Interfolio Quick Guide for Committee Managers

This quick guide provides step-by-step instructions for NIU department chairs, department / college personnel committee chairs, and deans reviewing faculty promotion and tenure cases in Interfolio Review, Promotion & Tenure (RPT). It highlights what you need to know to fulfill your role effectively and in alignment with NIU policies.


Your Role as a Committee Manager

As a committee manager (committee chair, department chair / school director, or dean), you are expected to:

  • Access and oversee cases assigned to your unit in Interfolio.
  • Work closely with your college case manager to ensure committee membership and roles are set appropriately in the system.
  • Monitor progress to enure reviews are completed on time.
  • Review the candidate’s submitted materials and external/internal reviews.
  • Provide your evaluative statement and/or recommendation at the appropriate stage.
  • Record or certify committee vote tallies (if serving as a committee chair).
  • Maintain confidentiality at all times.

Case Review Requirements

The minimum required review requirements for individuals with committee manager access within the case review steps are as follows:

Department Personnel Committee Chair

  • Review case materials
  • Submit department personnel committee vote tally form
  • Submit department personnel committee overall recommendation form

Department Chair / School Director

  • Review case materials
  • Submit department chair vote form
  • Complete and upload department chair (Part II) document
  • Upload department-level notification sent to candidate

College Council Chair

  • Review case materials
  • Submit college council vote tally form

Dean

  • Review case materials
  • Submit dean vote form
  • Upload college-level notification sent to candidate
  • Upload dean memo sent to provost

Logging into Interfolio

  1. Go to niu.edu/interfolio.
  2. Click LOG IN TO INTERFOLIO.
  3. Enter your NIU credentials (same you use to login to access your email) and follow the prompts to authenticate.
  4. You will be taken to your Interfolio Dashboard.

Accessing and Managing Cases

  1. From your Dashboard, click the Cases tab.
  2. Locate cases under My Tasks.
  3. Click the candidate's name to open the case.
assigned cases shown under the Cases tab
Assigned cases are listed under the Cases tab. Click the candidate's name to open their case.
  • As a chair or dean, you may see options
    • View the case history and reviewer activity.
    • Advance the case to the next review step.
    • Return the case for revisions if necessary.
    Ensure the vote tally is recorded in the system once deliberations are complete.

Managing Committees (Commitee Chairs Only)

  • Confirm committee membership is accurate.
  • Add or remove members if necessary (in consultation with your college/unit).
  • Assign the committee chair role in Interfolio.
  • Ensure the vote tally is recorded in the system once deliberations are complete. 

Reviewing Case Materials

  • Navigate to the Case Materials tab.
  • Review materials organized by sections (e.g., CV, Teaching, Research, Service).
  • Use the Search bar or Filter to find specific documents.
  • Use Read Case to open within Interfolio.
  • Keep private notes in Private Notes (visible only to you).
each section of the case can be opened by clickign on the accordion panel for that section
View case materials by expanding each corresponding section, or click Read Case button.

Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest

  • Do not discuss case materials outside of official committee or administrative deliberations.
  • If you believe you have a conflict of interest, notify the next-level administrator immediately.
  • If recused, you will not participate in discussions, voting, or decision-making for that case.

Recording Decisions and Advancing Cases

  • Committee Chairs: Record the committee’s vote tally as well as overall recommendation in Interfolio after deliberations.
  • Department Chairs and Deans: Upload your evaluative statement/recommendation, notification to candidate, and submit your vote.
  • Use the Case Details page to review deadlines and workflow progress.
  • Click Send Forward to move the case to the next review step once your role is complete.

Deadlines

  • Deadlines, if entered into the system by the Case Administrator, appear on the Case Details page.
  • Chairs and deans are responsible for ensuring reviews at their level are completed on schedule.

Troubleshooting and Support


Committee Member Frequently Asked Questions

Can I download case materials for viewing offline? New
Yes, case downloads are enabled at NIU. Downloads are permitted for the entire packet, meaning all materials—excluding videos and web links—can be downloaded either as a ZIP file or a PDF. Committee members can also download individual documents or all documents together directly from the document reader. Learn more here: Download Case Materials.

Have more questions?

Email interfolio@niu.edu and a member of our Interfolio at NIU team will be back in touch as soon as possible!

Log In to Interfolio

NOTE: You must log in using your NIU Account ID and password.

Get Help

Interfolio Scholar Services

Call, email, or chat with the Interfolio Scholar Services team with any technical questions. Live support is available Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. CT.

833-844-2118 
interfolio-support@elsevier.com

Interfolio at NIU

Email the Interfolio at NIU team with any questions about the faculty promotion and tenure submission and review process using Interfolio.

interfolio@niu.edu