The elements of an academic career.
mv, kj
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You are free.
You teach as you choose.
You research as you choose.
You serve as you choose.
There are 24 hours in a day.
You will be evaluated.
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Aggressive (don’t be daunted)
Creates a paper trail (to your benefit)
Think feedback, NOT weed-out
Designed to foster development and
success
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Year at UWSP
Appointment
1st
Initial
appointment
2nd
3rd
Evaluation/renewal action
Renewal of appointment for 3rd and 4th years
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Department’s recommendation to Dean in October
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Dean’s notification to incumbent faculty in December
Second
appointment
Renewal of appointment for 5th and 6th years
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Department’s recommendation to Dean in February
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Dean’s recommendation to Provost in March
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Provost’s notification incumbent faculty in May
Third
appointment
Renewal of appointment for 7th year
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Department’s recommendation to Dean in February
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Dean’s recommendation to Provost in March
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Provost’s notification incumbent faculty in May
4th
5th
6th
7th
Tenure and renewal of appointment for 8th year
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Department’s recommendation to Dean in November
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Dean’s recommendation to Provost in December
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Provost’s notification incumbent faculty in March
Fourth
appointment
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Materials for Retention, Tenure and Promotion Files
The following information refers to files that are received for review in the Office of Academic Affairs. Additional
materials may be required by your College or Department
Required Materials for Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Dean's recommendation
•Chair's recommendation (unless chair votes with faculty)
•Department/Personnel Committee decision (with vote)
•Summary of peer evaluations
•Summary of results from the Student Evaluation of Instruction form for a minimum of three preceding years. The results
should have been returned to you in a format that identifies the faculty member’s median on each item and the median for
comparable courses for each item. You should not try to manipulate these numbers any further by creating means or other
summary statistics. Simply include a copy of the report for each course/section in the personnel file you forward to the
Academic Affairs Office. NOTE: For evaluations administered prior to the 2004-2005 year, you should submit a chart of
scores for questions 6 & 7 on the former version of the Student Evaluation of Instruction form.
•Peer reviews of non-refereed presentations or publications (if included under scholarship)
•Current vita
Desirable Materials for Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Individual peer teaching observation reports
•Summary of results from the Student Evaluation of Instruction form since hire (for retention, tenure and promotion to
Associate Professor) or since last personnel action (for promotion to Full Professor). See above for appropriate format.
•Student comments - typed list by course, not individual sheets
•Brief self-reflection (no more than two pages)
•Copies of cover pages of published work
Material Not Desired in Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Complete articles or books
•Samples or photographs of works created
•Formative evaluations of teaching
Use of a small (one-and-a-half inch) three-ring binder with tabs separating the different kinds of materials is
helpful.
In some cases additional documentation may be requested if needed for adequate review.
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With the different levels of evaluation
(department, dean, provost), there are
different expectations of what items will be
submitted.
Department’s tend to require more items
than Deans or the Provost.
Learn and live your department’s rules.
Ask for instruction from your department.
(e.g. format for dossier?)
Start a file of retention materials. Be vigilant
about organizing and updating.
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Evaluation is on achievements in teaching,
scholarship and service.
◦ Broad Guidelines found in University Handbook.
◦ More specific guidelines are in the Teaching,
Scholarship and Service document.
◦ Discipline-specific criteria for evaluation should be
defined in department rules or policies.
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Materials for Retention, Tenure and Promotion Files
The following information refers to files that are received for review in the Office of Academic Affairs. Additional
materials may be required by your College or Department
Required Materials for Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Dean's recommendation
•Chair's recommendation (unless chair votes with faculty)
•Department/Personnel Committee decision (with vote)
•Summary of peer evaluations
•Summary of results from the Student Evaluation of Instruction form for a minimum of three preceding years. The results
should have been returned to you in a format that identifies the faculty member’s median on each item and the median for
comparable courses for each item. You should not try to manipulate these numbers any further by creating means or other
summary statistics. Simply include a copy of the report for each course/section in the personnel file you forward to the
Academic Affairs Office. NOTE: For evaluations administered prior to the 2004-2005 year, you should submit a chart of
scores for questions 6 & 7 on the former version of the Student Evaluation of Instruction form.
•Peer reviews of non-refereed presentations or publications (if included under scholarship)
•Current vita
Desirable Materials for Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Individual peer teaching observation reports
•Summary of results from the Student Evaluation of Instruction form since hire (for retention, tenure and promotion to
Associate Professor) or since last personnel action (for promotion to Full Professor). See above for appropriate format.
•Student comments - typed list by course, not individual sheets
•Brief self-reflection (no more than two pages)
•Copies of cover pages of published work
Material Not Desired in Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Complete articles or books
•Samples or photographs of works created
•Formative evaluations of teaching
Use of a small (one-and-a-half inch) three-ring binder with tabs separating the different kinds of materials is
helpful.
In some cases additional documentation may be requested if needed for adequate review.
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Course content
Course objectives
Grading policies
Course examinations
Course organization
Quality of student achievement
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The course objectives
Objectives for the day of the visit
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The structure and goals for the course (e.g.
appropriate integration of modes of
instruction; class activities tied to goals.)
