Performance management is an ongoing, continuous communication process between supervisors and employees about performance, goals, and developmental opportunities. Supervisors are required to complete a performance review annually, although performance reviews may be given on a more frequent schedule. The University of Oklahoma's performance review and employee development system is designed to:
Please note that if you are looking for the Faculty Activity System (FAS), you can access that system via the FAS website.
The review process occurs once a year between November and March. The 2025 Calendar Year process is outlined below.
Employee Self-Review (Begins 11/19/25 and Ends 1/6/26)
Supervisor Writes Review (Begins 1/7/26 and Ends 2/10/26)
Calibration Process (Begins 2/11/26 and Ends 2/17/26)
Supervisor Meets with Employee (Begins 3/2/26 and Ends 3/31/26)
Employees are reviewed based on competencies, department specific contributions, and goals. There are five core competencies, with two additional competencies for supervisor/managers, with overall ratings appearing on the annual review. The overall rating is established by weighting a combination of the competencies, department specific contributions, and goals ratings.
Competencies (All Staff)
Competencies (Managers Only)
Process for Merit Designation
Employee Self-Review
The employee Self-Review allows staff member to provide input into their performance before the supervisor completes their review. Employee Self-Review is optional for CY24 and if staff elect to complete a self-review, they must do so by January 6, 2025. Employees can select ratings for their performance on each rating area with the opportunity to provide comments associated with overall performance to support their selected ratings.
Supervisor Performance-Review
The supervisor’s Performance Review of their direct reports captures the staff member’s contributions and accomplishments for the performance period, recording ratings and comments. The employee, supervisor, and college/division leadership will have access to view the results of the Annual Performance Review.
Top Tips
When completing the Employee Self-Review and Supervisor Performance Review steps, be sure to:
The Calibration Process is a pause after the supervisor Performance Review but before supervisor meets with the employee. This pause provides leadership an opportunity to review performance review data. Leadership will use this data to track compliance with annual review standards, guide merit planning, and to solidify workforce development strategies with special attention to the top performers and contributors with identified growth opportunities.
The Calibration Process occurs at two points in the annual review process:
At these points in the process, leaders should:
| Score | Level | Development Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not Demonstrating | Reflects absence of skill/progress or counterproductive behavior. |
| 2‑4 | Learning | Gaining clarity, structure, and early exposure. Progress requires modeling, feedback, and practice. |
| 5‑6 | Performing | Consistent, reliable execution with growing independence, accuracy, and confidence. |
| 7‑8 | Leading | Demonstrates mastery and mentorship — improving team capability, outcomes, and consistency. |
| 9‑10 | Transforming | Redefines what “good” looks like — innovating, streamlining, and uplifting others and systems. |
| Score | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not Demonstrating | The employee’s behavior is not evident in their work; actions are inconsistent with expectations or accountability. |
| 2 | Learning | The employee is beginning to recognize expectations but has not yet applied them consistently. |
| 3 | Learning | The employee is developing this behavior with guidance or support and shows early signs of progress. |
| 4 | Learning | The employee can demonstrate this behavior in familiar or routine situations with growing consistency. |
| 5 | Performing | The employee consistently demonstrates this behavior effectively in their regular work. |
| 6 | Performing | The employee adapts this behavior when circumstances change or complexity increases. |
| 7 | Leading | The employee models this behavior and supports others in applying it effectively. |
| 8 | Leading | The employee improves how this behavior is practiced within their team or area of work. |
| 9 | Transforming | The employee strengthens how this behavior contributes to team performance and success. |
| 10 | Transforming | The employee sets a standard of excellence for this behavior, positively influencing culture and results. |
| Score | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | Not Evaluated/Deferred | The goal is not being evaluated / is being deferred due to circumstances outside of the employee's control. |
| 1 | Not Demonstrating | The goal remains in the planning stage with no measurable progress or action taken. |
| 2 | Learning | The goal has been initiated with early planning, but meaningful action or measurable outcomes are not yet evident. |
| 3 | Learning | The goal has been initiated with some progress, but results are limited and the goal remains largely incomplete. |
| 4 | Learning | The goal has been initiated with visible progress, though key milestones remain unmet. |
| 5 | Performing | The goal has been achieved as planned, meeting all essential requirements and timelines. |
| 6 | Performing | The goal has been met with solid quality and thorough execution, addressing all major components effectively. |
| 7 | Leading | The goal has been achieved to a high standard, exceeding several expectations and producing strong results. |
| 8 | Leading | The goal has been completed with notable excellence, producing outcomes that positively influence related work or processes. |
| 9 | Transforming | The goal has been completed with exceptional quality and meaningful improvements that strengthen how work is done or sustained in the area. |
| 10 | Transforming | The goal has been completed at an exemplary level, setting a consistent example of excellence that others in similar roles can look up to and learn from. |
| Score | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | Not Evaluated/Deferred | The goal is not being evaluated / is being deferred due to circumstances outside of the employee's control. |
| 1 | Not Demonstrating | The goal remains in the planning stage with no measurable progress or action taken. |
| 2 | Learning | The goal has been initiated with early planning, but meaningful action or measurable outcomes are not yet evident. |
| 3 | Learning | The goal has been initiated with some progress, but results are limited and the goal remains largely incomplete. |
