Faculty Evaluation Guidelines and Process

Principles and Purposes

A policy of faculty evaluation should provide a description of the responsibilities of both the faculty and the administration, which reflects Edgewood College’s goals, mission, and conception of scholarship. The process for evaluating faculty should facilitate the growth of individual faculty members by assessing their accomplishments and goals in light of the needs and commitments of the College. Faculty evaluation is a generic process, which provides a basis for awards, promotion, renewal and tenure decisions, and other processes related to faculty development.

The basis for evaluation of individual faculty members will be the individual’s goals as formulated in consultation with his/her instructional unit, the unit’s Dean/Chairperson and the Academic Dean and judged to be compatible with published institutional goals and commitments and the institution’s conception of scholarship.

The Faculty Member’s Portfolio

Scholarship and service are essentially public activities; consequently, each faculty member is responsible for maintaining and updating a portfolio with the following items. A faculty member’s portfolio should reflect and guide his/her growth and development as well as the evolution of his/her institutional responsibilities. Faculty members should collect data of those kinds and in those categories that are relevant to assessing progress toward the individual’s institutionally approved goals and responsibilities.

1. Data relevant to the evaluation process. Such data should provide evidence of scholarly growth and development and of service to the College and larger community. Data should include student and peer evaluations, evidence of student learning, a record of publication, presentations, performances, etc., Dean’s or Chairperson’s evaluation, and other evidence of scholarly development and community service.
   1. Data bearing on the faculty member’s scholarship should be collected in the following areas as called for by the individual faculty member’s stated goals and commitments.
      1. Scholarly growth and achievement in teaching as indicated by
      • Student learning as indicated by, e. g., student achievement on assessment measures, portfolios of student work, achievements of graduates
      • Faculty member’s classroom performance as reflected  by, e. g., peer evaluation, student evaluation, video recordings
      • Current-ness of course content as indicated by, e. g., course syllabi and readings, peer and advisory evaluation
      • Research on the individual’s own teaching, on the development of pedagogy in his/her discipline, and on how students learn
      • Development and integration of courses and programs
      2. Scholarly growth and achievement in the discovery of new knowledge as indicated by
         • Earned academic degrees
         • Publications and presentations of research or other creative activity addressed to the scholar’s peers
         • Participation in conferences and conventions or other forms of participation in the dialogue within the individual’s discipline
         • Program of studies and research based on current developments in the individual’s field of specialization
         • Grants and other forms of support for research or artistic activity.
      3. Scholarly growth and achievement in the integration and application of knowledge
         • Projects which interpret and apply specialized knowledge across scholarly disciplines
         • Interdisciplinary development within the College’s curriculum
         • Application of the individual’s specialized knowledge in the development and/or evaluation of projects which address problems facing the larger community’s schools, businesses, civic organizations, and community leaders.
   2. Data bearing on the faculty member’s service to the College and the larger community should be collected in the following areas as called for by the individual faculty member’s stated goals and commitments:
      1. Service to the individual’s academic department and the College
         • Significant contribution to governance of the College through committee work, other collegial activities, and administrative responsibilities
         • Accommodation to the special needs of the College and/or department
         • Service to the Human Issue Program, First Year Forum and other high priority programs
         • Effective academic advising
         • Sponsorship of student activities/organizations and other contributions to student life and welfare
         • Other.
      2. Service to the community-at-large

• Membership on boards and committees
• Leadership and other significant contributions to specific organization
• Presentations to churches, community organizations, area schools, and businesses, etc.

2. A statement of the faculty member’s plans for scholarly development and community service. This statement should be formulated in consultation with the individual’s academic unit, School Dean or Department Chairperson, and the Academic Dean. It should reflect the goals and mission of the College, the College’s commitment to scholarship, the needs and goals of the individual’s school or department, and the individual’s scholarly and service objectives. The individual’s plan for scholarly development and community service should be updated periodically, annually for faculty on probationary appointments and at least every five years for tenured faculty.

Evaluation Process/File

1. A faculty member’s portfolio is to be updated annually. Updates should include data pertaining to the evaluation process and a summary of the faculty member’s progress toward the goals set out in his/her plans for scholarly development and community services.
2. Evaluation of the faculty member’s continuing professional growth will occur according to a set schedule.
3. Faculty on probationary appointments will be reviewed annually by the Dean of their School or Chair of their academic department and will undergo pre-tenure review by the Academic Dean and members of the Academic Rank Committee at the midpoint on the faculty member’s tenure track.
4. Tenured faculty will be reviewed on a five-year cycle and more frequently at the Dean’s discretion. The following guides post-tenure review:
   1. Policy Statement:
      The post tenure review policy provides procedural guidelines for the VPAA, deans, department chairs and faculty members who are responsible for engaging in the post-tenure review process.
   2. Reason for Policy:
      The reason for this policy is to establish a clear procedure for post-tenure reviewm to ensure that all academic units within the college are using the same uniform procedures, and following the same timelines for post-tenure reviews.
   3. Purpose/Background:
      1. To maintain individual and institutional vitality, tenured faculty members need continuous faculty development. The College should provide opportunities for such faculty development and recognize the various stages of faculty careers.
      2. Post-tenure review does not affect tenure. Instead, it is intended to facilitate the ongoing professional development of faculty. In doing so, it strives to acknowledge different expectations in different disciplines and changing expectations at different stages of faculty careers, while ensuring an equitable distribution of workload among faculty.