Presentation skills (e.g. eye contact; speaking
rate and intensity; language usage; distracting
mannerisms)
Rapport with students (e.g. equability; student
receptiveness; respect)
Mastery of content (e.g. adequacy; currency;
content sequencing)
Listing of strengths and weaknesses in
teaching performance
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Report on the observations
Give the candidate an opportunity to
comment on the observations and any other
aspect that might reasonably have affected
the instruction that day
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the observation in the context of the
instructor's objectives,
comments made at the meeting following
the observation, and
any other relevant material.
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Materials for Retention, Tenure and Promotion Files
The following information refers to files that are received for review in the Office of Academic Affairs. Additional
materials may be required by your College or Department
Required Materials for Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Dean's recommendation
•Chair's recommendation (unless chair votes with faculty)
•Department/Personnel Committee decision (with vote)
•Summary of peer evaluations
•Summary of results from the Student Evaluation of Instruction form for a minimum of three preceding years. The results
should have been returned to you in a format that identifies the faculty member’s median on each item and the median for
comparable courses for each item. You should not try to manipulate these numbers any further by creating means or other
summary statistics. Simply include a copy of the report for each course/section in the personnel file you forward to the
Academic Affairs Office. NOTE: For evaluations administered prior to the 2004-2005 year, you should submit a chart of
scores for questions 6 & 7 on the former version of the Student Evaluation of Instruction form.
•Peer reviews of non-refereed presentations or publications (if included under scholarship)
•Current vita
Desirable Materials for Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Individual peer teaching observation reports
•Summary of results from the Student Evaluation of Instruction form since hire (for retention, tenure and promotion to
Associate Professor) or since last personnel action (for promotion to Full Professor). See above for appropriate format.
•Student comments - typed list by course, not individual sheets
•Brief self-reflection (no more than two pages)
•Copies of cover pages of published work
Material Not Desired in Files Received in Academic Affairs
•Complete articles or books
•Samples or photographs of works created
•Formative evaluations of teaching
Use of a small (one-and-a-half inch) three-ring binder with tabs separating the different kinds of materials is
helpful.
In some cases additional documentation may be requested if needed for adequate review.
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• Summative versus formative items.
• For most items, low numbers are “better”
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Unless you are otherwise instructed, please answer all items on a scale of
1=strongly agree to 5=strongly disagree.
ITEMS ABOUT THE STUDENT:
1. I completed all assigned tasks before coming to class.
2. I came to this course with a strong interest in learning this material.
3. I sought out the instructor when I needed help with course content.
4. I made a serious effort to attend class regularly.
5. I expect to receive the following grade in this course
1—A or Pass
2—B
3—C
4—D
5—F
6. Why did you enroll in this class? (mark all that apply)
1—GDR 2—Required for major/minor 3—elective for major/minor 4—general
elective 5—recommended by advisor 6—sounded interesting
ITEMS ABOUT THE COURSE:
7. The course objectives and requirements were clear.
8. The course materials and activities were relevant to the course objectives.
9. Based on the course objectives and requirements, the course workload was
Much too low
low
appropriate
high
much too
high
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2
3
4
5
10. I learned a lot in this course.
11. Overall, this was a good course.
ITEMS ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
12. The instructor organized the course material well.
13. The instructor demonstrated enthusiasm for the subject matter.
14. The Instructor treated students with courtesy and respect.
15. The instructor encouraged participation in class.
16. The instructor welcomed interaction outside of class for academic support.
17. The instructor provided useful feedback on my performance.
18. Overall, the instructor taught this course effectively.
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• Summative versus formative items.
• For most items, low numbers are “better”
• Score for each item is compared to those
from departmentally chosen courses
• For each item in each course/section, the
“modified median” is reported.
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Form is administered within final quarter of
the semester during a scheduled class
meeting. (you choose)
Form is distributed/collected by students
turned in according to departmental
procedure.
Form is summative. You may wish to
administer your own formative survey
earlier in the semester.
Scores are reported to you after final
semester grades are submitted to the office
of records.
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Modified medians should not be averaged.
Include a copy of each reporting form for
each course/section
There is no magic acceptable number
Evaluations offer one piece of evidence in a
complex picture
Evaluations tend be better at finding problem
areas than distinguishing good from great
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Cumulative ratings over several semesters/years
and from a range of courses are used and caution
is used in interpreting results from classes of 15 or
fewer students since scores for classes of this size
generally tend to be higher than for larger classes
(Seldin, 1984, p. 135).
At least 75% of the students in the class complete
the form
The scores for other faculty in the department are
available for comparison purposes
The candidate's scores are compared to
departmental scores. Whenever possible, these
comparisons should be made with scores for
courses having similar characteristics (e.g. size;
level of student) (Seldin, 1984, p.137).
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Be clearly defined
Require a level of expertise that reasonably
could be expected of a university faculty
member
Use methods and procedures appropriate to
the task
Be well-documented
Be available to the academic community for
review and comment
Have disciplinary and/or pedagogical value
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“Scholarship is not an esoteric appendage; it is
at the heart of what the profession is all about.
All faculty, throughout their careers, should,
themselves, remain students. As scholars, they
must continue to learn and be seriously and
continuously engaged in the expanding
intellectual world. This is essential to the
vitality and vigor of the undergraduate college.”
- Ernest L. Boyer
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Diverse forms of interaction between the
faculty member, the campus, and the
community
Should be tied to the mission of the
department/unit and the university
Know what your department/unit expects.
Seek clarity.
Service expectations tend to be minimal at
first and then gradually increase.
Be prudent about your time commitments.
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