American University – School of Education, Teaching, and Health
Faculty Evaluation Systems
(including Professional Development)
New Exhibit 5.4.2
This document contains artifacts that present the processes for conducting
evaluations of full-time and adjunct faculty (including clinical supervisors) and
descriptions of processes for accessing Professional Development funds. Sample
evaluations will be available using the BOE onsite visit.
Process for Full-time Faculty Evaluation
MEMORANDUM
21 January 2014
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
To:
School of Education, Teaching & Health Full Time Faculty
Re:
Merit and Annual Review Procedures Spring 2014
From:
Sarah Irvine Belson, School of Education, Teaching & Health
In SETH, we combine the Merit and Annual Review process by asking the full-time faculty
to submit just one set of materials for both processes. All faculty members are asked to
submit materials in FARS and via Dropbox no later than February 28, 2014. Pre-tenure
and term faculty members will participate in Annual Review meetings IF THEY DID NOT
HAVE A MAJOR REVIEW THIS year. Copies of your SETs will be uploaded for you, as will
comparative data for SETH and CAS.
All faculty should submit:
•
•
A one page summary of research, teaching & service undertaken the 2013 calendar year.
An updated copy of the CV
Term and pre-tenure faculty, as well as faculty planning on requesting a promotion in the
next calendar year, should:
•
•
Schedule an classroom teaching observation of teaching to take place, ideally before
February 24th . Classroom observations should be completed by an individual at or above
the current rank of the faculty member.
Meet with the Rank and Tenure committee and dean to undertake the annual review. A
calendar for those meetings is listed on the reverse.
All full-time faculty will then review the material for other faculty, and numerical ratings
for the purposed of merit will be provided via a surveymonkey site administered by the
SETH Operations Coordinator (Sacha Conley). Reviews must be completed by March 31st.
Attached to this memo is the criteria statement for merit and promotion for both tenure
line and term faculty, as well as the classroom observation form.
Proposed Schedule for Annual Review of Term Faculty
By the Rank and Tenure Committee and Dean
M
Feb
Mar
24
3
Mar
10
Mar
17
Mar
24
Tu
25
10:00 to 12:30
5 Individual Meetings w/
Rank & Tenure Committee
& Dean
4
10:30 to 12:30
5 Individual Meetings w/
Rank & Tenure Committee
& Dean
11
Due Date for Summary
Letters from Term Faculty
Spring Break
18
SETH Council Meeting
25
10:00 to Noon
W
Th
F
26
27
28
5
6
7
12
13
14
19
20
21
26
27
28
Faculty Activity Reporting System (FARS) Instructions:
Process for Adjunct Evaluations
Email sent to Adjunct Faculty:
Dear Adjunct Professor:
As you know, adjunct appointments at American University last for three years, after which they
must be renewed for an adjunct to remain on the faculty. Your contract expires at the end of this
semester, so we are contacting you regarding the renewal process.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between American University and the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 500 mandates that adjunct faculty undergo a
formal performance review at least once every three years (Article 7), and that adjunct faculty
have an opportunity to provide input to the review. These performance reviews will be
conducted as part of the normal three-year contract renewal process.
Each teaching unit establishes guidelines for evaluating teaching by members of that unit and
evaluation metrics extend beyond SETs scores. Faculty may demonstrate effective teaching in a
variety of ways, including course design, development of new curriculum, up-to-date course
content, student engagement and achievement outside the classroom, and adherence to
evaluation procedures that accurately reflect student accomplishments. Teaching units or
academic units may also view publication and presentation of teaching materials and
methodologies as a contribution to teaching.
As part of the review and contract renewal process, your department chair, program director, or
relevant teaching unit administrator will produce a written evaluation in the form of a brief
memo to the academic unit dean and Dean of Academic Affairs. Upon conclusion of the review
and renewal process, you will be provided with a copy of this written evaluation.
In order to facilitate the review process, we will be collecting information via the goEd system.
You will soon receive an email from the goEd system notifying you that your evaluation form
has been created. At that time, please login to goEd at https://goed.american.edu and click on the
My Evaluation link in the left-side menu. You will be asked to provide information relevant to
your teaching and service at AU over the past three years and to verify the accuracy of
information that the university has collected on your behalf. Once you have completed all
sections of the form, you will be asked to submit it to your program director. We ask that you
please complete your evaluation by or before October 17, 2014
This report should include:
(1) A list of the courses you taught and the semesters you taught them during the past three
years.
(2) A copy of the Standard Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) for each of these courses.
(3) A copy of the syllabi for each of these courses.
(4) A list of any other teaching responsibilities you had during the previous contract period (i.e.,
supervision of independent study, Honors capstones or supplements, Masters Theses, etc.).
(5) Any additional comments or observations you would like to include regarding your teaching.
Please note, classroom observations must be requested and schedule with the Dean and
Associate Dean. If you are interested in a classroom observation, please let Sacha Sharp
know by October 10, 2014.
(6) A description of any other service to the AU community that you provided during the
previous contract period, such as serving on university committees.
(7) Notable recent professional publications or accomplishments relevant to your qualifications
as an adjunct faculty member.
(8) A copy of your current curriculum vitae or resume.
Figure 5.4.2. Adjunct Faculty Evaluation Modules in GoEd.
Once the faculty member has completed their evaluation, a member of the front office staff
reviews the evaluation to ensure all required items have been provided. The evaluation is
then forwarded to Dean (for Education) and the Associate Dean (for Health Promotion) for
final review.
