Review of the dossier by the elected school or college personnel committee affords the first opportunity for a completely independent  evaluation.  Members of this committee are "secondary reviewers" in the sense that they do not have the expertise to review and evaluate the actual scholarship.  Instead, they focus on the candidate's record, the external reviews and the reports generated at the department level.  The criteria employed are those of the school or college, and aspects of the record, especially in areas such as teaching, are expected to meet standards established by the school or college.

The school or college personnel committee may request additional information from the department, and it may in some cases even request additional outside letters.  The vote of each committee member is recorded and becomes part of the file forwarded to the Office of Academic Affairs.