Fall Performance Check-Ins & UMD Annual Review Process

Ongoing Check-in Stage 

The Ongoing Check-in stage is the initial stage in the PAT process. This stage kicks off by prompting employees and supervisors to set goals in PAT. During this stage, employees and supervisors can keep their own notes from ongoing check-in conversations, which will ultimately make it easier to write the performance review at the end of the calendar year. There are 3 quick guides that can be helpful for supervisors while conducting the ongoing check-in meetings with their employees. 

• Quick Guide to Ongoing Check-Ins 
• Quick Guide to Feedback 
• Quick Guide to Coaching 

The only stage that should be kicked off so far is the Ongoing Check-in  stage. We are not at the point where the Employee Input stage should be initiated yet. That will be initiated in late-December or early-January with the performance review kick-off, with the exception of employees you know will be going on leave and be out through the normal performance review input and evaluation due dates as identified above. 

The annual performance review period for UMD is the calendar year. The review period we are currently in is from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. All performance reviews in PAT are due by the End of the Day on February 26, 2026. 

On the Admin Page, PAT Admin’s should check the boxes for the evals you want to set up. Then click the maroon Set Up Evaluations button. When the Evaluation Setup screen appears, the following fields will need to be completed: 

• Evaluation Type: Annual 
• Period Start: January 1, 2026 
• Period End: December 31, 2026 
• Employee Input Kick Off: January 1, 2027 
• Employee Input Due: January 29, 2027
• Supervisor Evaluation Due: February 19, 2027
• Approval Due: February 26, 2027 

In addition, under the Roles section, the Approver Internet ID will need to be populated at a minimum. 

• Approver Internet ID (required): Typically the approver is an administrator in your department or college who is set up as a PAT Administrator for your department or college. It can also be the assigned UMD HR Generalist if your area does not have an assigned PAT Administrator. . 
• Delegate Reviewer Internet ID (optional): Delegate Reviewers are most often used when a supervisor is out of the office for any reason (such as a leave of absence or time off). If assigned as a Delegate Reviewer, that individual can do everything a supervisor can on a current evaluation, as well as the goals section. The primary supervisor retains access as well. Delegate reviewers do not have access to prior evaluations. 
• Additional Reviewer Internet ID (optional): Circumstances where there may be an additional reviewer are when employee reports to one supervisor, with a ‘dotted line’ to another, OR when an employee has changed supervisors during the Evaluation Period. Similar to a delegate reviewer, the additional reviewer can do almost everything a supervisor can on a current evaluation, as well as the goals section. The primary supervisor retains access as well. Additional Reviewers do not have access to prior evaluations. However, unlike Delegates, Additional Reviews cannot input a rating or submit the evaluation for approval. The primary supervisor must still input the rating and submit the evaluation for approval.  

Once the above set up page has been completed, the supervisor will be able to view their direct reports on their Supervisor Page. Each employee will have an Evaluation Link, Goals Link, and Prior Evaluations Link. Supervisor can keep their notes from ongoing check-ins in the Supervisor Evaluation fields of the review. 

The below screenshots show the Evaluation Setup stage screen:

When the PAT Admin initiates the Ongoing Check-ins stage for an employee, the employee and supervisor will receive an email that looks like this: 

New Employees 

At least once a month, PAT Administrators should pull a list of any hires and transfers in order to initiate a probationary evaluation in PAT. This tracks the exact dates to ensure the probationary review is done in a timely manner. Additionally, the new employee and their supervisor can document their ongoing check-ins and set goals. 

Employee Transfers to a New Department or a New Supervisor 

Once a month, the UMD HR Generalists will also pull a list of employees that have transferred from one supervisor to another and/or from one department to another. Both the former supervisor and the new supervisor will have an opportunity to provide supervisor input when the Evaluation Setup page is completed (using the Additional Reviewer field). NOTE: As the former supervisor, please do NOT delete the review for the former employee. 

Timely Submission of Performance Reviews 

Please ensure to follow the timeline shared above and complete your reviews in a timely manner. All performance reviews must have gone through all the required steps by the due dates so that the PAT Administrators can approve and submit on or before the end of the day on February 26, 2027. If reviews are not completed on time, it may delay the merit process for the individual, department, or the entire campus. As described above, the goal is to have Civil Service/P&A merit processed for the first pay period in the new fiscal year (unless otherwise specified by the system). This is only possible if reviews are submitted in a timely manner. 

Civil Service and P&A Merit Eligibility

The scores for performance reviews are due in PAT months before the systemwide Compensation Planning Instructions come out. Based on what we know today from the UMN Office of Human Resources (OHR), in order to be eligible for a Civil Service/P&A merit increase, employees must meet the following requirements: 

• Hired into their position prior to January 1, 2027
• Promoted or transferred into a new position prior to January 1, 2027

In other words, employees hired, promoted, reclassified, or transferred on or after January 1, 2027 will not be eligible for a Civil Service/P&A merit increase in the FY27 annual merit cycle. 

Please ensure that you communicate this at the time the employee is hired, promoted, or transferred. If you have someone in this situation, and need additional support in how to do that communication, please work with your UMD HR Strategic Consultant. 

Employee Separations 

Once a month, the UMD HR Generalists pull a list of employees who have left the University. In PAT the rows for employees who no longer work for UMD will turn red, which indicates that action is needed. The UMD HR Generalist will work with the supervisor to determine whether to delete the PAT review altogether or to manually close it. This step is especially important if content has been entered by the employee and/or their supervisor. NOTE: The performance review will not automatically migrate to their official personnel file (in Perceptive Content) unless it has been through the employee signature page.