Overview --> Appointments and Promotions Table of Contents --> Appendices

Appendix 1a is a pdf file containing a table on requirement for promotion files.

Appendix 1b is a pdf file containing a table on requirement for appointment files.

Appendix 2: Procedure for Review of Promotion Files for Technical Staff and Senior Departmental Assistants

There are 3 major groups of positions on the Technical and Senior Department Assistants Ladders:

• GROUP 1
• Senior Research Assistant I and II
• Senior Engineering Assistant I and II
• Senior Information Systems Assistant I and II
• Research Associate I, II and III
• Engineer I and II
• Research Engineer
• Information Systems Associate I, II and III

• GROUP 2
• Research Specialist
• Senior Engineer
• Information Systems Specialist

• GROUP 3
• Senior Research Specialist
• Principal Engineer
• Senior Information Systems Specialist

The procedure for promotion in all three groups begins with the following:

1. The department informs the Executive Assistant to the Director of Research (x2519) of a candidate coming up for promotion so the file can be added to the Technical Staff Evaluation Council (TSEC) agenda.
2. The department makes up eight (8) copies of the folder and sends them to the Director of Research's office for distribution to TSEC members.
3. The file is presented to the TSEC by the supervisor or Department Chair/Center Director or Manager. The Employment Services Manager/EEO Officer attends the TSEC meeting to review the file and proceedings and will advise as necessary and appropriate.
4. Six of the TSEC files are returned to the department for recycling. The Chair of TSEC and the Executive Assistant to the Director of Research each keep one file.
   
5. The Executive Assistant to the Director of Research records and prepares the minutes. These minutes are approved by the Chair of TSEC and a copy is mailed to the Department Chair/Center Director or Manager.
6. Minutes of the TSEC meeting are included in the candidate's file and the Department Chair/Center Director or Manager writes the final memo to complete the file.

GROUP 1

1. The department sends the complete file, along with minutes of TSEC and the final memo from the Department Chair/Center Director or Manager, to Human Resources. The file should include an Authorization for Personnel Action form with the recommended title and salary. Human Resources will review the salary recommendation and add relevant comments to aid in the decision process. Human Resources signs off on the file to show that it has been reviewed for compensation and EEO purposes. The file will then be sent to the Director of Research for review.
2. The Director of Research will review the file. At the discretion of the Director of Research, the file may be circulated to the Department Chairs if further review and comment is considered necessary.

Note: If the Director of Research requests further review and comments from the Department Chairs, the Department Chairs will have 5 working days in which they must email their comments to the Director of Research.

3. The Director of Research makes a decision regarding the promotion and salary recommendation. If the promotion or recommended salary is not approved, the Director of Research will contact the Chair/Center Director or Manager directly. If the promotion and recommended salary are approved, the Director of Research will sign off on the file and return it to Human Resources. Human Resources will notify the department, prepare the necessary letter, and process the promotion. The effective date of the promotion and salary increase will be the day on which the Director of Research makes the decision to promote.

GROUP 2

1. A date for presentation of the file at a formal Staff Council meeting is set. (Since it is sometimes difficult to get on the Staff Council agenda, a date for the meeting should be requested from the Executive Assistant to the Director of Research as soon as possible.)
2. The department makes up twelve (12) clean copies of the folder (which should include the minutes from TSEC and the final memo from the Department Chair/Center Director of Manager).
• One file should be sent to Human Resources prior to the Staff Council meeting. This file should include an Authorization for Personnel Action form with the recommended title and salary. Human Resources will review the salary recommendation and add relevant comments to aid in the decision process. Human Resources signs off on the file to show that it has been reviewed for compensation and EEO purposes. The Employment Services Manager/EEO Officer will bring this file to the Staff Council meeting.
• The department distributes the other eleven (11) files to the members of Staff Council.
3. The file is presented at a formal Staff Council meeting. The Employment Services Manager/EEO Officer attends the Staff Council meeting to review the file and proceedings and will advise as necessary and appropriate. The Employment Services Manager/EEO Officer’s file (along with the Authorization for Personnel Action form) is given to the President and Director. All other files are returned to the department for recycling.
4. The President and Director of the Institution considers the recommendation of the Staff Council and makes a decision regarding the promotion and salary recommendation. If the promotion or recommended salary is not approved, the President and Director will contact the Department Chair/Center Director or Manager directly. If the promotion and recommended salary are approved, the President and Director will sign off on the file and return it to Human Resources. Human Resources will notify the department, prepare the letter, and process the promotion. The effective date of the promotion and salary increase will be the date on which the President and Director makes the decision to promote (generally the day of the Staff Council meeting).

