Annual Merit Review

Annual Merit Review & Annual Merit Increase

Description: Faculty activity and progress on the three measures of research, teaching and service is reviewed by the member’s department chair, the vice deans, and the dean.  This review forms the basis for the department chair to provide feedback on performance, and for annual merit increases.  
Process: Each faculty member completes the Faculty Activity Report (FAR) on Interfolio.  Each department chair meets with the dean and all academic vice deans to review each professor's FAR. After review, the department chair provides feedback to faculty member.
Timing: The FAR pulls data from Interfolio early in the spring semester. Chair feedback is provided by late spring. Final increases are approved in summer. A list of the steps is as follows:

  1. By January 27, 2025: All full-time faculty, including those on leave, update the FAR via Interfolio's Faculty Activity Reporting.
  2. By April: Department chairs use the FARs and CVs to complete a Faculty Review Form for each faculty member in their department.  Input is also solicited from program and center directors who supervise faculty outside the department. Department chairs use a five-point scale to rate each faculty member’s performance along each of the three dimensions (research, teaching, and service/leadership), and provide explanation, summary comments, and recommendations.  An overall performance rating is also computed.  This number is a weighted average of the ratings for the three performance dimensions.  The weights (for research, teaching, and service, respectively) are 60-30-10 for untenured (assistant and associate) professors, 50-30-20 for tenured associate professors, and 0-65-35 for clinical faculty. Weights for full professors vary and are agreed upon by each full professor and the department chair. However, the weights must be within the following ranges: 20-50 for research; 30-60 for teaching; and 20-50 for service.
  3. By early May: The dean and academic vice deans meet with the department chairs, one department at a time, to discuss and come to an overall assessment of the performance of every member of the faculty.  The deans and vice deans contribute information based on their knowledge of performance in their areas of responsibility.
  4. By May: Department chairs meet with individual faculty members to discuss their performance and provide feedback and constructive recommendations for future activities.  All faculty members should be given a copy of their Faculty Review Form.
  5. By mid-June: Recommendations for salary increases are submitted to the Dean's Office for review, then submitted to the Provost's Office for approval. Each year, the Provost authorizes a certain percentage increase for the following fiscal year. This is allocated to faculty based on performance.
  6. By September 1: Letters informing faculty of their new fiscal year salary effective September 1 are distributed.

Form/Website: Faculty Activity Report (Interfolio: Faculty 180) (Select Partner Institution and search for NYU. Log in with NYU credentials.)