COMMITTEE REPORT OF ADOPTION OF POLICY RECOMMENDATION
(Peer Class Visits)
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
February 7, 2007
Jennifer Matos, Faculty President
Personnel Planning and Review Committee
By: Penelope Jennings, Executive Secretary
At its meeting on November 8, 2006, the Personnel Planning and Review Committee
considered changes in Section 600 of the Administrative Manual related to procedures for
evaluation of teaching effectiveness. After receiving feedback from the Faculty Senate
(“First Reading”), the Committee adopted a policy recommendation by passing the
following motion at its December 6, 2006 meeting. The proposed change includes
editorial changes suggested by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate at its
February 1, 2007 meeting.
MSP: That Section 612.5.2.c.(2)(a) be revised as follows:
Section 612.5.2. Responsibilities.
a.
b.
c.
The Department Committee . . .
The Department Committee . . .
Each Department shall have on record . . .
(1) Criteria for retention, . . .
(2)
Procedures for evaluating teaching effectiveness.
(a)
Classroom visitations, not excluding online,
distance learning, service-learning, and laboratory
classes, shall be made at least once each academic
year for all probationary faculty and faculty under
consideration for promotion. Class visitations shall
be conducted early enough in the academic year for
use during the annual personnel cycle.
Passed unanimously.
Summary of Supporting Reasons:
Section 612 provides that “Procedures for making class visitations shall be determined by
the Department” but does not specifically address the issue of visiting service learning,
laboratory, or “virtual classes” such as online classes or distance learning classes. The
PP&R Committee is concerned that in many cases, Departments have avoided evaluating
these types of classes, opting to evaluate teaching only in classes taught in the traditional
classroom. By so doing, the Department may meet the technical requirements of Section
612.5.2.c.(2)(a) for annual class visits. Yet by opting not to evaluate on-line, distance
learning, service learning or laboratory classes, the full range of faculty teaching is not
evaluated and thus, the file provides an incomplete picture about a faculty member’s
teaching effectiveness.
The reason for the proposed change is to remind Departments and faculty that these
classes should not be excluded when determining which classes should be visited.
Consistent with this recommendation, Section 600 will be revised to refer to “class visits”
instead of “classroom visits.”
The recommendation is herewith reported to the Faculty President for transmittal, via the
Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, for final recommendation by the Faculty
Senate.