To: All Faculty and College Deans

From: Chernoh M. Sesay, Provost and Executive Vice President

Susanna Tardi, President AFT Local 1796

Date: September 9, 2004

Re: Assessment of Tenured Faculty

The purpose of this memorandum is to clarify aspects of the process of "Assessment of Tenured Faculty" as described in the Faculty and Professional Staff Handbook, to ensure equitable application of the policy and related procedures, and to affirm the mutual commitment of the University and the AFT Local to such assessment. The presence of a cycle of the review and assessment of the professional performance of tenured faculty is increasingly a concern of accrediting bodies who request information about the existence of such a process as well as evidence that it is carried out in accordance with University policy. Your assistance in its continuing implementation is appreciated.

I. Clarification Concerning the "Assessment of Tenured Faculty" (See Policy and Procedure in Faculty and Professional Staff Handbook, V.48-V.54)

1. Faculty members who indicate an intention to retire within three years are exempt from the procedure. If the retirement application is withdrawn the faculty member shall undergo review with the next scheduled group. Please note that these individuals will be included in the next group scheduled to be reviewed whether or not they renew their intent to retire.

2. The student evaluation procedure will be carried out each semester for every course. This procedure must take place between the 5th and the 12th week of classes each semester, no later or earlier.

  1. During the spring semester of each year in which the faculty member is being assessed, the faculty member shall have a conference with the department chair. This conference must take place within 14 days after the faculty member receives the report of the student questionnaires for that spring semester.

  2. At that time, the faculty member will provide the report of the questionnaires for all of the spring semesters since the last career development assessment to the department chair. The report of classes for the fall semester shall be solely for the information for the faculty member, unless the faculty member opts to share the report(s) with the department chair. Please note that after data processing prepares a report for all classes in that semester, the report will be forwarded directly to the faculty member.

  3. The faculty member may request to confer with the Dean concerning the assessment report if he or she so chooses. In accordance with the procedure, the Dean may request a meeting only if clarification is necessary prior to preparing the report.

 

II. Departments in Special Circumstances

In spring of 1996, one fifth of the tenured faculty in each department were scheduled to be reviewed in rotation, beginning with the most senior and continuing in order of seniority. Most faculty members are on track undergoing assessment every five years. This process was designed to ensure that each faculty member would be assessed in this manner. However, due to many reasons, including but not limited to sabbaticals, leaves of absence, and faculty who intended to retire and later rescinded the intention, the rotation in several departments is off schedule. In these circumstances, the majority of faculty members, in accordance with the procedure, are required to be included in the next group scheduled to be reviewed.

The excess of these "off-schedule" faculty combined with those who are in line for review in this academic year would result in a heavy burden on the Department Assessment Committees (DACs) in the following departments.

After careful review of the rotation schedule, the Union and the Administration have agreed to the following in the above departments to preserve the assessment process yet relieve the burden of review in the aforementioned departments: One third of the most senior faculty who are off-schedule will be reviewed this year in accordance with the procedure. The next most senior group who are off schedule will be reviewed next year in 2005-2006. The last most senior "off-schedule" group will be assessed in AY 2006-2007. Thereafter, all such faculty members will undergo assessment every five years per policy (for example, those scheduled for 2004-2005 will next be assessed in 2009-2010).

The "Assessment of Tenured Faculty" schedule is attached. Responsibility for carrying out these assessments is as outlined in the policy in the Handbook, beginning on V.48.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.