IU trustees finalize new faculty review, productivity rules

Indiana University trustees came to their South Bend campus Friday for their monthly meeting, where they approved the final criteria for how faculty will be judged in annual reviews. If they fail to meet those criteria, even tenured professors can be fired.

Under an Indiana law passed this spring, professors must undergo an annual performance review. The state recently added productivity requirements for faculty at public universities, based on their number of students and workload.

The board voted unanimously to approve BOT-24, the university's policy for how to handle those reviews. Faculty who don't meet the new standards are put on a performance improvement plan before being fired.

The General Assembly passed the changes as a last-minute addition to the budget in April.

"These changes are not only required by Indiana law but they also are going to help the university recognize and reward our truly effective and productive faculty," said board Vice-Chair Marilee Springer.

But critics say the changes erode longstanding tenure protections that let researchers work on long-term projects that sustain scientific discovery.