PAR 2007

2007 INSTRUCTIONS

Due date for PAR submission: September 10, 2007

ePAR Procedures

We are pleased to announce that this year we are making available the ePAR system, which allows you to manage the information required by the PAR. It is divided into four information sections: General, Research, Teaching, and Service. In each section you can enter and modify data specific to that section as well as enter a comment in a free-text box. There is also a section called Reports that allows you to preview your PAR, print and save it to a PDF file, and formally submit it for evaluation by your department. Some information will be already populated for you: course evaluations, grant/contract expenditures, and grant/contract proposals. A web-based feedback form is also available.

We would appreciate to hear from you so that we can make any improvements that may be needed. The data you enter using ePAR is stored in a database that will be used to support other Web-based applications to be developed by the school. We encourage you to enter new information using ePAR as it becomes available during the year. This “enter-as-you-go” process will make it easier for you, will relieve the pressure of having to do your PAR by a certain deadline, and will allow interim school reports to be generated at any time. The ePAR database is stored in a dedicated server with a RAID-5 configuration for increased fault-tolerance. Moreover, it is backed up every day around 2:00am to a shadow server with the
same configuration.

The system implements an approval workflow based on the following concepts. Each department may have PAR evaluators appointed by the department chair. Once a faculty member submits the PAR to the department by using the ePAR system, the PAR becomes visible and available for annotation by the department's evaluators and by the department chair. When a department chair and the department evaluators complete the review of a PAR they can submit it through the ePAR system to the Dean. At this point, the PAR becomes available for review and annotation by the Dean.

The URL for the ePAR system is http://epar.ite.gmu.edu and the system will be enabled for use on August 13, 2007. On that date, you will be receiving an e-mail with your login name and initial password for the account that has already been created for you. Information in the database is protected by a variety of mechanisms provided by the operating system (i.e., Linux), the database management system (i.e., MySQL), and one-way password encryption.
If you need help using the ePAR system, please contact Chris Moore at cmoorea@gmu.edu or at X 32291. If your department would like a demo to your faculty, please contact Associate Dean Danny Menasce to arrange for that.

You may also choose to complete the PAR form using the Access database or the Excel spreadsheet version as in the past. However, we strongly encourage you to use the ePAR system.

For a PDF copy of the complete memo to faculty about this year's PAR, click here.

Please use the following reporting periods for the PAR:

Academic Information
- Summer 2006
- Fall 2006
- Spring 2007
Grant Information
- Fiscal year July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007

Please note that the total research expenditures reported by all faculty on a grant must equal the actual amount expended.

The following supporting data will be supplied to faculty through your department as soon as it becomes available:

Research expenditures
Proposals submitted
Proposals awarded
Doctoral committee membership
Course enrollment information

For general activity report questions, contact your Chair.

ALTERNATIVE FORMS FOR 2007

Excel Spreadsheet

ACCESS Database (zip file)