APBears has two parts: the Achievements database and the Electronic Routing of personnel actions. The Achievements database is available for data entry and update. It captures all the data normally found in a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and previously in the Annual Supplement to the Bio-bibliography (Bio-bib). Electronic Routing replaced the paper-based review process by creating a Candidate Summary and allows the electronic upload of confidential and non-confidential documents contained in a review file.
To access either Achievements or Cases in APBears, go tohttps://apbears.berkeley.edu
Security
Access to APBears is “role-based” and is controlled through Calnet Authentication. All ladder-rank faculty have access to their own record. Staff at the department, school, and campus level who have a role in the academic personnel process also have access to the system and staff with a "Department Analyst" role have the ability to update the achievement records for faculty in their units.
There may be times you want to provide access to a staff assistant for data entry. You may do so by clicking on Faculty Proxies link in the top navigation and following the instructions.
Navigation
The main sections of APBears are accessible through the navigation bar at the top of every page. The "Achievements" is where faculty enter and manage their data. "Cases" and the associated archive are for the review process.
Entering Achievement Records
You may either upload a CV or enter your achievements under the various categories in the Achievements section of APBears. Certain sections are pre-populated with data from campus systems. These sections are: Courses Taught, Graduate Student Mentoring, and Grants.
When you navigate to Achievements, a menu ofcategories is displayed. Before entering records for the first time, you might want to have the list ofAchievements sections available to you as a guide. We suggest you click through the categories and sub-categories first to familiarize yourself with the organization of the system. If there is an activity which might logically go in two or more categories, choose the one that seems the most logical. Do not list any activity more than once. We recommend that you update your record on an ongoing basis. To begin adding a record, click on the category you wish to update, then click on the "Add New Record" link at the top right.
Each page has a set of required fields, indicated by a red asterisk (* ). You will receive an error if these fields are incomplete and will not be able to "Save" the record. If you are missing data, whether required or not, but wish to retain the data you have already entered, click “Save as Draft.” This will allow you to return to the record at a later date to complete the missing fields. A "Draft" record will not be included in a Candidate Summary or CV.
Each page also includes fields which are not required. The pages were developed to address as many disciplinary fields as possible and certain data elements may not be relevant to you. You have the choice of completing them or not, depending on whether you wish the information to appear either in the Candidate Summary or CV. There may be instances where you don't remember specific details, such as a begin date for membership in a professional organization. You should make a best guess.
At the bottom of most pages, you are provided a choice as to whether you wish to include the particular record in your Candidate Summary and/or in your CV. The basic functionality to generate a CV from data in APBears is available, but future enhancements are planned. In some cases, you are not provided with a choice since the records are required in the Candidate Summary or they are documents specific to a review, e.g. the Self-Statement.
Please note that if you select a record to be included in the Candidate Summary or CV, unless otherwise specified, all completed data elements will be included in the record. For example, most pages have a “Comment” box. Any text in this box will appear in the Candidate Summary. However, as stated below the box, "Notes" boxes are for personal notes and will not appear in the Candidate Summary.
Updating Achievement Records
An Achievement section will list the records you have already entered. You have the opportunity at any time to edit or delete any record by clicking on either Edit or Delete in the first column. Under the second column “Appears in,” there are three possible categories: RS (which is the Candidate Summary), CV, and Draft. As noted, a Draft record does not appear in the Candidate Summary. You have the ability at any time to change where you wish record to appear. To revise a given record, click on Edit to open the record, make the change, and click on Save.
Candidate Summary
The Candidate Summary is a snapshot of the Achievements database created at the time of a review. The data will be extracted from the system using a date range that is equal to the “review period.” For example, the Candidate Summary for a full professor undergoing a normal merit review effective July 1, 2015, would include information for the period July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2014.
Curriculum Vitae
APBears has limited functionality to create a CV from the information included in the database. In the future, we will expand this functionality based on faculty feedback.
Uploading Documents
Throughout the system, you will have the ability to upload documents. These documents can be in any format: MS Word, PDF, pictures, CD/DVD formats, etc. However, for security purposes, we suggest you consider saving documents as a PDF.