Career Equity Review

A CER may be initiated by any Ladder Rank faculty or Professor of Teaching who is a member of the Academic Senate.

The criteria used in the CER shall encompass the areas of research, teaching, professional activity, and service in accordance with the standards appropriate to the candidate’s field, specialization, and cohort.

The CER may only be requested twice in a faculty member’s career at UCI and once at each of the following times:

• At the Assistant Rank
• At the Associate Rank
• At Professor Step I- V
• At Professor Step VI or above

A candidate must request a CER in conjunction with a normal review action (merit, promotion, advancement, etc.). Accelerated review files will not be considered a normal review action.

When a candidate requests a CER with the normal review action, a file addressing both the current review period for the normal review action and the CER file should be compiled. Reviewers at all levels will always evaluate and make a recommendation for the normal review action first. After making a recommendation on the normal review action, reviewers will then evaluate the CER file to determine if a recalibration of rank and/or step is warranted.

A CER should not be undertaken immediately after a negative decision on a promotion case, as any equity recalibration should have been recommended by another level of review in the promotion file.

Any faculty member who thinks they may not be at the appropriate rank and/or step may request a CER. The written request shall include a statement that identifies how and why the candidate’s current rank and/or step may be undervalued and what rank and/or step the candidate believes to be appropriate.

A Career Equity Review may be initiated by a candidate in one of two ways:

1. By a written request to their department using the UCI-AP-52.
2. By a written request to the Dean using the UCI-AP-52. The Dean will designate a confidential ad hoc committee to oversee the assembly of materials for a CER to provide an analysis and recommendation.
   1. The ad hoc committee will include members of the School and, at the Dean’s discretion, may contain members of the Department and/or representatives from outside the School or from other UC campuses. The committee may solicit extramural letters, if judged appropriate or necessary, considering candidate and independent recommendations for referees.
   2. The ad hoc committee will deliver an in-depth analysis comparable to a Department letter.
   3. If the ad hoc committee’s recommendation is supportive of the CER, with the candidate’s consent, the Dean will transmit the file along with a redacted copy of the committee’s analysis to the Department for consideration, recommendation and vote in conjunction with their normal review action.
   4. If the ad hoc committee’s recommendation is not supportive of the CER, the Dean will notify the individual of the recommendation and provide a redacted copy of the ad hoc committee’s analysis. The candidate will then have ten calendar days to decide whether to continue with the CER portion of their review.
3. At any point during the CER review, the faculty member has the option of withdrawing their request for a CER.  If the faculty member withdraws their CER request, it will not be included in the candidate’s personnel file, it will not count toward the overall CER request limits, nor will it be considered in any subsequent review.

A CER may also be recommended by any level of review (Chair, Dean, Council on Academic Personnel (CAP)) in the course of a regular personnel review. In this case, the candidate will be notified of the recommendation and provided the opportunity to request a CER, using one of the procedures outlined above.

Normal personnel review procedures will be followed in the CER. Use the UCI Career Review Checklist, UCI-AP-52A, to assemble the CER file. Once the dossier, including the normal review action and the CER is completed and submitted, it will move to higher levels of review. Both actions will be reviewed by CAP. Vice Provost of Academic Personnel has final authority on the CER action.

A positive outcome to a CER may be an increase in rank and/or step.  When the CER results in increase in rank and/or step, an appropriate salary adjustment will also be made.  The effective date of any increase will be July 1 following the review.  Increases will not be awarded retroactively.

Another possible outcome to a CER may be confirmation that the candidate has been appropriately placed at rank and/or step. This CER outcome will in no way affect current or future actions proposed during the regular academic personnel review process.

There will not be a tentative decision and chance to respond in a CER if there are differing recommendations from the Chair, Dean, CAP, or the Vice Provost. Reviewers may request additional information if they feel the file is unclear or incomplete.

The CER must be submitted in conjunction with a normal review action, therefore, the school should prepare the review file according to the normal process and procedures using the appropriate checklists (UCI-AP-34 or UCI-AP-35). Please use the CER Checklist, UCI-AP-52A, to assemble the CER file.

Accompanied by the normal review action dossier, the CER file would include:

• Signed Academic Personnel Action Summary Form (UCI-AP-22)
• Dean’s statement
• Department chair’s statement (or acknowledgement of review), if provided
• Department evaluation and vote on the CER. The department letter should assess the overall record and make a recommendation
• UCI Career Equity Review Authorization Form (UCI-AP-52)
  • Self-Statement. Clearly explain the justification for the CER,
    • ie. For example, if the cause is initial hiring at a low step, there must be evidence showing that similar hires at the same time were hired at a higher step, or other evidence showing that a higher step was warranted. If the action is requested due to delayed impact of scholarship, there must be an explanation of the scholarship, and clear evidence of impact that was not considered in previous actions.
  • Evidence of support (optional). This may include documentation such as teaching evaluations, relevant publications from earlier review periods, or any other documentation to support the CER. Faculty should focus on academic contributions to support the justifying reason for the rank and step, rather than peer salaries.    
• Curriculum Vitae
• Signed Certification Statement (UCI-AP-50)

The CER process is intended to be an objective “second look” at a candidate’s record, if requested by the individual. Care should be taken to respect the confidentiality of the candidate’s concerns throughout the CER. In addition, candidates should refrain from making specific personal comparisons with respect to the performance and salaries of their colleagues.