The Dean's review should be independent from those at the department level.  It should analyze the candidate's qualifications relative to the standards established by the school or college.  The Dean's recommendation need not coincide with recomendations made at the departmental level or by the Dean's Advisory Committee.

An important step in the review process is feedback to the candidate prior to submission of the file to the Office of Academic Affairs. This step, which must take place prior to the transmittal of the completed dossier to the Office of Academic Affairs, requires a meeting between the Dean (or Associate Dean, if so designated) and the candidate after the candidate's dossier has been reviewed at the school or college level. This step is intended to insure that all candidates have knowledge of the dossier's contents prior to review at the University level. During this meeting the Dean will provide the candidate with a description of the documents that have been assembled in the dossier and a summary of the recommendations made to date, including that of the dean.  The oral summary should include information presented in the departmental report and the general content of the outside letters.

If the candidate has waived access to the dossier, the Dean shall (1) verify and inform the candidate of the number of referees nominated by the candidate who responded, and (2) inform the candidate of the number of additional referees who were contacted and the number who responded.  Identification of the referees by name shall not occur.  If the candidate has not waived access to the dossier and wishes to examine the contents, the Dean may allow the candidate such an examination.

If requested by the faculty member, the dean shall provide a written version of the oral summary.  This document, typically no more than 1-2 pages in length, should accurately reflect the oral summary, and should not be an item-by-item summary of any report, evaluation or letter contained in the dossier.

Redacted versions of documents or substantive summaries of letters will be provided by the Office of Academic Affairs following a negative decision by the Provost if the faculty member requests such materials in order to prepare a formal appeal of the decision. Redacted copies or substantive summaries of materials in P-T files should not be prepared at the school/college level and given to faculty during or after their meeting with the dean.