Faculty Responsibilities
Overview
Important sections for faculty to read in addition to this one:
Per Administrative Rule 4.1201.02: Faculty Evaluation and Administrative Rule Guideline/Procedure 4.1201.02.1: Faculty Evaluation (G/P), all full-time and adjunct faculty are required to participate in the faculty evaluation process every year. This process is intended to provide both formative and summative feedback to make the process more meaningful and actionable for faculty. Some processes occur every semester, while the majority of the evaluation process occurs at the end of each academic year.
Faculty should review departmental information on evaluations and the information on the Evaluation Calendar and Evaluation Components for a list of materials to submit (both for full-time and adjunct faculty), the Summary Evaluation Form to better understand the evaluation process, and the Statement on Exemplary Teaching and Evaluation Ratings to understand the rating system.
Every Semester
In order to capture the student voice and provide faculty with feedback, student course evaluations are administered every semester according to the calendars established by the Office of Faculty Evaluation. They are not available to students until the Office of Faculty Evaluation makes them available online, towards the end of the semester; they are then distributed online to students and returned electronically, so faculty are primarily responsible for making their students aware of the time-frame for the survey and encouraging them to complete it. Students submit their response in a confidential manner; the results are returned to faculty after grades have been submitted at the end of the semester.
A vital part of the evaluation process is faculty reflection upon their work. After faculty have received the results of their student course evaluations, they should reflect upon these results and their teaching that semester and submit the Faculty Reflection Form by the posted deadline. These are only required by the college after the fall and spring semesters, although some departments may require them for faculty teaching in the summer as well.
Every Year
1. Prior to Preparing Evaluation Materials for Submission Each Year
In addition to gathering any required course materials for submission, it is strongly recommended that all faculty refer to their departmental faculty evaluation rubrics, weightings, processes, and deadlines posted by their department to become familiar with how their materials will be reviewed and what is expected from them. It is important that they address the topics in the rubric in their Faculty Reflection Form or other components they are submitting, especially topics that might not be clearly demonstrated in their teaching materials.
Faculty scheduled to submit the Peer Dialog (in year 1 of the cycle for full-time faculty only) or the Purposeful Change (in year 2 of the cycle for all faculty except for adjuncts teaching less than 6 LEH that academic year) will need to complete those activities during the academic year in order to be able to report on them at the end of the year for your evaluation.
2. At the End of the Academic Year
Faculty will submit all other materials for faculty evaluation after each academic year (after the spring or summer semester, depending on departmental requirements). This will include any required course materials, the spring Faculty Reflection Form, along with other necessary components. Please see the section on Evaluation Calendar and Evaluation Components for more details, deadlines, and for which components are due each year. It is important to submit all of the necessary materials by the departmental deadlines.
Summary Evaluation Form
Evaluation materials for the academic year will be reviewed during the following fall semester. After this review is completed, faculty will receive the Annual Summary Evaluation Form for review and acceptance. Note that “acceptance” does not imply agreement with everything contained in the form, but that you have received the form and carefully reviewed it. In addition to the required ratings, it is expected that there be formative as well as summative feedback on the form. This feedback is meant to provide actionable and meaningful comments for all faculty.
After reading, faculty should sign and return the form in a timely manner. At that time, faculty also have the following options:
-
- Enter a response to their ratings and the evaluators’ comments.
- Check the option to request a conference with their Department Chair to discuss questions or concerns about the contents of the form.
- After meeting with the Department Chair, faculty also have the option to request a conference with their Dean to discuss remaining questions or concerns or their next steps; this additional conference can be requested by checking the option on the Supplementary Conference Form, which is completed by the Department Chair.
- If, after these conferences, faculty still have unresolved grievances, they may dispute the outcome of their evaluation according to Administrative Rule 4.0702.01: Resolution of an Employee Grievance (See also ACC Webpage: Employee Grievance Process).
Faculty who receive an Overall Rating of Approaching Expectations for ACC Faculty will be provided with a list of specific improvements necessary to attain ACC Exemplary Teaching and Faculty Expectations Have Been Met in a future evaluation. These necessary improvements must be clearly communicated and faculty are expected to work on improving those items by the next evaluation period.
If the Overall Rating is Does Not Meet Faculty Expectations, a meeting with the Department Chair is required to develop a Performance Improvement Plan with a clearly specified outcomes and timeline. The Department will provide assistance in obtaining professional development for skills required to make improvements. Faculty who receive this rating will be given reasonable time and support to address these problems and will progress to a higher rating in the following year if they follow their improvement plan. Faculty who receive this rating may be required to repeat a year in the evaluation cycle in order to resubmit specific evaluation materials the following year for review, especially if course materials are at issue.
After all forms have obtained the required approvals, the completed form will be returned to each faculty member after any requested conferences have been completed.
Record Retention
Although departments are expected to maintain copies of all evaluation materials for at least three years, it is recommended that individual faculty members maintain copies of their own materials for at least that time period as well.