Requesting Adjunct Professional Development funds
Email sent December of each year to all Adjuncts by SETH Operations Coordinator:
Dear SETH Adjuncts:
As per our adjunct faculty collective bargaining agreement with SEIU, the University has set up a
professional development fund of $25,000 for adjunct faculty to provide support for professional
development opportunities related to teaching. An adjunct whose application is approved will be
reimbursed up to $550 per AY for reimbursable expenditures related to the approved professional
development opportunity.
The adjunct faculty web page has a section that details professional development opportunities for
adjuncts.
http://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/adjuncts/prof-dev.cfm
The process for handling adjunct faculty requests for professional development funds is as follows:
(1) Adjuncts apply to their departments by filling out the application form, which can be found on the
adjunct faculty professional development opportunities web page.
(2) SETH Department reviews applications for appropriateness, approve or disapprove, then send the
application CAS Dean's Office.
(3) CAS reviews the application and then sends it the Dean of Academic Affair's Office for review.
(4) DAA notifies CAS and the adjunct of decision.
(4) If the application is approved, the Provost's Office transfers funds to the College.
(6) Upon receiving a one-page report and receipts from the adjunct, the College reimburses the adjunct.
(7) DAA office tracks who has received professional development funds and coordinates with CTRL to
prevent double dipping.
If you are interested in receiving professional development funds, please submit your completed
application to Sacha Sharp at sacha@american.edu.
Adjunct Faculty Supply Request
Adjunct faculty may be reimbursed for expenditures or materials and supplies used in the classroom,
and for costs associated with field trips that are pre-approved by the SETH Dean. Requests should be
made using the Supply Request Google Form found:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1eTmjeeBd_cjkHqPX-h0wJMA8TPnhyJY1GLfaLGYDujM/viewform.
Itemized expense receipts that have been taped to a separate sheet of paper must accompany approved
Disbursement requests.
Requesting Full-Time Faculty Professional Development funds
For Faculty Spending:
CAS Research Expense Accounts (REAs): Each tenure-line faculty member is allocated $1000/year for
research support from CAS, and the funds are managed by Erin Nixon and Eric Rieger in the CAS budget
office. Allocations can be used for travel to conference, software, books and other expenses related to
faculty research, and faculty members must provide a rationale for such research expenses. Principal
Investigators who submitted a significant grant or fellowship application in the previous fiscal year would
also receive an additional $500. Term faculty members who submitted grants are fellowships the previous
fiscal year would have an REA established in the amount of $500. Travel expense and disbursement
requests for these funds must be forwarded directly to the CAS budget office, casbudget@american.edu.
Conference Travel Funds (CTF): Tenure-line faculty members presenting research at a conference are
eligible for additional $750 for conference travel support, provided that they have documentation of
presenting. Travel expense and disbursement requests for these funds must be forwarded directly to the
CAS budget office, casbudget@american.edu
Term Faculty Research Fund (TFRF): Term-line faculty members who have completed two or more
semesters of full-time teaching receive an allocation or $750 for any valid research expenses- including
conference or research travel. Travel expenses and disbursement requests for these funds must be
forwarded directly to the CAS budget office, casbudget@american.edu
SETH REA: SETH provides all faculty members with an additional $750 to be access through the residual
account with approval from the SETH Dean. Please complete the normal travel expense or disbursement
procedures for these funds. Note that there is some variability here depending on the faculty member’s
negotiated agreement. Travel expenses and disbursement requests for these funds must be forwarded
directly to the SETH Front Office, sacha@american.edu or sbradley@american.edu
Grants: There are several grant and research opportunities available to full-time faculty. Please refer to
the CAS Budget Administration Workshop Binder for more information.
Faculty Receipts: Itemized receipts that reflect account balances for faculty spending are provided to
faculty members on a monthly basis during faculty meetings. The Operations Coordinator is available on
a daily basis to take questions and concerns.
Summer Research Support
A stipend in the amount of $5000 is available for term and tenure-track faculty in order to promote
research initiatives during the summer months. The following is an example of the email sent to eligible
faulty. Below that is an example of a faculty members response.
Dear Professor,
As you know, the research requirements for tenure here at American University are substantial,
and tenure-line and term faculty often are able to give careful and sustained attention to
research, particularly over the summer months when there is an opportunity for concentration
on writing and research –given that teaching and university service is not required. In order to
help you achieve your scholarship goals, you have the opportunity to receive summer research
fund from the Institute for Innovation in Education. This fund will provide access up to $5000
to support expenses related to your research this summer.
Receipt of this award is contingent on submission of a research proposal and a budget
justification, which will need to be submitted in memo form to Sacha Sharp. Please submit your
proposal and budget no later than May 21st.
I look forward to you having a productive summer. Please contact me with any questions or
concerns.
To: Sacha Conley
From:
Re: Research Proposal: Summer 2014 Research Support
Date Submitted: May 20, 2014
Proposal: During the summer months, I am working on my dissertation for my doctorate
of education at Teachers College at Columbia University. My dissertation research is
focusing on policy and legal alternatives for improving the conditions for deliberation in
schools. I am examining how policymakers and courts can promote psychological safety
and time for collaboration in schools, which are key conditions for effective deliberation.
The methodology uses a combination of qualitative analyses and traditional doctrinal legal
research.
Budget Justification: As a term faculty member, I am on a nine-month contract and will
not be receiving salary during the summer months. The $5000 will be used to support my
expenses during the summer. I will also use a portion of the budget to travel to Teachers
College to meet with my dissertation committee.