Review of Department Members - Department of English and Philosophy

Revised (03/04;03/96; 5/91; 12/86; 5/84; 7/76)

Evidence for Review

Each time a department member is reviewed, a portfolio will be compiled including the following evidence supplied by the Department Program Assistant.

I. Activity Sheet

All department members are required to submit an annual activity sheet of no more than one page describing how they are satisfying the Job Description.

II. For Teaching

Required for tenured faculty and full-time academic staff who have completed five years in the department:
1. At least one report of a peer classroom observation completed within the last three years. Those rated below the job description and those wishing to improve their rating should include one peer observation from three classes the year following the unacceptable rating.
2. Student evaluations from three classes in the last three years for those who were rated above or within the job description at their last review. Those rated below the job description and those wishing to improve their rating should include additional student evaluations from three classes the year following the unacceptable rating.
3. Syllabi (including course descriptions and goals) and assignment schedules (indicating frequency and type of writing assignments) for all courses taught since the last review.

Required for full-time academic staff and probationary faculty:

Term	Student Evaluations Required	Classroom Evaluation Required From (1 Each)
Semester 1	All Classes	Department Chair or Designate Staff Committee Member
Semester 2	All Classes	Department Chair or Designate 1 Other Tenured Faculty
Semester 3	All Classes	Department Chair or Designate Staff Committee Member
Semester 4	All Classes	Department Chair or Designate Staff Committee Member
Semester 5	All Classes	Department Chair or Designate 1 Other Department Member
Semester 6	All Classes	2 Department Members
Semester 7	None	None
Semester 8	3 Classes	Department Chair or Designate Staff Committee Member
Semester 9	3 Classes	1 Department Member
Semester 10	None	None
Semester Preceding Tenure or Indefinite Appointment Decision	3 Classes	Department Chair Staff Committee Member 1 Other Department Member

The number of and frequency of evaluations will be determined by department chair for non-continuous and part-time staff.
Optional: All department members should provide evidence on their activity sheet demonstrating how they are satisfying Category I.B of the Job Description (e.g., list of courses taught, list of new courses developed, brief descriptions of innovative teaching techniques, or letters of commendation, etc.)
Problems: When problems arise, the department chair or staff committee may request additional observations, evidence of student complaints, interviews, or other material necessary to assess the problem.

III. For Professional and Public Service

All department members should provide evidence on their activity sheets demonstrating how they are satisfying Category II of the Job Description (e.g., list of department or university committees served on, etc.)

IV. For Research and Scholarly Activities

All faculty should provide evidence on their activity sheets demonstrating how they are satisfying Category III of the Job Description (e.g., list of publications, conference presentations, or work in progress, etc.)

V. For Progress Towards Tenure

Beginning with the fall retention and performance evaluation of a probationary faculty’s second year and for each retention and performance evaluation thereafter, the faculty member will maintain and make available to the Chair and Staff Committee a tenure portfolio documenting accomplishments within the four criteria for tenure (see the tenure policy). The tenure portfolio should contain any supporting materials that the candidate wishes to include addressing the areas of teaching, research, and service to the department, university, profession, or community. For example, the candidate may wish to include examples of her/his use of technology, interesting assignments, new course proposals, publications, manuscripts, conference programs, explanation of service activities provided to the department or university, notices of readings organized for the campus, etc. The portfolio need not contain activity sheets, peer observations, student evaluations, or syllabi since these should be available in the candidate’s department file.

Collecting Evidence

No later than the end of spring semester, the department chair is to notify the members that the evidence collecting period is drawing to a close. At the same time he or she will call attention to 1) the job description, 2) the evidence, and 3) personal performance objectives and development plan.
Student evaluations must be taken directly to the English department secretary by a designated person other than the evaluated person. It is the responsibility of the chair to see that the evidence collected in this manner is not tampered with in any way.
The department chair will keep all evidence, including student evaluations and peer evaluations, in special files (one for each member). In the case of untenured members and members who might possibly apply for promotion, the evidence will be kept on file by the department chair for at least three years. All department members will have access to their own files.
The contents of the file are confidential. Other than the person evaluated, only the department chair and the Staff Committee will have access to an individual’s file. A record should be kept of anyone who has viewed the file’s materials and of the portion of the materials viewed.

The Use of Evidence

Category II

According to University of Wisconsin Board of Regents policy (as circulated 24 September 1974):

Student evaluation of instruction as information used in actions on promotion, retention or the awarding of tenure.

Each Institution of the University Systems shall adopt such policies for instructional faculty as will insure (a) that evaluation of the instruction of each faculty member being considered for promotion or tenure shall be undertaken; (b) that the faculty body which initiates recommendations for promotion or tenure shall consider, in addition to independent peer judgment of teaching effectiveness, student evaluation data, taking into account existing limitations in validity and reliability of the evaluation methodology employed; and (c)that the faculty body initiating the recommendation shall include both its explicit evaluation of the teaching effectiveness of the person for whom the recommendation is made, and shall include a summary of information provided by student evaluation as part of the supporting evidence for its recommendation.

Each Institution shall develop systematic and firm procedure(s) for the manner and form of presenting student evaluation material for administrative purposes. Faculty members being evaluated should be informed of have the right to respond to any summaries of student evaluations to be submitted for administrative use.

Student evaluation of instruction as information used in actions on merit salary increase.

All faculty members being considered for merit salary increases shall be evaluated by their peers as to their instructional ability, using information from student evaluation of their instruction, as well as other information relevant to assessment, at least once every three years. The intent of this policy is to delegate to the Institutions and their faculties decision as to the minimal frequency with which full assessment of teaching performance should be undertaken and does not, however, imply that more frequent student evaluation might not be wise or desirable in order to provide the most substantial basis for the formal assessment of teaching performance.

Peer evaluation is the Staff Committee’s judgment after the Committee has carefully reviewed evidence submitted under Categories I, II, and III and evidence offered by Staff Committee members.

Each year, the Chair with advice form the Staff Committee, will determine on the basis of submitted evidence the rating (above, within, or below the job description) of each staff member.

Categories III & IV

The Chair of the department with advice from the Staff Committee will determine the ratings in these categories. No one may be rated below under Categories IIB and III.