the interests of the Department. One Department assigns each faculty member to one of a small set of profiles configured to match the preferences of the faculty member and the needs of the Department. One Department Chair makes substantial adjustments in the weight vector on an individual basis across all faculty. The roles of faculty committees and Department Chairs in identifying final merit scores vary across Departments. As noted above, some Departments report two scores, one from a Department committee and one from the Chair.