| ID | 165511 |
| Title Proper | Promotion Letters |
| Other Title Information | Current Problems and a Reform Proposal |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Weyland, Kurt ; Kurt Weyland |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | External referee letters can, in principle, provide essential inputs for tenure and promotion decisions. But scholars’ reluctance to prepare critical, not to speak of “negative” assessments has led to a skewed self-selection: Potential referees tend to accept the task only if they see a tenure or promotion case as worthy of support. The resulting overabundance of praise has devalued the content of referee reports; they are difficult to interpret and of limited use for distinguishing deserving from undeserving candidates. Maybe a simple reform can mitigate these problems: Departments should pay external referees a generous honorarium, perhaps up to $2,000 at well-endowed research universities. This substantial incentive will induce more scholars to provide these assessments, thus counterbalancing the current self-selection on candidate supportability. Moreover, a large honorarium clearly turns the commissioning department into the contractual “principal” of these assessments, leading referees to prepare more searching, balanced evaluations. The main criterion will be whether a promotion really improves the department’s academic quality and scholarly standing. |
| `In' analytical Note | Political Science and Politics Vol. 52, No.2; Apr 2019: p.332-336 |
| Journal Source | Political Science and Politics 2019-06 52, 2 |
| Key Words | Promotion Letters ; Reform Proposal |