GROUP 3

1. A date for presentation of the file at a formal Staff Council meeting is set. (Since it is sometimes difficult to get on the Staff Council agenda, a date for the meeting should be requested from the Executive Assistant to the Director of Research as soon as possible.)
2. The department makes up twelve (12) clean copies of the folder and distributes them to the members of Staff Council.
3. The file is presented at a formal Staff Council meeting. The Employment Services Manager/EEO Officer attends the Staff Council meeting to review the file and proceedings and will advise as necessary and appropriate. After the presentation, files are returned to the department for recycling.
4. The President and Director of the Institution considers the recommendation of the Staff Council and decides whether or not to proceed with an Ad hoc Review Committee. If the decision is "no,” the President and Director informs the Department Chair/Center Director or Manager and together they discuss it with the candidate.
5. If the President and Director decides that an Ad hoc Review Committee should be established, the department arranges for a committee of four or five scientific and senior technical people, at least one of which must be from outside the Institution. (The department must begin the process with at least 4 reviewers, in case one must drop out at the last minute. The Ad hoc cannot be held with less than 3 members present.) A date that is acceptable to the President and Director and the Director of Research, who attend the Ad hoc meeting, is established.
6. The department sends the official file to Human Resources along with the Authorization for Personnel Action form with the recommended title and salary. Human Resources will review the salary recommendation and add relevant comments to aid in the decision process. Human Resources signs off on the file to show that it has been reviewed for compensation and EEO purposes. The file will then be sent to the President and Director for review. If the recommended salary is not approved, the President and Director will contact the Department Chair/Center Director or Manager directly. If the recommended salary is approved, the President and Director will sign off on the file and will return it to Human Resources. [NOTE: Human Resources will hold the file and will not move forward with the file until a memorandum has been received from the VP of Finance & Administration stating that the promotion has been approved by the Executive Committee.]
7. The President and Director evaluates the comments of the Ad hoc Review Committee and presents his/her recommendation to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. The department prepares eighteen (18) copies of the file (including minutes from the Ad hoc Review Committee) and mails them to the Board Relations Office, for mailing to the Executive Committee members.
8. The Executive Committee makes the final decision regarding the promotion.
9. Once the file is approved, the President and Director notifies the Department Chair/Center Director or Manager. A memo from the VP of Finance & Administration will be sent to Human Resources indicating Executive Committee approval. Once this memo is received by Human Resources, a letter will be prepared and the promotion will be processed. The effective date of the promotion and salary increase will be the date on which the Executive Committee votes on the file.

Appendix 3: Appointment & Promotion File Contents

A. Technical Staff Evaluation Council (TSEC)
     (8 copies required)

Files for TSEC are sent to the Executive Assistant to the Director of Research for distribution to the TSEC members.  They should follow the guidelines for APC files (see below), except that the memo from the Department Chair is not included. The Chair will write the memo after s/he has reviewed the TSEC comments. However, if the Chair is the supervisor of the promotee, then the Chair may write a memo as supervisor. The Chair will also need to write a memo after receipt of TSEC comments.

B. Appointment & Promotions Council (APC)
    (12 copies required)

Appointment or promotion files are distributed by the Department directly to the members of APC.  The following should be included in these files:

1. Curriculum Vitae with list of publications. Employment application, if applicable.
2. Statement of candidate's research interests.
3. Outside and Inside letters of reference.*
4. Memo from the Technical Staff Evaluation Council (TSEC) when appropriate.
5. Department Chair's cover letter and recommendation or Ad-hoc Committee Chair's memo for promotion to Associate Scientist without Tenure.
6. Three to five representative reprints or other forms of documentation, depending on the nature of the candidate's job.*
7. A sample of the Department Chair's (or Search Committee Chair's ) letter requesting recommendations or, in the case of telephone references, the list of questions that were asked of all who were interviewed on the phone.

   The letter and attachment with description of scientific staff at WHOI that are sent to referees for Scientific Staff appointments are standard and other than minor differences such as the one noted in the following sentence, any deviation must be discussed with the EEO Officer.

   The only exception to the standard letters that is acceptable without prior approval is a preface such as "Per our telephone conversation, I am pleased that you have agreed to provide a reference for Dr..... Our standard request follows..."

8. Memo concerning Education contributions from the Dean when appropriate.
9. Memo which provides information on the selection process, in particular, quantitative data and reasons why women or minority candidates were not selected for appointment to the Scientific or Technical Staff. The following information should be included in this memo:
   • A description of the search process including identification of the search committee if applicable, the sequence of events culminating in this recommendation, etc.; a copy of the internal posting and of the external advertisement, a list of publications in which the outside ad appeared and the date(s) it appeared.
   • A description of the applicant pool (coordinated with the Human Resources Office) including the total number of applicants, the number of female applicants and the number of applicants who are members of underrepresented groups (if identifiable).
   • A description of the short list of interviewees including the number of women and members of underrepresented groups.
   • The rationale for the candidate selected. If there were women and members of underrepresented groups on the short list who were not selected, an explanation as to why they were eliminated.

   If the candidate for an Assistant Scientist position has held a Postdoctoral Scholarship position at the Institution or was part of the pool of acceptable Scholarship candidates, s/he may be considered for appointment to the staff without advertising the position. However, a memo from the Academic Programs Office explaining the selection process for that Postdoctoral award must be included. The memo should discuss the number of applicants for that year in total and by department. In addition, the memo must outline the number of women and members of underrepresented groups in the acceptable pool.

   Postdoctoral Investigators who were not previously in the pool of acceptable Postdoctoral Scholarship candidates, will be considered as part of the general pool of applicants if they apply for an advertised Assistant Scientist position.

*For PROMOTION FILES, please see Appendix 1a for details regarding the number of publications, reference letters, etc. for each position.

*For APPOINTMENT FILES, please see Appendix 1b for details regarding the number of publications, reference letters, etc. for each position.

C. Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees (ExComm)
    (17 copies required)

Those appointment and promotion files that go to the Executive Committee are sent to the office of the President and Director for distribution. The following should be included in these files:

1. The entire APC file as outlined above, except limit the number of reprints to two.
2. Memo from the EEO Officer addressing any affirmative action issues.
3. Notes from the Ad Hoc Committee meeting when appropriate.

The final document added to the file before distribution to the Executive Committee is the recommendation of the President and Director regarding the appointment or promotion.