PROFESSIONAL RECORDS AND OBLIGATIONS Submission of Evaluation Records including Professional Activities Form For purposes of periodic evaluation, faculty are required to submit to the VPAA their professional activities form (PAF). This form is due June 1st and records the preceding calendar year. The materials to be submitted with this form are described in the section of this document under the heading “PERIODIC EVALUATIONS FOR ALL FACULTY MEMBERS. Use of Evaluation Records including Professional Activities Form At the end of each semester, all students will be asked to evaluate both the course and the instructor for all classes in an online system called SmartEvals. This process serves a faculty development purpose by generating information regarding instructional methods, reading materials, course pacing, and the professionalism of the instructor. Faculty are urged to review the SmartEvals feedback after final grades have been submitted to the Registrar. Instructors are notified when the evaluations are available on SmartEvals to verify that all of their classes are listed and to allow faculty enough time to add any additional questions to the evaluation. We begin this process approximately one month before the end of the semester. Instructors will receive an email from the SmartEvals administrator, requesting that you log on and verity your evaluations. This will also provide advance warning that the evaluation process is about to begin. Instructors are asked to remind students to open the SmartEvals email and follow the hyperlink to complete their course and instructor evaluations before the beginning of final exams. It is the responsibility of the instructor to encourage student feedback through the SmartEvals system. Results are first available to instructors AFTER end of semester grades have been turned in for ALL classes. Evaluation results and cumulative reports as well as student comments are collected online and are available for download by the instructor for your permanent records. Course and instructor evaluations are retained on file electronically by SmartEvals.com and the University. Textbook Orders Faculty members are required to submit book orders for their classes through Akademos by the announced deadline each semester. Institutions receiving federal funding are required to distribute a list of all required/ recommended textbooks and other materials required for the course to students well in advance of the start of the course, including the title, author, ISBN number and price. Timely submission of book orders by faculty helps the institution meet this obligation. Overload/Adjunct Reporting Faculty must ensure that before classes begin for any semester, the VPAA’s office gets a written record of overload hours. These, as well as adjunct hours, are to be submitted through department chairs. Faculty Absences from Campus Faculty members who plan to be absent from their regular duties for professional reasons should inform the VPAA’s administrative assistant. The purpose of this is not to check on the faculty member or in any way cause him/her to seek permission, but to provide information in case of emergency or in case of calls for the particular professor. It is assumed that personal absences will be held to a minimum and that, in such cases, the same procedure will be followed. In cases of illness, the faculty member should have someone notify the VPAA’s administrative assistant so that the affected classes may be informed. Extra-Contractual Employment Faculty must negotiate with the VPAA terms for engaging in compensated employment outside what is specified in his or her contract with Virginia Wesleyan University and should update the VPAA annually on the state of any such arrangements.
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