Edgewood College already has in place the requirement of a five-year review for tenured faculty. The goal of this new post-tenure review document is to more clearly outline a process to assist faculty members in continued development and excellence in their teaching, scholarship and professional service.

Post-tenure review is designed to be a supportive process used to encourage faculty to continue their professional growth and thereby strengthen their contribution to Edgewood College. It is an opportunity to enhance each faculty member’s professional development, improve department and school effectiveness, and contribute to overall academic quality. It allows the individual faculty member and the department/school to review and discuss the faculty member’s strengths, interests, and accomplishments and ensure that these are compatible with and contribute to the needs of our students and the faculty member’s department/school.

The purpose to post-tenure review at Edgewood College is to do the following:

1. Acknowledge, encourage, and support professional development of tenured faculty.
2. Support the advancement of tenured faculty members’ professional development and provide constructive recommendations and support for improvements, if needed.
3. Affirm and/or adjust the work of the faculty member to advancing the priorities and supporting the needs and programs of the department/school.

Frequency of Post-Tenure Review

Tenured faculty will be reviewed by the Academic Dean on a five-year cycle and more frequently at the Dean’s discretion. The Academic Dean with the assistance of Deans of Schools or Chairpersons of Departments has primary responsibility for implementing and administering the evaluation process. Faculty members submitting materials for promotion to Full Professor will be scheduled for review in five years from the date of promotion.

Process for Formal Post-Tenure Review:

1. By September 1 each dean shall determine the list of tenured faculty members in the school who are eligible during the coming academic year for post-tenure review.
2. By September 15, the dean shall forward to the appropriate chairs a list of the faculty members in his or her department who are eligible for review. In schools without chairs, this responsibility remains with the dean.
3. By October 1 each faculty member eligible for post-tenure review shall be notified that he/she needs to prepare review materials. At that time, the faculty member shall examine the college’s current academic plan as well as their department’s or school’s academic priorities or plan. Candidates will also be provided with a copy of the current post-tenure review procedure and the date of the review.
4. Faculty members who are on leave during a year in which they are identified as being eligible for a post-tenure review shall have the review deferred until their return from leave or, at the discretion of the chair/dean, upon request of the faculty member, may have the post-tenure review in the year prior to the leave.
5. The post-tenure review shall take place in a meeting between the faculty member and the dean (and when appropriate, the dean will consult with the chair or unit director).
6. The faculty member scheduled for review shall provide the chair/dean with current curriculum vitae; an introductory essay regarding progress on previous goals for teaching, scholarship, service and professional development; a summary of teaching evaluations; and an outline of a five-year plan setting forth the faculty members’ new goals for teaching, scholarship, service and professional development. This will be submitted no later than January 15.
7. By June 1, the faculty member and chair/dean shall review the faculty member’s current and planned teaching, scholarship, service and professional goals and accomplishments, and examine their relationship to current department/school goals and priorities.
8. The chair/dean shall prepare a memorandum summarizing the review. The chair/dean shall provide the faculty member with a copy of the summary memorandum, and after 20 days, forward the summary memorandum to the VPAA, along with the faculty member’s response, if any has been received, both of which will be placed in the faculty member’s personnel file.

III. The Academic Dean with the assistance of Deans of Schools or Chairpersons of Departments has primary responsibility for implementing and administering the evaluation process. Directly or by delegation to Deans of Schools or Chairpersons of Departments, the Academic Dean will:

1. Initiate the goal-setting process with the individual faculty member and, in light of published institutional goals and the institution’s concept of scholarship, provide a written assessment of the goals, which emerge from that process.
2. Initiate the evaluation process in conformity to the requirements of contract renewal; notify the faculty member of the data submission process, the evaluation process and its timeline; collaborate in the selection of peers for review of the faculty member’s performance; and schedule a time to discuss the evaluation with the faculty member.
3. Provide a written evaluation of the faculty member’s professional growth in light of his/her individual goals as they are judged compatible with the published institutional goals and commitments; this evaluation will include recommendations for continued development of the faculty members.
4. Maintain an evaluation file for each faculty member, which includes a summary of the faculty member’s portfolio, the Academic Dean or Department Chairperson’s evaluation of the faculty member’s goals and professional development, and a record of the file’s use.

IV. A faculty member’s evaluation file is to be maintained with strict confidentiality.

1. Individual faculty members may review their own files at any time.
2. For purposes of the evaluation process, the Academic Dean and the Dean of the faculty member’s school or Chairperson of the faculty member’s department will have access to the data submitted by the faculty members.
3. For purposes of decision regarding promotion and/or tenure, the Academic Dean, the Dean of the faculty member’s school or Chairperson of the faculty member’s department, and the Committee on Promotion and Tenure of the Academic Rank Committee will have access to the faculty member’s file.
4. The Academic Dean may abstract anonymous data from a faculty member’s file to compile an institutional profile.
5. For the purpose of accreditation reports, the members of review teams from duly authorized state, regional and national accrediting bodies may review a faculty member’s file during scheduled accreditation visits.