A university-wide annual review of our postdoctoral scholars was initiated for the first time in the summer of 2016. The annual review allows the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs to understand if our professional development programming is in line with the needs of our trainees and if the quality of our training is on par with national competitiveness of job placement. An annual review is a vehicle to allow advisors and trainees communicate their expectations, their benchmarks for productivity, and to plan future goals along a defined timeline.
A call for preparing your annual review will take place through your departmental postdoctoral coordinator or director in July with the paperwork being forwarded to the OPDA in September. There is a basic spreadsheet that will inquire data such as: years in training, number of presentations, number of manuscripts, number of extramural grants submitted or awarded, and final job placement. These data will need to be collected from the departmental coordinator or director for every trainee that has been employed for 1 year or more. The format of your individualized review can be tailored to your research field and training needs. The following template may be useful to adopt or modify as needed.