Faculty and Academic Staff Handbook

19th Edition, 2008

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Chapter IV: Faculty Personnel Rules and Procedures of UW-River Falls

4.5 Periodic Review-Faculty Personnel Rules

4.5.1 Post-tenure Review of Professional Activities of Faculty

At least once every five years the professional activities of tenured faculty will be reviewed to inform each faculty member of his or her performance. The review may be conducted simultaneously with merit review or with promotion review. For the purpose of this review the criteria used are those found in the Faculty/Academic Staff Handbook under Section 4.3.2.1c and the appropriate department's statement applying these criteria to the department mission, such statement to be on file in the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs' office.

4.5.2 Conducting the Review

The academic unit will determine whether a committee of its tenured faculty or the chair will conduct the review. The reviewer(s) shall:

1. Review the teaching portfolio, the personal reflective statement (see Section 4.3.2.3 above) and other pertinent data submitted by the faculty member. The faculty member has primary responsibility for assembling the data for review. The faculty member will include an inventory of the data submitted, and the chair will verify the inventory contents. The faculty member is responsible for promptly submitting the information for his or her review. The reviewer(s) will prepare a summary of their findings.
2. Discuss with the faculty member his or her performance in continuing to meet the criteria under Section 4.3.2.1c Following this discussion the reviewer(s) will prepare a final summary of findings and recommendations which will be signed by the chair and any other reviewers, and by the faculty member reviewed to acknowledge that the review was completed.
3. Enter into the faculty member's departmental professional file the inventory, the final summary report, and any other pertinent information used in the review. The faculty member reviewed will be given a copy of the final summary report. If the faculty member's performance is deemed outstanding, a copy of the report shall be entered into the peer merit file as evidence to support a high merit ranking, and the chair shall consider the faculty member in the recommendations to the Dean for special merit awards.

If the faculty member's review reveals a need for significant improvement in performance, the chair will report such to the academic Dean. The Dean and the chair, in consultation with the faculty member, will recommend a retraining or redevelopment program to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, who shall assist the Dean to find resources to fund such a program. This program may include, but is not limited to, additional coursework, referral to the Employee Assistance Program, participation in professional meetings in the discipline, and/or appointment of a peer mentor.

4.5.3 Challenging the Review

The faculty member may challenge the summary report before the reviewer(s) and/or before the tenured faculty of his or her department. Subsequently, the faculty member may take the matter to the University Faculty Hearing, Grievance, and Appeals Committee.

4.5.3.1 Procedures: Post-tenure Review Timeline

1. Names of faculty members subject to post-tenure review forwarded to heads of academic units no later than May 1 of the academic year preceding review
2. Head of academic unit notifies faculty member no later than May 15 of the academic year preceding review
3. Department sets post-tenure review dates and decides whether post-tenure review will be conducted by the chair or by committee no later than September 30
4. Selection of committee, if necessary, completed by October 15
5. Head of academic unit notifies faculty member and post-tenure review committee (if committee option is in effect) of review dates by October 30
6. Faculty member compiles portfolio and other pertinent data of previous five years' contributions no later than January 30
7. Chair or committee reviews portfolio during one-©week review period between January 30 and April 15 (Post-tenure review dates set by department no later than September 30 - see (c) above.)
8. Chair or committee meets with faculty member to discuss performance. Following this meeting, final summary of findings and recommendations is prepared and signed, with faculty member receiving copy of post-tenure review report no later than two weeks after post-tenure review period. (Post-tenure review dates set by department no later than September 30 - see (c) above.)
9. Post-tenure review report is forwarded to Dean by one week after meeting with faculty member.
10. Dean forwards post-tenure review report and any response to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs by one week after post-tenure review report forwarded to Dean.

