Department and Program Chairs: Calendar/Tasks 2023–2024

In progress.  Dates may change.  Please consult this page often.

*Tasks without specific deadlines may vary by department.
Chairs should check with their ADCs about department-specific calendars.
Double-checking with the registrar about deadlines is also prudent.

Also consult: The Provost's Deadline Page; Academic Calendars; Frequently Requested Forms, Registrar’s Office; Thesis Guidelines;

August

  • Reassign major advisees of colleagues who will be on leave, if you haven’t done this already.  Notify the registrar of these reassignments.
  • Meet with new tenure-line faculty/visitors and orient them to the department.
  • Plan for first department meeting—include on the agenda the introduction of new faculty members.
  • Remind faculty that they should be checking advisee transcripts to make sure students are on track before the end of add/drop and pre-registration for spring classes.
  • If your department has a tenure case, send follow-up emails to outside reviewers.  Read all materials and letters in preparation for first departmental conversations in late-August or early-September.
  • The departmental emergency preparedness liaison sends the updated emergency communication and telephone list to ehs@amherst.edu.

August 29

  • Department and program chairs' workshop at Mount Holyoke College, led by Professor Kevin Dettmar of Pomona College, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

September

By September 1   

  • If conducting a search for a tenure-line faculty member, departments/search committees submit a report outlining their efforts to build a diverse applicant pool.  This report is provided to the provost and the chief equity and inclusion officer, who will follow up, as needed.

September 5

  • First day of fall classes; first day of add/drop; first day of Five Colleges Interchange registration.

September 8

  • Workday Orientation Session for Chairs, Associate Chairs, and ADCs, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., Zoom

September 11

September 14

  • End of add/drop; last day of Five Colleges Interchange registration.
  • Deadline for departments and/or candidates to communicate to the provost that a promotion case to full professor will be brought forward.

September 29

  • Department and program chairs’ meeting, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m., Science Center E108

Late September

  • Work with tenured departmental colleagues to develop a schedule for the observation of classes taught by the department's tenure-track faculty.
  • If conducting a search for a tenure-line faculty member, departments/search committees attend a workshop led by the chief equity and inclusion officer and faculty equity and inclusion officers.  Topics include interview practices and unconscious bias (see more online).  You need to attend one workshop only. An invitation to this workshop will be sent to departments/search committees.

October

  • If your department has a reappointment case, request retrospective letters from former students.  Retrospective letters will need to be solicited again from students who are enrolled in courses in the fall.  These letters from students who are taking a course in the fall cannot be solicited until the courses have concluded and grades have been posted.
  • Chair meets with juniors to discuss the department’s thesis program.

October–December     

  • If conducting a search for tenure-line faculty member, search committees share their long and short lists of candidates and list of finalists with the chief equity and inclusion officer.  The officer will review the lists to ensure that they reflect the diversity of the broader applicant pool.

October–March           

October 2                  

  • Tenure dossiers are due to the provost’s office by 12:00 P.M.

October 9-10

  • Mid-semester break

October 11

  • Monday schedule observed on Wednesday. Thu-Fri schedule will remain as is.

Mid-October               

  • Provost’s office sends leave projection report and departmental staffing forms (requests for visitors and single course faculty) to chairs and ADCs. Requests are due November 1.
  • Faculty that are eligible for a sabbatical leave in the next academic year will receive an email from the provost’s office. Requests are due November 1.
  • Capital budget information is distributed (requests are due to the provost's office in November).  Most departments will not have capital budget requests. (Timeline based on past years. This may change.) Questions can be directed to Steven Hegarty or Anthony Bishop in the provost’s office.

October 23–27

  • Advising week

Late-October/Early November

  • Information about staff FTE requests is distributed (requests due to the provost's office in mid-December). The first step in this process is to check with the provost before moving forward with a search for new or replacement positions, including casuals, in your department.  Following approval by the provost, chairs may proceed with the next part of the process, consideration by the Personnel Change Review Committee (PCRC), which involves filling out a job description form and a personnel changes review form.  Steven Hegarty in the provost’s office is available to walk chairs through the process of filling out these PCRC forms, available at the bottom of the Personnel Changes Review Process web page. Questions can be directed to Steven Hegarty or Anthony Bishop in the provost’s office. (Timeline based on past years. This may change.)

November

November 1               

October 30–November 3

  • Pre-registration week 1 for spring 

November 6–9

  • Roster management week

November 13–17

  • Pre-registration week 2 for spring 

November 20–November 24

  • Thanksgiving break

November 27

  • Capital budget requests are due to the provost's office. Questions can be directed to Steven Hegarty or Anthony Bishop in the provost’s office. (Timeline based on past years. This may change.)

Late-November 

  • Steven Hegarty will send departmental budget worksheets to departments.  Chairs review the budget and request allocations (due in early-January). Questions can be directed to Steven Hegarty or Anthony Bishop in the provost’s office. (Timeline based on past years. This may change.)

December

  • If the department is conducting a search for a visiting faculty member, the department/search committee attends a workshop led by the chief equity and inclusion officer; topics include creating the position ad and building the candidate pool.  An invitation to this workshop will be sent to departments/search committees.
  • If the department has a reappointment case, request retrospective letters from fall semester students after grades are posted.
  • Schedule meetings with tenured members to discuss reappointment cases.  If there are no discussions in December or January, the department will have a tight window in which to get the case ready, especially if it becomes necessary to have several meetings and several drafts of the recommendation.
  • Reassign advising for those on leave in the spring.      
  • The provost will approve visitor requests and inform departments.                                                                

December 1

  • Due date for candidates for reappointment to submit letters on their own behalf to their department.
  • Organize a holiday gift for your ADC.
  • FTE requests are due to the Committee on Educational Policy (CEP)

December 8

  • Department and program chairs meeting, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m., CHI Think Tank

December 13

  • Last day of classes 

December 15

  • Promotion recommendations and materials due to the Office of the Provost by 12:00 p.m.

