Annual Faculty (EPA) Peer Evaluation Policies and Procedures
Authority: Chancellor
History: Updated and Reformatted June 16, 2011
Source of Authority: UNC Policy 300.2.
Related Links: UNCW Faculty Handbook
Responsible Office(s): College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
_________________________________________________________________________
I. PURPOSE
This policy establishes the guidelines for annual faculty evaluation of all instructional and
research staff (EPA), as well as part time faculty and graduate students involved in teaching.
II. POLICY
1.
Teaching Evaluations: The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry adheres to the
recommendations of the UNCW Faculty Handbook as regards peer and student evaluation of
teaching. Instructors in all courses are evaluated every semester by student, and in addition,
all graduate teaching assistants, lecturers and part time faculty are observed by senior faculty
or supervisors who employ a variety of metrics enumerated in the peer evaluation rubric
(needs web-based form and link). In the case of lecturers, part time faculty and graduate
students, the Chair reviews the student and peer evaluations on an annual basis and, in
consultation with senior faculty or supervisors, recommends corrective action when problems
in performance are found.
On an annual basis, all faculty teaching lectures submit syllabi and representative assessment
materials (tests, assignments, etc.) for each course taught to the appropriate discipline focus
group. The materials are reviewed to assure that the breadth and depth of coverage are
appropriate, and to that courses taught in all venues (traditional face to face, hybrid or
completely on-line) have comparable rigor. In general, the student evaluations are
considered as part of this evaluation, but in the case of on-line courses, problems with
question design and response rates of student evaluations often make these responses
unreliable. Until this situation is corrected, this information will not be used in these
assessments.
-1-
2. Annual Tenured and Tenure Track Faculty Evaluations: At the end of each academic
year, an Evaluation Committee composed of four members is appointed by the chair. The
membership on this Committee will be anonymous and rotated each year in such a way at
least one member from the previous committee serves again to provide continuity in the
annual review process.
Untenured tenure-track faculty must complete the Annual Faculty Peer Evaluation Form
located in the Policies and Procedures portion of the Departmental Web Page and provide
this and the updated Delaware II form from Digital Measures as well as other requested
documents to the Chair’s office by May 31. These documents will be available for review by
all tenured faculty members. However, the formal evaluation of these materials will only be
conducted by the individual’s Mentor Committee and the Chair. Untenured faculty members
are evaluated in the areas of teaching, research, and service and the Mentor Committee
provides the Chair with a summary of its comments in each area. The Chair provides each
untenured faculty member yearly written assessment of his/her progress toward meeting the
requirements for tenure and promotion, as well as practical guidelines for meeting those
requirements, and personally meets with each person to discuss the summary.
Tenured Faculty must update Digital Measures and compile their data in a spreadsheet that
summarizes teaching, research and service categories along with a current CV to the Chair’s
office no later than May 31. The Evaluation Committee reviews each faculty member’s CV
and spreadsheet entries and indicates if the work is unsatisfactory (U), satisfactory (S), or
exemplary (E) in each of the areas of teaching, research, and service. All ratings of U or E
must be accompanied by a written justification. The Chair provides each faculty member
with a verbal summary of his or her year-end evaluations.
PROCEDURE
Evaluation of untenured tenure-track faculty
1. Each Mentor Committee meets during June to evaluate the materials submitted by their
tenure track (non-tenured) mentee. The committee compiles a detailed report of the teaching,
research and service contributions of the mentee, including evaluation of his/her progress
toward tenure and any recommendations for areas that need special attention. The committee
will submit their report to the Chair no later than June 23.
-2-
2. During the last week in June, the Chair will compose a detailed report for each of the nontenured, tenure track faculty and schedule a meeting to discuss the findings. A copy of each
report, signed by the chair and the faculty member, is provided to the Dean of the College of
Arts and Sciences by June 30 with a copy submitted to the individual’s personnel file.
Evaluation of tenured faculty
1. An Evaluation Committee composed of at least four members is appointed each year by the
chair. The membership on this Committee will be rotated in such a way that at least one
individual serves on the Committee for two consecutive years to provide continuity in the
annual review process.
2. The evaluation committee meets during June to evaluate the materials submitted by all
tenured faculty, compiles a spreadsheet with the summary of teaching, research and service
categories and submits this to the Chair no later than June 23.
3. After reviewing the evaluation spreadsheet, the Chair submits a signed copy to the Dean
of the College of Arts and Sciences by June 30.
-3-