Policy on Evaluation of Faculty

Each year, early in the Spring Semester, every faculty member submits a Faculty Service Report to the department chairperson.  This report, which covers the three preceding semesters (Spring-Fall), details the faculty member’s activities under the headings of Teaching, Student Advising, Scholarly and Professional Activity, Professional Service, and Professional Relationships.  Using this, the Academic Advisor Survey results, Course Evaluation results, and other available information, which may include knowledge gained from observing the faculty member’s classes, the department chairperson completes a Faculty Evaluation Report on each faculty member.  If the “Needs Improvement” column is checked, the chairperson justifies the ranking in writing in the “Comments” section of the Evaluation Report and  sends a copy of the preliminary Evaluation Report to the faculty member before the scheduled evaluation appointment.  The faculty member, in turn, may respond to the comments in writing, a copy of which should be attached to the Faculty Evaluation Report.  The chairperson then meets with the faculty member to discuss the evaluation.  The faculty member then signs the form and adds any appropriate comments.  (The department chairperson submits his/her Faculty Service Report to the dean, and the dean completes the Faculty Evaluation Report on the chairperson and discusses it with him/her.)

The completed Faculty Evaluation Report, signed by the faculty member and the department chairperson, is then submitted to the dean, along with the Faculty Service Report.  The dean reviews the Faculty Evaluation Report and signs it with any comments he/she believes are appropriate.  The dean, in turn, submits both reports to the Provost, who reviews them and also signs the Faculty Evaluation Report, adding any comments he/she believes are appropriate.  (Some colleges or divisions may require a Faculty Service Report to be completed each semester, in which case all semester reports are used to evaluate the faculty member.)

During the Spring Semester, the Provost meets with each department chairperson and the appropriate dean to assess the contributions of each faculty member during the past year.  At this time the three again review the Faculty Service Report and Faculty Evaluation Report and also consider other relevant information, including the Academic Advisor Survey and the Course Evaluation Reports.  Completed copies of the Faculty Evaluation Report are then distributed to the faculty member, the department chairperson, and the dean, with the originals of both reports filed in the faculty member’s official file in the Office of the Provost.  Following this series of meeting, the Provost meets with the President to summarize for him/her the results of these assessments.

The primary purposes of this evaluation process are to assist the faculty member in objectively assessing his/her competency and performance and to guide the department chairperson in working with the faculty member to further develop his/her professional competencies.  In addition, however, the evaluation process provides important information for the department chairperson, dean, Provost, College Review Group, and University Review Group in making recommendations to the President on such decisions as retention, promotion, and tenure of faculty, and these matters are discussed at the annual evaluation conference each Spring Semester prior to the notification of the faculty member regarding his/her status for the coming year.