Relative importance of performance criteria in promotion and tenure decisions: Perceptions of pharmacy faculty members

A study was conducted to determine pharmacy faculty members' perceptions of the importance currently placed on various criteria when promotion and tenure decisions are being made and how those perceptions compare with the importance they believe should be placed on the same set of criteria. Data were collected via questionnaires mailed to 300 randomly selected full-time U.S. pharmacy school faculty members. Analysis of data from 197 respondents revealed that the evaluation criteria for which respondents perceived the greatest current importance included: refereed publications; extramural funding; the department chair's evaluation; and invited scholarly presentations. The performance criteria for which there were the largest differences between current and preferred importance included: evaluation of instructional materials; evidence of teaching improvement efforts; peer evaluation within the institution; and self-assessment. These findings have important implications for the process utilized to evaluate pharmacy faculty members when making promotion acid tenure decisions.