Mar 28, 2024  
Policies and Procedures Manual 
    
Policies and Procedures Manual

06:04:02 Evaluation Process for Academic Affairs


Revision Responsibility: Vice President for Academic Affairs
Responsible Executive Officer: Vice President for Academic Affairs

Purpose

To recognize outstanding faculty performance and to provide feedback that can be used by individuals to improve performance, thereby enhancing the college’s instructional programs and services.


Policy

I. Student Evaluations Of Faculty

Annual faculty evaluations are inclusive of a review of student evaluation performance for all classes that a faculty member teaches during the fall and spring terms of that academic year. All classes taught by a faculty member each semester are evaluated by students enrolled in those classes.

The Student Opinion of Teaching and Course Evaluation form is administered starting the day after the drop date and continue for a period of time as guided by part of term. Evaluations are completed by the student at any time during the evaluation period. An Academic Affairs designee compiles the results of the evaluations and, at the end of the semester, an electronic summary is provided. The summary dissemination is as follows:

  1. The dean or designee downloads the evaluation reports for all full-time faculty.  Reports of these results are distributed as follows:
    1.  A copy is retained by the division office to be used by the Promotion Review Committee for faculty
         requesting promotion consideration for that year (January through December).

    2.  Faculty members may access copies inside of eLEARN.

  2. The Instructional Department for Educator Advancement and Success (IDEAS) downloads the evaluation reports for all adjunct faculty. Reports of these results are distributed as follows:
    1.  A copy is retained by IDEAS.

    2.  Faculty members may access copies inside of eLEARN.

  3. IDEAS downloads the evaluation reports for all faculty (both full-time and adjunct faculty) teaching TN eCampus courses. Reports are distributed as follows:

    1.  A copy is given to the division dean or designee.

    2.  For full-time faculty, the same procedure for distribution to full-time faculty outlined in A.1.
         and A.2. applies.

    3.  For adjunct faculty, the same procedure for distribution to adjunct faculty outlined in B.1. and
         B.2. applies.

  4. Due to accreditation requirements some specific programs may use alternative methods for student evaluations.

II. Faculty Evaluation

The dean or designee evaluates every faculty member annually. The dean or designee completes a General Evaluation of Faculty form 06.04.02 General Evaluation Faculty Form and discusses their evaluation with the faculty member during their scheduled meeting. This form documents accomplishments as well as provides narrative for criteria identified as needing improvement. The dean or designee can mark an item as N/A not applicable if that item does not pertain to the faculty member being evaluated. Criteria evaluated annually include student evaluation results, performance of professional responsibilities, and indicators of instructional effectiveness as defined by the division. A portion of the faculty evaluation meeting is dedicated to constructive discovery of trends of exceptional and benchmark performance as well as area(s) of improvement as suggested by the criteria analyzed. The dean/designee and faculty member sign this form as evidence of their discussion. The dean submits the completed form during his/her annual review with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Office for Academic Affairs forwards the completed form to the Human Resources Department to be filed in the employee’s personnel record.

If a faculty member’s student evaluation results are below the college benchmark as defined in 06:04:03 Measure of Satisfactory Response Indicated by the Student Evaluation Instrument  for two consecutive semesters, and/or if the faculty member’s performance on professional responsibilities and/or other criteria indicates a trend of falling below department or division expectations, the dean/designee and faculty member develop a one-year plan to address the deficiency. This plan includes a variety of factors that reflect instructional effectiveness including student evaluation feedback, student success rates, student achievement of course learning outcomes, student achievement of program learning outcomes, and development of effective instructional strategies and activities, among others. 

The cooperatively developed plan is documented on the 06.04.02 Faculty Performance Improvement Form. This plan may include but is not limited to a faculty member’s enrollment in educational coursework, seminars, or other programs; increased supervision by the dean or designee; peer assistance; and/or other professional activities. The faculty member and dean/designee sign the plan, submit the plan to the academic vice president for review, and upon approval implement the plan during the following academic year. Follow-up meetings during the academic year are scheduled as needed at which time the faculty member submits an evidentiary update for discussion and approval by signature. The faculty member submits an evidentiary summary of improvement that is discussed during the next annual faculty evaluation meeting. The dean and academic vice president review the summary, and, if the evaluation indicates further improvement is needed, the plan is continued and/or amended. If the evaluation suggests that progress towards overcoming the deficiency has not been attained, other administrative measures are enacted.

The General Evaluation of Faculty form and Faculty Performance Improvement form are obtained from the Office for Academic Affairs. 

III. Faculty With Administrative Responsibilities

The immediate supervisor evaluates the faculty member’s administrative responsibilities annually. The evaluation is discussed with the faculty member who signs the form. The dean submits the completed form during his/her annual review with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Office for Academic Affairs forwards the completed form to the Human Resources Department to be filed in the employee’s personnel record.

Faculty and/or departmental/divisional personnel evaluate the supervisor annually. The Reverse Evaluation form is available online. Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluator sends the unsigned form to the supervisor of the employee who prepares a summary of the results, and comments (reworded if necessary to prevent identification of the evaluator) for the employee. The summary is used in preparing the evaluation of the faculty member, but is shredded once that process is completed.

The Annual Evaluation form is obtained from the Office for Academic Affairs.

IV. Administrative/Professional Non-Faculty Personnel

The immediate supervisor evaluates each administrative/professional non-faculty personnel annually and discusses the evaluation with the professional non-faculty member who signs the form. The dean submits the completed form during his/her annual review with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Office for Academic Affairs forwards the completed form to the Human Resources Department to be filed in the employee’s personnel record.

The Annual Evaluation form is obtained from the Office for Academic Affairs.

V. Support Staff

The immediate supervisor evaluates every support staff member annually and discusses the evaluation with the support staff member who signs the form. The dean submits the completed form during his/her annual review with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Office for Academic Affairs forwards the completed form to the Human Resources Department to be filed in the employee’s personnel record. The Annual Evaluation form is obtained online.

V. Reverse Evaluation of Supervisor

Departmental/divisional personnel evaluate the supervisor annually. Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluator sends the unsigned form to the supervisor of the employee being evaluated who prepares a summary of the results and comments (re-worded if necessary to prevent identification of the evaluator) for the employee. The summary is used in preparing the evaluation of the administrator, and is shredded once that process is completed. The signed evaluation is submitted through appropriate supervisors during the dean’s annual review with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Office for Academic Affairs forwards the forms to Human Resources Department to be filed in the employee’s personnel record.  

The Reverse Evaluation form is obtained from the Office for Academic Affairs.

10/13; 01/15; 12/16; 11/2023