Committee Charge
Bylaws relevant to the Committee for Peer Review of Teaching.
The following statements are a summary of the bylaws relevant to the Committee for Peer Review of Teaching, reflecting their understanding as of Fall 2006. The actual bylaws sections referenced in parentheses are copied below this summary.
Committee duties
- Determine criteria and report format to be used (III,3,F,5)
- Produce a final report on each evaluated faculty member (III,3,F,5)
Procedures
- Faculty member requests Committee review by September 20. (III,3,F,6)
- Faculty member may request three specific Committee members to serve as evaluators. Final selection of evaluators is made in consultation with Committee chairperson. (III,3,F,6) (IV,2,A,6)
Who must be evaluated by the Committee?
- All probationary faculty (III,3,F,6) (IV,4,item 3 under Criteria for Evaluating Teaching)
When should evaluation occur?
- At least once every three years of probationary status (III,3,F,6) (IV,2,A,6) (IV,2,B,4)
How is the Committee evaluation used in the tenure process?
- It is not used (V)
How is the Committee evaluation used in the promotion process? (VI)
- The Committee evaluation is one item which provides evidence of quality teaching (IV,4, item 3 under Teaching Interpretation)
- Peer evaluation is required. The rest of this paragraph refers to probationary faculty. The Committee for Peer Review of Teaching understands this to say that peer evaluation is not required of those faculty already tenured. (VI,4,item 3 under Criteria for Evaluating Teaching)
Is the peer evaluation required only in applications for promotion to Associate Professor?
- No bylaws statement specifies this, but it is implied in the repeated wording that probationary faculty are the ones who are to receive Committee review.
Below are copies of the actual bylaws sections referenced in parentheses above.
ARTICLE IV – EVALUATION OF FACULTYAppendix B, III, 3, F – The Faculty Senate
F. Committee for Peer Review of Teaching
1. Membership
Three faculty elected at large, and three faculty members each from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Health Sciences, and the College of Business. All members of the committee must be tenured, and no member of this committee may concurrently serve on the Promotion Committee or Faculty Rights Committee. Anyone being evaluated by the committee cannot serve on the committee during that year.
2. Method of selection
The faculty-at-large members shall be elected at the Annual Election. The members representing the three colleges shall be elected by each respective unit.
3. Term
Faculty members shall serve three-year staggered terms. Committee member will relinquish her/his position for the year when (s)he is up for promotion.
4. Method for filling a vacancy
The President of the Senate, with the approval of the Executive Board, shall appoint the replacement for a faculty member at-large to serve until the next Annual Election. Any other faculty vacancy shall be filled by an election of the group represented.
5. Duties
To define the criteria and report format to be used for the evaluation of faculty who request committee review. This may include review of current syllabi, observation of classrooms, and/or interview of students. To produce a final report to be included in faculty members’ promotion packets.
6. Procedures
The committee shall be convened by request of the faculty member intending to apply for promotion from instructor to assistant professor or from assistant to associate professor. The request must be submitted to the chair of the committee by September 20. Three members of the committee shall be assigned to evaluate each faculty member who requests committee review.
All probationary faculty must be evaluated at least once during each three-year period, typically the 2nd and 4th year of employment. It is the probationary faculty member’s responsibility to request the evaluation at least once in each three-year period.
Full-time ranked special contract faculty applying for promotion must have been evaluated at least once within the three-year period immediately preceding the application for promotion. It is the full-time ranked special contract faculty member’s responsibility to request the evaluation.
The faculty member may request three specific members of the committee to serve as evaluators. The final selection of the evaluators will be made in consultation with the chair of the committee.
A member of this committee who requests evaluation of his/her teaching by the committee shall relinquish his/her position on the committee for only the year in which his/her teaching is being evaluated. The Senate President shall appoint a faculty member to fill the temporary one-year vacancy.
Section 1 – Policies (p. 19)
Section 2 – Procedures
A. Origin and Common Structure of Evaluation Instruments (p. 20)
B. Sequence of Evaluation and Personal Responsibilities (p. 21)
ARTICLE V – TENURE POLICY AND PROCEDURES
(This article contains no mention of the Committee of 12 or of peer review of teaching.)
ARTICLE VI – PROMOTION GUIDELINES
Section 4. Promotion Committee Guidelines (p. 27)
(p. 28)
