TEXAS TECH COLLEGE
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Last Updated June 19, 2007 |
EVALUATION OF TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
The College of Education is committed to high quality teaching by all faculty members and teaching assistants. As one means of assessing teaching effectiveness, the University provides a standardized student evaluation form. The evaluation is administered under the direction of the Office of Accreditation and Assessment in the College of Education.
Each faculty member, adjunct professor, and graduate part-time instructor who has teaching responsibilities is required to use the University student evaluations in every class each fall and spring semester. Summer evaluations are optional and faculty may choose not to have evaluations done at that time. Faculty evaluations by students should typically be conducted during the last two weeks of class. Personnel in the Office of Accreditation and Assessment will come to every on-campus or field-based class at a predetermined and mutually agreed to time and date to facilitate the collection of course evaluation data from students. The instructor will leave the room while the students complete the forms. The evaluation sheets will be collected by the appointed personnel and taken directly to the Director of Assessment, Dr. William Lan, (room 212 Ed bldg.). Faculty evaluations conducted in other venues should be mailed to the College of Education , Office of Accreditation and Assessment, Attn: Dr. William Lan, PO Box 41071 , Lubbock , TX 79409 , by a pre-selected student in the class. The results of the evaluation (numerical and/or any additional comments) must not be known by the instructor of the course until final grades have been turned in to the Registrar.
After the evaluation data are collected, the Office of Accreditation and Assessment, with assistance from the Institutional Research and Computing Services, is responsible to process the quantitative data collected with the evaluation forms and provides a detailed summary to the individual instructor. Summaries of evaluations and copies of narrative comments submitted by students for the faculty in each department are provided to the respective department chair and to the Dean.
Institutional Research and Computing Services will assume responsibility for collecting course evaluation data for all web-based and off-campus sections of two-way interactive or video-conferencing classes and share the results of the evaluation with course instructors through the Office of Accreditation and Assessment.
Faculty members and teaching assistants are encouraged to use other methods as well to evaluate their teaching effectiveness.
ANNUAL FACULTY REVIEW
Annual Report
At the conclusion of each calendar year, each faculty member prepares an annual report listing all activities for that calendar year in the areas of teaching, research, and service. This report is required by University policy and becomes a part of the faculty member's official record. It is considered in decisions regarding merit pay, tenure and promotion, and other personnel matters.
Annual Review
The annual report and a current resume are submitted to the department chairperson in January (as per OP 32.32). The chairperson reviews the report and prepares written evaluation of the faculty member's performance. The chairperson is also expected to consider performance for the three previous years. The evaluation is attached to the annual report and copies are distributed to the faculty member, department chairperson, Dean, and Provost. Specific guidelines in OP 32.32 govern provisions for faculty performance that is deemed by the chairperson and dean to unsatisfactory.
Annual Review Conference
Prior to submitting the evaluation to the Dean, the department chairperson meets with faculty members individually to discuss the annual report, chairperson's evaluation, and overall performance for the year. The faculty member initials the chairperson's evaluation.
ANNUAL REVIEW HEARING COMMITTEE
Justification: OP 32.32 Performance Evaluations of Faculty
Purpose: The purpose of this Operating Policy/Procedure (OP) is to establish uniform guidelines and procedures for performance evaluations of members of the faculty.
Paragraph F states: All units should have a procedure established whereby a committee of peers will be available to mediate disagreement between an individual faculty member and the chairperson/coordinator regarding an annual review at the faculty member's request. If the mediation is not successful, a copy of the committee's recommendation shall become part of the annual evaluation. This procedure and/or the possibility of filing a grievance provide the non-binding alternative dispute-resolution processes described in Chapter 154 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
1. To establish the Annual Review Committee the Faculty Council will develop a list of tenured faculty from the College of Education . The faculty member and administrator will have the option to omit three names each from the group. In order to avoid conflict of interest, these individuals may not be members of the Annual Review Committee from the faculty member's department, or members of the Promotion and Tenure Committee. The Faculty Council Chair (with the Chair-Elect as witness) will randomly draw five names from the remaining list, and these five names shall constitute the Mediation Committee.
2. Upon receipt of a request from the dean, the Hearing Committee will schedule a hearing. This hearing must be held within 21 calendar days after receipt of the request from the dean. The Hearing Committee will elect its own chairperson. The chairperson's notice scheduling a time and place for the hearing must be delivered to the parties involved seven calendar days prior to the hearing. These time limits are a guide and may be changed for university holidays and by mutual written agreement of the Hearing Committee and the parties involved.
3. The hearing will be conducted in accordance with procedures established by the Annual Review Hearing Committee. The faculty member or the faculty member's representative(s) or counsel will present the faculty member's case. The faculty member has the right to present information, written or oral, considered relevant or material to the annual review, including the calling of witnesses. This information may be presented in written or oral form.
After the presentation by the faculty member, the administrator's case will be presented under the same rules as those that were applied for the faculty member. The administrator may be represented in the process as well. The Hearing Committee may call witnesses, as it considers appropriate. The faculty member and the administrator may question all witnesses.
4. Evidence considered in the hearing must relate to the annual review. After all evidence is received, the Hearing Committee will meet and consider the case. The opinion held by the majority of the members will constitute the committee's recommendations. The committee must provide its recommendations in writing to the dean of the college, with copies to the faculty member and administrator(s), within 15 calendar days after the hearing is concluded. Minority opinions of the committee may also be submitted to the dean. Recommendations to the dean are advisory in nature.
5. The dean will send a written decision to the faculty member within 15 calendar days of receipt of the Hearing Committee's recommendations. If the dean's decision differs from that recommended by the Hearing Committee, the written reasons for such difference will be provided to the faculty member and the committee.
6. The parties may agree to a resolution at any time until the dean's decision.
NON-TENURED, TENURE TRACK FACULTY REVIEW
Appointment to a tenure track position carries with it certain responsibilities related to teaching, research, and service. The initial six years of appointment serve as a probationary period, allowing time for individual faculty to demonstrate competency as a university professor.
Each non-tenured faculty member appointed to a tenure track position will be reviewed annually during the first through sixth years of appointment. A committee of tenured faculty is appointed by the appropriate department chair. This Annual Review Committee reviews the non-tenured faculty member's annual report. The committee schedules a conference with the individual and provides specific written feedback indicating progress made toward promotion and tenure during the calendar year under review. The committee forwards this written feedback to the appropriate department chair.
Each year the department chair reviews the committee's feedback. In the annual review conference, the department chair indicates to the individual his/her recommendation for continued employment or notification of a terminal appointment based upon the individual's performance during the calendar year under review and cumulative performance. The department chair forwards this recommendation to the Dean.
The third year review is also significant since it represents a mid-point in the six-year probation period. Typically, the Annual Review Committee's scrutiny of the non-tenured faculty member's demonstrated competincy as a university professor is greater, and more materials may be requested by the chairperson (e.g., vita, course evaluations, past annual reviews, copies of publications or verification of other scholarly activity). The faculty will consult with the chairperson prior to compiling the third year review materials. The department chair, however, may recommend non-reappointment to the Dean at any time between the first and sixth years of appointment. Notification of individual faculty members receiving a terminal appointment will follow the time schedule specified in the University's promotion and tenure policy (OP 32.01).