Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/111663
page might take the form shown in Figure 2 at right. During the preparation period, only the site owner and the ATC have access to the site. That said, the site owner can grant access to others, in the same way he or she can enroll students in a course site. A faculty member might do this to get feedback from colleagues on materials in the application. The only other person who knows which professors are developing these sites is the chair of the P&T Committee, although he or she does not have access to the sites. With this knowledge, the chair keeps the process running smoothly. For example, in early August, the P&T chair contacts each department to con���rm the names of those who will need read-only access to the site as part of the evaluation process. This information lets the ATC prepare to open the site for reviewers once the of���cial application date has been reached and applicants have con���rmed that they want to proceed to evaluation. Occasionally, an applicant might decide not to move forward in the current cycle, in which case the site remains entirely under his or her control for possible future use. Applications move into the evaluation stage, or Step 5, within a day of the August 20 completion deadline. At that time, the ATC assigns appropriate status to different users: ��� Each applicant���s access is reduced to read-only������student��� access in Blackboard terminology. ��� The department evaluators are given student access. ��� The department chair, or the chair of the evaluation committee within the department, is given ���instructor��� status, which enables 50 March/April 2013 BizEd Figure 2: Typical application homepage the chair to enter the department���s recommendation letter as well as any late-arriving relevant materials, such as late journal acceptances. ��� Finally, any individuals to whom the applicant had earlier granted access have their access removed. Upon completion of the departmental review, the applicant can review the recommendation letter before the application moves on to the P&T Committee and the administration. This is the last opportunity for withdrawal from the process. This letter contains a detailed discussion of the case, but does not identify external evaluators. Finally, with the assent of the applicant, the process reaches Step 6, when the department chair informs the P&T chair that the application is ready for consideration. The ATC then assigns student access to the members of the P&T Committee, the provost, and the dean of the applicant���s department. From this point on, no one can make any additions or changes to the site. In fact, the site is eventually archived in this form, in case of any long-term need for review, such as in a grievance or legal process. Individual packets containing hard copies of the external letters are delivered by the department to the P&T chair and administrators. Hard copies of books by applicants can be delivered, although PDF versions also have been used. Because of the ef���ciency of the electronic system, we often reach this stage of the process one to two weeks earlier than the September 30 deadline. There is no last-minute ���urry of assistants moving carts or delivering piles of binders to the P&T chair or administration. Faculty Concerns As we developed the electronic system, we were committed to communicating early and often with all faculty and other stakeholders, so they would have frequent opportunities to provide input. Over ten months, members of the P&T Committee met multiple times with members of the Faculty Senate and academic department chairs, and once with the full-time faculty. We also kept the provost, deans,