Process, Timeline, and Expectations

All new full-time clinical faculty appointed to the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto must complete a Continuing Faculty Appointment Review (CFAR) at the end of the three-year probationary period.

CFAR is conducted by the CFAR Committee, which is comprised of 16-20 senior Department of Medicine faculty members appointed by the Department Chair. Each faculty member is reviewed independently by a primary and secondary reviewer. At review, the contributions of the faculty member are evaluated based on their academic position description, initial Academic Planning Document, the quality and quantity of their teaching, and professional behaviour. Further information may be found in the detailed breakdown of the documentation and expectations by academic position description.

Upon successful review the candidate’s appointment status is changed from probationary to continuing. Faculty members that are placed on extended probation are reviewed one to two years later. It is not uncommon for clinician-scientists to require five years from initial appointment to meet the requirements for successful continuing appointment review. If a faculty member is determined to have been unsuccessful at meeting the requirements after a further probationary period, the decision not to renew may be made. This may be appealed as outlined in the Procedures Manual for Clinical Faculty.

Expectations at Continuing Faculty Appointment Review

Timeline

Current Year’s Timeline

Expectations at CFAR

Professionalism

All faculty members are expected to have demonstrated compliance with the University/Faculty of Medicine and CPSO codes of conduct regarding professional behaviour. Further resources regarding professionalism can be found on the dedicated departmental page.

Teaching Effectiveness

All faculty members are expected to have demonstrated teaching effectiveness, in terms of quality and quantity, as appropriate for their academic position description. Information regarding Teaching Expectations can be found on the relevant departmental page.

Scholarship (Creative Professional Activities and Research)

Depending on the academic position description, productivity in terms of creative professional activities (CPA) or research is also expected to have been demonstrated. Expectations regarding scholarship of faculty members at CFAR by academic position description and academic rank at appointment are outlined in the table, below:

Timeline

The CFAR review is completed in two cycles based on the date that the full-time appointment began.

NOTE: Fall reviews will commence in 2025, there is NO October 2024 review.

Identifying Candidates

The Department of Medicine identifies and notifies full-time faculty members who have completed the third year of their probationary period based on the date that the full-time appointment began. A request to delay the review may be made by the faculty member or physician-in-chief (PIC) to the Departmental Chair if the  faculty member has had an extended leave of absence (e.g. extended medical leave, maternity leave).

Candidates are provided dates for information sessions, submission deadlines, and documentation details. The offices of the departmental division directors (DDD) and physicians-in-chief are also notified of all CFAR deadlines. 

CFAR Workshop

A mandatory workshop is held for all candidates, usually in October or November.

Assembling Documents

The standardized documentation required for CFAR is submitted by the candidates through the Sharepoint system. Please submit files in PDF format and follow. These documents are compiled along with a report provided by the departmental division directors and the physicians-in-chief.

Review and Recommendations

The Continuing Faculty Appointment Review is conducted by the Continuing Appointment Faculty Review Committee. A recommendation to the Chair is then formulated based on their opinion as to whether the individual has met the terms and conditions of their appointment to the department. The committee either recommends continuing annual appointment in the department or that the individual be re-reviewed in a further one to two years. For individuals undergoing re-review, a recommendation that the academic appointment not be renewed (i.e. that it be terminated) may also be made. These recommendations are provided to the Chair of Medicine for the Chair’s final decision in a letter summarizing the committee’s deliberations, including the rationale for the committee’s recommendation. This decision is communicated in a formal letter to the Dean for final approval.

Notification

Notification of the results of the review is sent to the candidate, their PIC and DDD.

Appeals Process

Candidates have a right to appeal the decision made. Appeals follow the process outlined in the Procedures Manual for the Policy on Clinical Faculty.

The first stage in the appeal process requires that the clinical faculty member discuss their concerns with the Department Chair in person or by telephone. This must take place within twenty (20) working days of the notification of the decision. A response to the appeal will be returned within ten (10) working days. If it is not resolved at that stage the process continues as outlined in the Policy on Clinical Faculty document.

Post-CFAR

Irrespective of the recommendation, all faculty members are expected to meet in person to review the recommendations with their physician-in-chief, department division director, hospital division head and mentor(s) to implement a further three to five year plan for continued academic and career success.

Current Year’s Timeline