Frontiers in Education· 2026Q1
Peer review contributions as a measure of academic distinction requirements of faculty promotion committees: rapid review of top-ranking universities
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- 2026year
Short summary
Only 36% of top-50 ranked universities explicitly include peer review contributions in faculty promotion criteria, with 93% of those focusing solely on manuscript reviewing or editorial roles.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Only 15 out of 42 (36%) top-ranked universities explicitly mention peer review in faculty promotion criteria.
- Of the universities that include peer review, 14 (93%) focus on manuscript reviewing or editorial board participation.
- Only one university mentioned peer review in the context of education or mentoring.
- The study reviewed promotion guidelines from the top 50 universities by QS World University Rankings 2025.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Introduction Journal peer review expertise is a cornerstone of academic practice. However, research publication productivity often overshadows prepublication peer review as a marker of academic distinction. The objective of this review is to examine the status of peer review contributions as a criterion of academic performance within faculty promotion committees at leading universities. Methods We reviewed handbooks, guidelines, and procedures related to faculty promotion and tenure on the official websites of the top 50 universities ranked by the QS World University Rankings 2025. Peer review, as a requirement of academic promotion, was identified and reported if it fell within the scope of, a) peer review reporting or authoring, b) peer review education or mentoring, or c) peer review training or learning. The primary assessment criteria governing academic promotion were reported. Results Eight universities were excluded due to unavailable or inaccessible information on their websites, and 42 were included in the final analysis. Only 15 (36%) of the included top-ranking universities explicitly mentioned peer review as a criterion for assessing academic distinction. Of the 15 universities, 14 (93%) mentioned peer review in the context of peer review reporting or authoring such as peer reviewing of scientific manuscripts, sitting on editorial boards of major journals, and participation on peer review grant panels. Only 1 (2%) university mentioned peer review in the context of peer review education or mentoring. Discussion Peer review contributions as a measure of academic distinction requirements of faculty promotion committees in top ranking universities are underrepresented and underrated. Faculty promotion committees are urged to reconsider the relative weight of peer review contributions in the promotion review process.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Education, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Statistics, Probability and UncertaintyDecision Sciences