December 14–15 

  • Reading/study period

December 16–December 21

  • Final exam week

Mid-December

  • Requests for staff FTEs are due to the provost's office. Questions can be directed to Steven Hegarty or Anthony Bishop in the provost’s office. (Timeline based on past years. This may change.)

Late-December

  • If your department has a reappointment case, follow up with a second request for retrospective letters from former students. Retrospective letters will need to be solicited again so that commentary is included about fall courses.  These letters cannot be solicited until the fall courses have concluded and grades have been posted. 

January

January 2                    

  • Final fall grades due to the registrar

Early January                

  • Departmental budget materials are due to the Office of the Provost (Deadline TBA). Questions can be directed to Steven Hegarty or Anthony Bishop in the provost’s office. (Timeline based on past years. This may change.)

January 29

  • First day of spring classes; first day of add/drop; first day of Five Colleges Interchange registration.

February

  • Work with tenured departmental colleagues to develop a schedule for the observation of classes taught by the department's tenure-track faculty
  • If not done earlier, meet with junior students to discuss the thesis process.

February–April            

  • If conducting a search for a visiting faculty member, departments/search committees conduct Zoom and on-campus interviews.  Academic department coordinators make interview appointments with an associate provost; contact Polly Devereux. Academic department coordinators make appointments for exit interviews with a faculty equity and inclusion officer; contact Jenny Citarelli.
  • Departments/search committees make a hiring recommendation to the associate provost who interviewed candidates and work with that associate provost on the hiring process.

February 2

  • Reappointment recommendations for tenure-track faculty by 12:00 p.m.

February 7

  • End of add/drop; last day of Five Colleges interchange registration

February 9

  • Department and program chairs meeting, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m., CHI Think Tank
  • Proposals for new courses for the next academic year are due to the Committee on Educational Policy.

March 

March 18–22

  • Spring break

By March 29 

  • The provost’s office will contact chairs regarding who will serve as chair during the next academic year.

Late-March/Early April

April           

April 1–5

  • Advising week

April 5

  • Department and program chairs meeting, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m., CHI Think Tank

April 8-12

  • Pre-registration week 1 for fall

April 15-16

  • April break

April 15–18

  • Roster management week

April 22-26

  • Pre-registration week 2 for fall

By the end of April

  • If conducting a search for a tenure-line faculty member, by the end of April, schedule a meeting with the provost and the chief equity and inclusion officer, having appointed a search committee (if this is the department’s practice).  All departmental colleagues participating in the search should attend. Contact Polly Devereux in the provost's office to schedule this meeting.
  • If your department has a tenure candidate, solicit retrospective letters for all courses taught since the time of the candidate's reappointment; retrospective letters for courses taught this spring will need to be solicited once the course has concluded and the grades have been posted.  Also, after receiving a list of potential reviewers from the candidate, compile a list of possible outside reviewers and send letters of solicitation to them.

May   

  • Contact Anthony Bishop in the provost’s office about the assignment of offices for new faculty and visitors.  Normally, single-course hires are not assigned offices. (Timeline based on past years. This may change.)
  • Hold annual conversation with tenure-track colleagues, discussion of reappointment and tenure calendars, “sum and substance” letters. These letters are signed by the chair and the untenured colleague.  Notify the provost’s office that conversations have taken place.

May 7

  • Last day of spring classes               

May 8-9          

  • Reading period

May 10-15

  • Final Exam period

May 20

  • Grades are due at 9:00 a.m. for graduating seniors and seniors eligible to walk in Commencement (Please ask colleagues to honor this deadline).

May 22

  • Non-senior grades due

May 26

  • Commencement

Mid–May/June/July

  • Departments/search committees searching for tenure-line faculty members attend the first of two workshops led by the chief equity and inclusion officer and faculty equity and inclusion officers; topics include creating the position ad and building the candidate pool (see more online).  An invitation to this worksho p will be sent to departments/search committees.       
  • Meet with incoming chair to discuss the transition if a new chair is going to take over for the next academic year.
  • End-of-semester evaluations should be discussed with tenure-track faculty and visitors after the submission of grades.

Late May/June   

  • Hold an annual conversation with tenure-track colleagues and visitors who are continuing and do “sum and substance” letters. These letters are signed by the chair and the untenured colleague and provided to the faculty member and kept in the department's files.  Notify the provost’s office that conversations have taken place.  Also discuss reappointment and tenure calendars.  

June

June–September           

  • If your department has a search for a tenure-line faculty member, draft a position ad and forward it to Janet Tobin for approval.  Work with the Office of Human Resources to post the ad if using Interfolio.
  • Some chairs reassign advisees of colleagues who will be on leave. Others do this later in the summer.

June 30

Department/Program Progress and Planning Report Due (more information)

July

July 1 (subject to change)                   

  • If your department has a tenure case, the tenure candidate’s scholarly work is due to the provost’s office; solicit retrospective letters for classes taught since the time of reappointment.
  • If your department has a tenure case, follow-up with soliciting retrospective letters from former students for all students taught since the time of reappointment.
  • The provost’s office will review the submission of tenure candidates’ scholarship and will inform departments that the materials, along with any cover note(s), are ready to be sent to the outside reviewers.