ADE Policy

ADE Policy Statements

ADE and ADFL Statement on the Use of Outside Reviewers

More and more, English and foreign language departments seek reviewers from outside the department to evaluate candidates for promotion or tenure, sometimes because of departmental policy but often because of a college or university requirement. Whether or not one approves, this practice has become common enough to create problems for those who are frequently asked for evaluations. Because the work of young scholars, even when published, is not likely to be widely circulated, reviewers must often read hundreds of pages of published and unpublished material before they can complete an evaluation. They are generally asked to perform this service on short notice and without compensation.

When a department wishes, or is required, to obtain outside evaluations for personnel decisions, the Association of Departments of English and the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages make the following recommendations:

1.Institutions should avoid inflexible rules specifying an invariable, and sometimes inordinately large, number of evaluations: in most instances two to four will suffice.
2.Institutions, following the practice of enlightened university presses and publishing houses, should offer reviewers adequate compensation and sufficient time to prepare reviews.

Revised December 1990
Association of Departments of English

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