Purpose
Aligned with the University’s mission to meet students where they are and to help them reach their full potential, Stevenson’s faculty strive to facilitate and ensure student learning first and foremost. The evaluation of faculty performance is conducted in the spirit of continuous improvement and its purpose is to establish structured opportunities for the provision of formative feedback and guidance as well as summative assessments and goal-setting. All faculty, full-time and adjunct, are expected to be working to improve their teaching effectiveness and enhance their competence as instructors on a continual basis.
Criteria for Faculty Evaluation
Aligned with the criteria set forth for faculty rank, the criteria on which faculty are evaluated include:
- Academic Preparation
- Professional Experience
- Professional Competence and Scholarship
- Teaching Effectiveness
- Service to the University and Profession
Required Faculty Evaluation Activities
Evaluation of faculty performance includes, at minimum, the following:
- Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan
- Faculty Response to Student Feedback
- Cumulative Faculty Record (CFR)
- Observation of Instruction
Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan
The Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan document is completed annually by all full-time faculty (“self-appraisal”) and their immediate supervisor (“appraisal”), and is accompanied by a meeting to discuss and sign it. Faculty and supervisor signatures certify only that the meeting took place and do not necessarily indicate consensus regarding the contents of the document. The date accompanying the signatures reflects the date of the meeting, not the date on which the self-appraisal or appraisal was completed.
The completed Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan is submitted to the relevant School Dean, who reviews and signs the document. The Dean may choose to add a comment (or not) using the box provided for this purpose.
The annual deadlines for this process are as follows:
· January: Faculty “self-appraisals” are due five (5) business days after the University reopens for business. The Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan document (self-appraisal) is due to the Academic Program Administrator (immediate supervisor).
· February: APA “appraisals” and accompanying meetings are due within four (4) weeks of the January “self-appraisal” due date. The Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan document (appraisal) is completed by the Academic Program Administrator (immediate supervisor) and a meeting is held to discuss and sign the document.
· March: The Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan documents are reviewed and signed by the School Dean within three (3) weeks of the “appraisal” due date. Fully executed documents are provided in PDF format to the Office of the Provost per the established protocol.
Faculty Response to Student Feedback
The Faculty Response to Student Feedback form is completed by all full-time and adjunct faculty for each section taught each semester, session, or term. For fall courses, the Faculty Response to Student Feedback is due five (5) business days after the University reopens for business. For spring courses, the Faculty Response to Student Feedback is due five (5) business days after the first spring Commencement date. For summer courses, the Faculty Response to Student Feedback is due within two (2) weeks of completion of the summer session or term in which the class was taught.
Faculty Response to Student Feedback
Cumulative Faculty Record
The documentation of professional activities assists faculty members in creating a chronicle of the ways in which they support student learning and University activities. Annually, faculty reflect on their activities and record them in the Cumulative Faculty Record (CFR). The information recorded in the CFR may be used to support faculty discussions with their supervisors during performance reviews and to contribute to the documentation needed for promotion in rank.
The Cumulative Faculty Record includes the following sections:
· Faculty Information
· Teaching Effectiveness
· Service to University and Profession
· Professional Competence and Scholarship
· Other
The CFR is updated by the faculty member on an annual basis and is submitted to the faculty member’s supervisor together with the Faculty Performance Appraisal and Development Plan. The CFR and all supporting documentation is kept on file by the faculty member and should be available for review by the faculty member’s supervisor upon request.
Observation of Instruction
The observation of full-time and adjunct faculty instruction is required according to the cycles set forth below using the forms and processes developed for this purpose.
All faculty, full-time and adjunct, applying for promotion are visited in the year prior to their application for promotion, regardless of where they fall in the cycle.
Observation visits of full-time faculty are conducted by Academic Program Administrators (APA). Observation visits of adjunct faculty are conducted by the APA or their designee. All observation visits are to be scheduled in advance and use the standardized forms established for this process. Discipline-specific criteria may be added if the faculty and APA have discussed the relevance of these criteria to the observation. Observation visits are to be preceded by a discussion about the context of the instructional session and the related learning objectives.
Note: A faculty member may invite observation visits by peers, supervisors, or colleagues at their discretion. Invited observations do not replace the required observations described herein.
FULL-TIME FACULTY
Every newly hired full-time faculty member, regardless of rank or previous experience, is observed annually for the first three years of employment.
In the fourth year of employment and beyond, the minimum observation requirements are as follows:
Full-Time Faculty Rank | Observation Cycle (Minimum) |
Professor | Every three (3) years |
Associate Professor | Every two (2) years |
Senior Lecturer | Every two (2) years |
Assistant Professor | Annually |
Lecturer | Annually |
ADJUNCT FACULTY
Every newly hired adjunct faculty member, regardless of rank or previous experience, is observed in their first semester/session of teaching and then again within one year of their first observation.
If there is a gap of more than one year between the first and second observation, then the faculty member is observed in the next semester/session in which they teach.
After the second observation, the adjunct faculty member is observed every three (3) years unless the Academic Program Administrator deems it necessary to conduct an observation sooner.
Resources
The Zirkin Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (ZCETL) functions as the University’s primary resource for faculty development and support. ZCETL Included under the aegis of the Center is a robust portfolio of programming and resources across a wide array of topics of interest and importance to faculty members. In addition, targeted materials and offerings in support of faculty pursuit of promotion in academic rank are offered annually.
Approved April 2021