CURRENT FACULTY HANDBOOK
V. EVALUATION OF FACULTY PERFORMANCE: CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION,
TENURE, AND RETENTION
A. Introduction
The activities of a faculty member should form a pattern that is consistent with the goals of both
the faculty member and the Institute and should reflect an understanding that effective teaching
is the most important criterion for appointment and advancement. Each year the faculty member
should assess his or her progress toward these goals and, in collaboration with the Department
Head, make appropriate corrections or changes. In evaluating the credentials of faculty who are
being considered for promotion, tenure or retention, it is presumed that a favorable decision will
occur only in cases where a strong, overall performance has been consistently demonstrated.
The central concern is somewhat different for tenure than for promotion. Tenure reflects a longterm commitment by the Institute to the individual; therefore, to become tenured, a faculty
member must show evidence that he or she will perform his or her duties and responsibilities in a
superior manner. For promotion the faculty member must have demonstrated distinguished
performance.
Each faculty member will have an annual review, that includes a Personnel Evaluation form
submitted by the Department Head to the Dean of the Faculty, to assess the continued progress in
the three areas of faculty responsibility. Each Department Head shall meet in private conference
with each faculty member in his or her department at least once each year for the purpose of
reviewing performance and progress of the faculty member. In situations where deficiencies are
thought to exist, it is incumbent upon the Department Head to conduct these conferences more
frequently to review the progress of the faculty member. In an instance in which a Department
Head is untenured, the same procedure for a private conference and an annual written review of
him or her shall be carried out by the Dean of the Faculty.
The Personnel Evaluation form shall include comments on the faculty member's performance in
the areas of teaching, professional activity and service. It may include any other pertinent
comments. Following the annual review, the form shall be signed by the Department Head and
the faculty member. Copies shall be sent to the Dean of the Faculty and the faculty member. The
Dean may make additional comments, sending copies to the faculty member and Department
Head. Every faculty member should carefully inspect his or her annual, written Personnel
Evaluation form prepared by the Department Head as well as any comments made by the Dean.
If in the opinion of the faculty member additional information is necessary for an accurate
appraisal of his or her performance, a written response for inclusion in the member's PTR file
should be submitted to the Dean with a copy to his or her Department Head.
B. Procedures for Evaluation of Teaching:
l. Students shall evaluate each faculty member in each class every term. The evaluation
questionnaire is prepared by the Dean of the Faculty in consultation with a committee of faculty
and administrators. Questionnaires are made available to students electronically during the tenth
week of classes. Questionnaires for laboratory classes that do not meet tenth week will be
available to students ninth week. Instructors are encouraged to provide time during class to
allow students to complete questionnaires. Student responses are made available electronically
to the faculty member after the date grades are due, but not before the grades have been
submitted for the course.
The faculty member will have two weeks after the forms are made available to review them and
prepare written comments on a summary form for each course, noting any new teaching
techniques tried, unusual situations, accomplishments, problems, etc. After the faculty member
has submitted his or her comments, or two weeks after the forms are made available to the
faculty member, whichever is earlier, the relevant Department Head may add his or her own
written evaluation to the form, and the Dean of Faculty may review the material and may add
written comments. A copy of the summary form for each course will be available electronically
to the faculty member, Department Head, and the Dean throughout the process. Following the
Dean’s review, a printed copy of the form will be inserted into the individual faculty member's
PTR file. These summary forms may be discussed during the annual performance review.
To ensure that feedback from all parties is available to guide revisions of future course
offerings, participants in the process are encouraged to complete comments on the summary
form prior to the beginning of the next academic year, in accordance with the following
timetable. The Department Head’s comments should be completed no later than July 15, and the
Dean’s comments no later than August 15. Comments on evaluations of courses taught during
summer quarter are due with those of the subsequent academic year.
{Change log: Section B1 modified 8/31/07 to reflect faculty action of May 22, 2007}
2. The Department Head and the Dean will assist the faculty member in interpreting the
responses from the student evaluations.
3. Faculty members are encouraged to submit any other documentation (results of polls taken to
improve teaching, peer review, letters, video tapes of class sessions, evidence of student
performance in subsequent courses or on national tests, observations by professionals from other
institutions, etc.) to be reviewed by the Department Head and Dean as an aid in assessing
performance.
4. By mutual agreement with the instructors, Department Heads and faculty colleagues are
encouraged to visit classes of members of their department.
C. Procedures for Evaluation of Professional Activity:
1. It is the responsibility of each faculty member to keep the Department Head informed of all
professional activities designed to maintain or advance the competence of the faculty member.
2. Each faculty member should ensure that his or her annual Activities Report to the Dean of
Faculty reflects all pertinent professional activities of the preceding academic year.
D. Procedures for Evaluation of Service:
l. It is the responsibility of each faculty member to keep the Department Head informed of all
forms of service by the faculty member to the Institute, the community, and/or his or her
profession.
2. Each faculty member should ensure that his or her annual Activities Report to the Dean of
Faculty reflects all pertinent professional and public service of the preceding year.
E. PTR Files and Portfolios
1. There are two groups of documents which are relevant to the PTR process. One is the faculty
member’s “PTR file” which is kept in the office of the Dean of the Faculty. The second is an
organized summary of these documents which is used to present the faculty member’s case for a
change in status; this second document is referred to as a “PTR Portfolio.”
2. PTR File
The individual's PTR file shall contain materials from which the President, Dean of the Faculty
and PTRC can formulate an independent judgment on teaching performance, professional
activity, and service. This PTR file shall be maintained in the Dean’s office and shall contain all
recommendations and materials from those persons who have access to the file, namely, the
faculty member, President, Dean of the Faculty, the individual's Department Head, and PTRC.
Faculty members are responsible for ensuring that their PTR file accurately reflects their
activities. Each faculty member, with the advice of his or her Department Head, should ensure
that his or her PTR file is complete. Thus they should periodically check their file in the Dean's
office, especially prior to their third year review or consideration of a change of status in rank or
tenure. The file should contain full documentation of a member's performance in all areas
related to promotion and tenure as found in the Faculty Handbook , Section Four, Part III,
"Duties and Responsibilities of Members of the Faculty," and Part V, "Evaluation of Faculty
Performance: Criteria For Promotion, Tenure, and Retention." Materials that should be included
as a minimum:
1. a current vita,
2. copies of the summary sheets of student evaluation of teaching for all courses taught at Rose,
3. copies of the annual “Faculty Activity Report” for every year,
4. the annual written reviews from the Department Head, and
5. other documents relating to professional development and service activities.
3. PTR Portfolio
The “PTR Portfolio” can be viewed as an organized executive summary of the candidate’s
activities which is used to make the case for a change in status at RHIT. As with the PTR File it
should contain:
1. a current vita,
2. copies of the summary sheets of student evaluation of teaching for all courses taught at Rose,
3. copies of the “Faculty Activity Report” for every year, and
4. the annual written reviews from the Department Head
One possible organization of the portfolio would be to have an introductory section which would
include a current vita, the annual reviews from the Department Heads, and the annual “Faculty
Activity Reports.” A second section could contain a summary chart of the teaching evaluations
to give an overview of the teaching performance followed by all the student evaluation summary
sheets. Additional sections may be added for professional development and service if the
candidate feels that their current vita and Faculty Activity Reports do not adequately describe the
character of their activities.