Two changes have occurred that require moving due dates for Project Board reporting, program review dossiers and academic annual evaluations from Feb. 1 to Dec. 8. This impacts all academic titles managed by UC ANR.

“We have more academics!” said Deanne Meyer, interim associate vice president, programs and strategic initiatives. “The current program review (PR) Dossier count for 2023 is 71. It is anticipated that by 2025 we will have over 100 dossiers for the Peer Review Committee (PRC) to review.”

This increased review load cannot be managed in the current compressed time frame while respecting the various levels of reviews (letters of evaluation, ad hoc committee, PRC and Associate Vice President review), Meyer said. She noted that most campuses begin their review process in fall at the start of the academic year and finalize decisions in late spring. With more academics, more time is needed to maintain the quality of the review process.

Our federal partner, USDA NIFA, has changed federal reporting deadlines. As a result, the Project Board due date for UCCE specialists with campus merit/promotion had to move to early December, which was previously March 1. Now, all Cooperative Extension academics will have the same Project Board reporting due date. This will also give Program Planning and Evaluation more time to analyze Project Board information, draft our federal reports, seek academic then leadership review, finalize and submit.

“We presented this information to the Academic Assembly Council Personnel Committee Chair, and received feedback on how this could impact academics,” Meyer said. “We have decided to move the PR Dossier and Annual Evaluation due dates to Dec. 8, 2023. Making this change now, before we have 30 more dossiers to handle, allows us to work through any unforeseen challenges.”

The change of due dates of PR Dossiers and Annual Evaluations to Dec. 8 allows supervisors to complete evaluations by mid-January and provides greater separation between academic and staff evaluations.

New timeline   

Advancement actions are confirmed by supervisors        July 17-Aug. 7

E-Book available and Project Board-WFA opens              End of August/Early September

Submit packet to supervisor for input                            Nov. 1, or as arranged

Project Board, PR Dossiers and Annual Evaluation and    Dec. 8
Project Board Reporting due                              

Required letters (supervisor, ad hoc, and external)          Jan. 17

PRC committee analysis complete                                  Feb. 22

Summary letters turned in                                            March 11

Issue final AVP decisions                                               May 31

One of the benefits with this modification is that it will allow Human Resources additional time to properly enter the projected increased number of transactions into UC Path for recommended merits and promotions.

There is precedent for earlier reporting due dates and changes in due dates. UC ANR internal program reporting due dates used to be late October/early November for DANRIS-X, the system that preceded Project Board.

Dates will be forthcoming for the Advancement Cycle Timeline, which includes trainings for PR dossiers, Annual Evaluations, Project Board reporting and preparing impact statements.

“We appreciate your understanding of the need to change these due dates,” said Meyer.