Annual Work Plan (AWP) & Annual Performance Review (APR) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What about AWPs for new hires after January 1st? Do we submit an AWP for them?
- Annual Work Plans due by the January 31st deadline, are for active faculty members hired prior to January 1st of that year. For example, 2022 AWPs that are due 1/31/22, are for active faculty hired prior to 1/1/22. The work assignment information contained in the Letter of Offer will be used for that faculty members’ first year only. After that, please submit an AWP for that faculty member on the specified AWP form.
- The AWP Completion Report says we have submitted 16 of our 18 faculty members’ AWPs. My Department Chair wants to know who we are missing. How do I determine that?
- There are a couple of ways to do that.
- Use the Excel list of your department faculty to check off your faculty when their document has been submitted.
- Pull a report in Interfolio. Instructions on how to do this are located on our main AWP webpage labeled “Determining Status of AWP Submissions”. This document walks you through how to run a report and analyze the information to provide you a way to compare your submissions to the list of faculty as of January 1st.
- There are a couple of ways to do that.
- Do we need to submit an annual performance review for faculty hired after July 1st?
- Yes, all faculty employed prior to December 31st need a review. If they’ve been here too short of a time for a complete review, please provide a minimal performance review that states that they are satisfactory at this point, but that enough time has not transpired to provide a full review. Unless there are reasons why the performance shouldn’t be satisfactory, in which case should be noted.
- We have a faculty member who is retiring/resigning. Do we need to submit an AWP (or APR) for that faculty member?
- Yes, if they are working in a particular calendar year (even just partially) they should have an AWP for that year. If a faculty member retires/resigns prior to December 31st, an AWP or APR does not need to be submitted.
- Do Department Chair’s submit an AWP?
- No, Department Chairs do not submit AWPs. Their work is defined in the School of Medicine Bylaws, Appendix 6 and as instructed by the Dean of the School of Medicine.
- No, Department Chairs do not submit AWPs. Their work is defined in the School of Medicine Bylaws, Appendix 6 and as instructed by the Dean of the School of Medicine.
- My faculty member is the Director of Clinical Research. Should this go under the Decanal assignment?
- No, the only leadership roles that should be listed under the Decanal section are Assistant, Associate or Vice Deans. If they hold a Director or other named leadership role in the unit, department or division these should be listed under the annual work plan category in which their work resides. For example, Residency Program Director roles should be listed under the Teaching category and assigned under % teaching assigned to administrative education leadership roles. As such, the Director of Clinical Research should go under the Research section of the work plan.
- How can I check to see if I’ve already submitted an AWP (or APR) for a particular faculty member?
- The easiest way to search this is through the Interfolio RPT case search. Once in Interfolio you can navigate to Cases in the left menu column. You can then go to search cases and type the name of the faculty member. It is best to cancel the “Active cases” automatic filter by clicking on the x next to the “Filtered By” section. The template name you should look for will be “Annual Work Plan Submission”. If you can’t find a case under that faculty name with this template name you haven’t opened the case for that faculty member and will need to create a case to submit the plan.
- What do we do if the faculty member has refused to sign or has not responded to department/chair requests to sign his/her AWP?
- It is in the best interest of the faculty member and the University, that there is agreement on the faculty member’s Annual Work Plan (AWP). If it is the case that the faculty member has refused to sign off on their AWP, the AWP can be submitted, but will require a note on the AWP, documenting this is the case (ex. “provided to faculty on 12/1/2021, refused to sign). This note should be signed and dated. Please note that Dr. Ron Paul can, if requested, mediate a discussion with the Chair and the faculty member, to hopefully help resolve any issue(s) regarding work plan assignments.
- It is in the best interest of the faculty member and the University, that there is agreement on the faculty member’s Annual Work Plan (AWP). If it is the case that the faculty member has refused to sign off on their AWP, the AWP can be submitted, but will require a note on the AWP, documenting this is the case (ex. “provided to faculty on 12/1/2021, refused to sign). This note should be signed and dated. Please note that Dr. Ron Paul can, if requested, mediate a discussion with the Chair and the faculty member, to hopefully help resolve any issue(s) regarding work plan assignments.
- Am I required to use the AWP or APR templates provided by Faculty Affairs?
- Yes, you must use the templates provided by Faculty Affairs for these actions. The creation of templates for submission by departments has prevented Faculty Affairs from returning submissions due to errors, without first editing the template. We will no longer accept department created templates for AWP and APR submissions.
- I’m submitting an Annual Performance Review (APR), so shouldn’t I change the Type in the APR Template from “Other” to “Review?”
- No, please do not change the Type. Leave it as “Other.”
