APBears Guidelines for CEE Faculty

AP Bears is the electronic achievement and review system for ladder rank and adjunct faculty. It replaces the annual call for bio-bibs. Faculty should make annual updates to AP Bears as they would have done on the bio-bib form.

To begin entering achievements in the system, it is recommended that you have the list of Achievement Pages and Categories handy to familiarize yourself with the available options. Please keep in mind the following when entering your data:

  1. Use the latest version of your web browser.  The following are the supported versions: Internet Explorer 7x or later, Firefox 3x and later, Chrome X, Safari 5.1 or later.
  2. You have the option to appoint a proxy to enter achievements on your behalf. At present, the department does not have the resources to offer staff support for this purpose. If you are coming up for review in this next advancement cycle, it is imperative that you meet departmental deadlines outlined in the Chair’s letter to you requesting your advancement materials.
  3. Enter or upload data into the following REQUIRED sections: EducationEmployment, and CV.
  4. Do not list any activity more than once. 
  5. Many of the fields in achievements have a help feature to address common questions.  If you notice the ? symbol next to a data field, click on it to reveal additional information about that field. 
  6. Verify the accuracy of the imported data in the Courses Taught and Graduate Student Mentoring sections. In particular, M.S. and M.Eng student supervision and preliminary examination committee service may not be reflected. Mentorship to students at other Universities is not imported and will also need to be added. You have the ability to edit inaccurate data.
  7. If you served as a co-chair on a graduate student committee, please add the name of your fellow co-chair in the comments field for that student’s record.  
  8. Enter any Teaching Releases for sabbatical or other leaves of absence. For a sabbatical leave, you will be required to upload your sabbatical leave report before saving. 
  9. Better sorting is on the list for improvements to AP Bears.  In many sections, data is currently sorted by the month, rather than the year. If you cannot find a record, try using the Ctrl  F button on your keyboard to search using key words.  
  10. Verify the accuracy of the imported data in the Grants section. If you had previously entered grant data, please check to see that there are no duplicate entries.
  11. Please do not upload a bibliography to the Publications List section. The department will upload a list generated from CEE’s publication database. Faculty can update their master bibliography by sending an email to Leori with PDF copies of new publications.
  12. AP Bears allows faculty to upload a Diversity statement, which provides context and evidence of impact or effectiveness towards a fuller understanding of contributions that promote diversity and equal opportunity. Diversity statements are optional and will not adversely affect your advancement if you choose not to engage in the opportunity. More information about diversity statements can be on the Achievement Section Overview page of the AP Bears site.

Coming up for Review?  Please also keep in mind the following additional information:

  1. File Preparers in the department will generate an AP Bears case capturing your achievements in the Review Summary on or after July 1. A Review Summary will include your achievements during the “review period.” In most cases, your review period begins July 1 of the year prior to the effective date of your last advancement. For example, if your last advancement was effective July 1, 2009, then achievements since July 1, 2008 would be included in your case. Your letter from the Chair requesting materials for your advancement case will designate your review period. 
  2. File Preparers will review your achievements captured in the Review Summary for accuracy and completeness. You will be asked to make changes to or include any missing essential information.
  3. Before your case is routed through AP Bears, you will be asked to certify that you have been afforded your rights under the Fairness Safeguard as defined by APM 220-80 (page 12 of 25 of APM 220). A step by step guide to the routing of your case can be found on the Candidate Routing Guide page of the AP Bears site.

Helpful Links and Resources