| 4 | Learning | The goal has been initiated with visible progress, though key milestones remain unmet. |
| 5 | Performing | The goal has been achieved as planned, meeting all essential requirements and timelines. |
| 6 | Performing | The goal has been met with solid quality and thorough execution, addressing all major components effectively. |
| 7 | Leading | The goal has been achieved to a high standard, exceeding several expectations and producing strong results. |
| 8 | Leading | The goal has been completed with notable excellence, producing outcomes that positively influence related work or processes. |
| 9 | Transforming | The goal has been completed with exceptional quality and meaningful improvements that strengthen how work is done or sustained in the area. |
| 10 | Transforming | The goal has been completed at an exemplary level, setting a consistent example of excellence that others in similar roles can look up to and learn from. |
At the conclusion of the Calibration Period, supervisors will receive an email from Cornerstone notifying them that they can now meet with each of their direct reports to conduct a performance review meeting. This meeting is when you review successes and areas of development with your employee. It is important to remember that these meetings should be an interactive discussion that gives the employee an opportunity to be directly involved in their professional growth. They can help identify areas of success and growth, address ongoing issues, and leave the meeting feeling like their work is noted and appreciated. The steps include:
Top Tips
When completing the meeting and sign-off of the Annual Performance Review, be sure to:
Step-by-Step Guides
Resources for Employees
Resources for Supervisors
Resources for Calibration Coordinators
For more information, please view the university's official policy document, or contact Human Resources.
Chrome or Firefox are acceptable browsers to access Cornerstone; Microsoft Edge is not recommended.
There should be a dropdown box to the right of your goal. If you choose edit, there should be a submit button at the bottom right-hand corner.
The annual performance review has transitioned from a five-point rating scale to a ten-point rating scale. The ten-point scale allows managers to better reflect differences in performance, giving employees a clearer picture of how they are doing. With more rating options, managers can provide feedback that is more aligned with real performance, avoiding the limitations of a smaller scale.
This update will affect regular benefits-eligible staff. Temporary, occasional, PEAK staff, student employees, and faculty are not included in the online performance management process.
Staff will be required to complete the self-review prior to the supervisor’s review.
Employees are encouraged to have 3-5 goals submitted in the system. Having multiple well-defined goals is essential for an accurate assessment of your performance.
Employees can add goals at any time during the year; however, they'll need to add them to the system before starting or submitting their annual self-review to their supervisor.
Yes, the goals you entered into Cornerstone for CY2025 will be in the system. In addition, if you received an annual review for CY2024, you can find a copy of it in Cornerstone.
No, although individuals may hold the same/similar job title in different colleges and/or administrative offices, the expectations for the individual could be significantly different based on the employee's duties and responsibilities, department objectives and performance standards, the employee's knowledge, skills, and abilities.
You will receive an email notifying you that the goal has been changed. You can view your goals in the system and using the dropdown menu view the history.
First, try to access the training resources via the Get Help (link is external) button on the Cornerstone Welcome where you can find help documentation and videos. Or, consider attending an information session or office hours to see live demonstrations of the system.
Contact the HR Business Partners at hrbp@ou.edu.
Yes, electronic signatures are required. Paper copies off the electronic performance review will not be accepted.
Departments can work with their own personnel to assist with translation where needed. Browsers such as Google offer page translation, which will translate the page information into the language of their choice.
Employees hired on or after September 1 will not receive a performance review for that calendar year.
The calibration process is a pause between when a supervisor writes the employee’s performance review and when the supervisor issues the performance review. During this pause, the calibration coordinator will evaluate the overall performance review ratings to determine supervisor compliance with the BOR directive of stacked ranking distribution percentages and recommend the appropriate Merit Tier based on the performance rating.
The Calibration Coordinators and identified by the Executive Officer (Dean/VP) for each college and administrative office.
The stacked ranking distribution percentages are designed to reward employees based on their individual performance. Each Calibration Group reviews the overall scores of the employees receiving an annual review and can recommend the highest Merit Tier for the top 10% of overall scores, the second highest Merit Tier for the top 25% of overall scores, and the standard Merit Tier for the remaining scores at or above 4.50. Any overall score that is below 4.50 will not be eligible for a merit increase.
Full complete details, please visit the Required Training page.
There are two ways you can find this information. There is a report you can run in PeopleSoft using this path: Main Menu > OU MAIN MENU > Records > Reports > Training Report. However, only departmental users have access to this feature. If you do not have access, please reach out to the HR and/or Finance person in your area. If you need help running the report, please consult this job aid. The other way you can gather this information is to ask your employees to send you their training report. Every employee can go to PeopleSoft and on the Employee Self Service main page, click on “Training.” From there you can view your training history and then print the page or take a screenshot and send to your evaluator.
If you are a faculty member who does not manage staff, please disregard this message. Please contact your chair, dean, or the appropriate Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost for information about faculty evaluations.
Performance reviews are weighted as follows:
Review the guidelines for the FY27 Staff Merit Program.
