Kansas University deans and department heads could soon know earlier in their term how well they’re performing.

David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, is considering a proposal that would survey faculty and staff in a unit about the leader’s performance. Currently, similar surveys are distributed during the dean or department head’s reappointment process, which occurs every five years.

“It’s a way of giving early feedback,” said Sandra Gautt, the vice provost who helped write the proposal. “The dean would choose to use it, or the provost could sent this out, say, in the third year.”

Gautt said a dean or department head’s review process currently works this way:

After five years of service the administrator is asked to complete an extensive self-study on the leadership ex-perience and the goals for the unit.

At the same time, a committee of five to nine members is appointed to review the dean’s performance. The committee must include at least one student, one staff member, another dean or department head and one representative from outside the unit.

The committee distributes surveys to a variety of constituent groups, including faculty and staff, alumni, advisory boards, students and the administrator’s peers at other institutions.

Ultimately, the deans and department heads are evaluated on 11 categories, including long-range planning, diversity in the unit, interaction with faculty and staff and fund raising.

“In the final report to the provost, the committee isn’t asked to make the decision whether the dean is to be retained or reappointed,” Gautt said. “They, in their report, are asked to say what they see as strengths and what they see as challenges.”

Shulenburger and Chancellor Robert Hemenway make the ultimate decision on whether a dean is reappointed.

This fall, Bob Clark, vice chancellor of the Edwards Campus, and Steve McAllister, dean of the School of Law, each underwent the review process. Decisions on their reappointments are pending, Gautt said.

Bill Fuerst, dean of the School of Business, and Diana Carlin, dean of the Graduate School and international programs, will be reviewed this spring.

Gautt said the proposed survey, which was recommended by a committee including her and two representatives from faculty governance, would be a “climate survey” to allow an administrator to judge how things are going in the area.

But Clark, who recently completed his review process, said he wasn’t sure the additional survey would be necessary. He said he worried that three years would be too short a time for a dean to prove himself or herself. And, he said, faculty and staff who are unhappy at KU generally aren’t hesitant to voice their concerns.

“I haven’t seen a reason to do that,” he said of the surveys. “I think the five-year evaluation is a thorough one. The dean or associate dean ultimately gets evaluated on a daily basis.”