Comprehensive Standard 3.7.2: The institution regularly evaluates the effectiveness of each faculty member in accord with published criteria, regardless of contractual or tenured status.
Off-site review question:
“The evaluation of tenure/tenure-track faculty is codified in the faculty handbook. The evaluation of part-time faculty is covered on page 7 of the Part-time Faculty Handbook. ‘Part-time faculty are evaluated by the department chair and/or dean each semester or, if their [sic] the appointment is for both semesters, each year. Evaluation will include review of student teaching evaluations, course materials, and, in some departments and schools, peer visitation of classes.’ The Faculty Handbook, Section III.B.2, specifies that all faculty have annual merit evaluations for the purpose of setting salary increments. However, this section of the manual deals with Evaluation for Retention, Promotion and Award of Tenure, thus it is unclear that it applies to non- enuretrack faculty (e.g., research professors, lecturers, etc.) Moreover, the Handbook does not address or reference criteria used for such evaluations. The Part-Time Faculty Handbook, Section VI, does clearly address the annual evaluation of part-time nontenure- track) faculty, but does so only in the context of those with teaching duties. The evaluation of non-teaching part-time faculty (e.g, research faculty, clinical faculty) is not addressed.”
Response:
Provost P. Geoffrey Feiss issued two interpretations of the Faculty Handbook on February 23, 2006: Clarification of Faculty Handbook and Clarification of the Part-Time Faculty Handbook. The first documentation makes clear that the Faculty Handbook section on evaluation of faculty applies to non-tenure track faculty members. The second memorandum provides a proposed addition to the Part-Time Faculty Handbook, which will be reviewed by the appropriate governance committees of the faculties and the College.
Index for Supporting References: