PERIODIC EVALUATIONS AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PERIODIC EVALUATIONS FOR ALL FACULTY MEMBERS For purposes of periodic evaluation, faculty are required to annually submit to the VPAA the following materials in electronic form, via the Director of Institutional Research. The following materials are due June 1: • Professional Activities Form (PAF) • current course syllabi • Student Course and Instructor Evaluation Forms, either hard copy or on Blackboard.
Optional materials include: • peer evaluations • a self-evaluation essay • copies of publications, speeches or presentations • letters of appreciation • teaching portfolios • electronic copies of examinations • other items documenting performance School deans review these submissions, along with any additional reports from the VPAA, which she or he deems appropriate, and evaluate each of the faculty in their schools by producing and submitting periodic evaluation reports. Department directors/chairs shall have access to departmental colleagues’ PAF and student course evaluations for the limited purpose of evaluating departmental programs. For departments such as Education and Sport and Recreation Professions that are subject to external accreditation, the relevant department director/ chair shall consult with the school dean in preparing the evaluation reports for that department’s faculty. These reports are shared with the faculty and reviewed by the VPAA in preparation for making recommendations to the President for salary increases. Professional Activities Forms are circulated to faculty via email each spring. Reviewing the Performance of Professional Duties In addition to many laudatory comments, the VPAA regularly receives concerns about faculty members from members of the campus community. Students may bring concerns about problems with availability of faculty, about classroom or grading issues, or about communication challenges. Faculty may bring concerns about departmental conflicts, organizational commitment, participation in governance, meeting deadlines, or issues of cooperation and authority. Coordinators and/or the registrar may bring concerns about class meeting and enrollment issues, or the submission of grades and related procedures. School deans may have concerns arising from conditions related to the evaluation of teaching or to the submission of records and student evaluations. It is the responsibility of the VPAA to note and evaluate such concerns and, where necessary, to further investigate and take action. In cases where the VPAA deems there is sufficient cause to believe the faculty member is not meeting expectations, she/he will speak about those expectations with the faculty member in question, and as a follow up, write a report to be sent to the faculty member and to his or her school dean. The school dean shall consider and address this report in the periodic evaluation of the faculty member and in recommendation letters to the Committee on Advancement and Tenure. Recognizing that the continuing effectiveness of our academic program depends on the vitality of the faculty, the university offers various means of promoting continuing professional development. See the appropriate sections of this handbook. 37