4.5.3.2 Table: Post-tenure Review Calendar

Action	Date
Names forwarded to heads of academic units	By May 1 of the academic year preceding review
Head of academic unit notifies faculty member	By May 15 of the academic year preceding review
Department sets post-tenure review dates and method	By September 30
Selection of committee, if necessary	By October 15
Head of academic unit notifies faculty member and committee of review dates	By October 30
Faculty member completes portfolio	By January 30
Chair or committee reviews portfolio	One-week review period between January 30 and April 15
Chair or committee member meets with faculty member and final summary is submitted to faculty member	No later than two weeks after the post-tenure review period
Post-tenure review report forwarded to Dean	By one week after meeting with faculty member
Dean forwards report and any response to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs	By one week after post-tenure review report is forwarded to Dean

If significant improvement in performance is needed, the faculty member, the chair, the Dean and the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs confer to draft an appropriate retraining or development program. Resources should not be removed from existing faculty development programs for programs to remedy deficiencies.

4.5.4 Professional Record Procedures

A folder containing the personal resumé of each staff member with certified transcripts, academic record, experience, and professional accomplishments is kept in the Human Resources Office. It is the responsibility of all faculty members to see that the record is kept up to date. See the section on Promotion Criteria 4.4.4.5.3 earlier in this section for a listing of items which should be in the professional record. This record is confidential and will be released only as deemed appropriate under state and federal statutes.

4.5.5 Student Evaluation of Instruction

4.5.5.1 Introduction

In general, student evaluation of classroom teaching produces two types of information. One type of information can be used to help the faculty and instructional academic staff identify the effectiveness of specific instructional practices and can also identify areas for improvement or development. The second type of information gained from uniform student evaluations is used to arrive at broad comparisons of faculty and instructional academic staff members and can be used for personnel decisions. The student survey of classroom teaching effectiveness conducted at UWRF is of the second type only. According to an interpretation by the Wisconsin Attorney General, the results of uniform student evaluations conducted by the University, College, or unit on a required basis are PUBLIC information.

1. All of the following courses with enrollment greater than 1 will be evaluated by students: [FS 06/07 #32]
   a. all on campus and off campus offerings
   b. all offerings from face-to-face to completely on-line
          i. lecture
          ii. laboratory
          iii. discussions
          iv. seminars
   c. when lecture/lab/discussion combinations, consider
          i. if same faculty/students groupings, faculty decision to give it to only
             one or each offering – all students must be given the opportunity to evaluate
          ii. if different faculty/students groupings, evaluations will be required for all offerings
2. All other types of courses will not be evaluated unless the department so chooses [FS 06/07 #32]

Student evaluations are but one means of assessing classroom teaching effectiveness. A thorough review of teaching effectiveness includes classroom observations by peers; a review of syllabi, tests, texts, and required readings; a review of other teaching tools such as computer simulations and videos; videos of a class period; self-evaluation including statements of teaching goals, and the methods the teacher uses to accomplish these goals; examples of the products of one's teaching such as essays, papers, art and performances; examination of grading patterns and how grades are determined in a department; and the results of uniform student evaluations. The information used in assessing teaching effectiveness for personnel decisions should augment the information required in Section 4.3.2.1 c.1 and 4.3.2.3.

In brief, uniform student evaluations should be used as supporting evidence of classroom teaching effectiveness and not as the primary evidence of it.

4.5.5.2 Uses of the Uniform Survey Results

The results of uniform evaluations of classroom teaching effectiveness can be used in personnel decisions. Personnel decisions are made in departments/units, by the Deans, by the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, by the Chancellor, by College promotion committees, and by those involved in grievance proceedings. Normally the personnel decisions made are for retention, promotion, tenure, and merit pay. Every academic and administrative unit making personnel decisions must state in writing the relative importance of student evaluations in comparison to other means of evaluating teaching such as those discussed above. The statements must be approved by the appropriate Dean, the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and by the Chancellor.

4.5.5.3 Uniform Survey Instrument

1. The survey instrument will include only questions approved by the Faculty Senate, and will be administered by the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
2. Any statistical measures will be applied to the results of one question only, not to any combination of all the questions. Statistical measures applied to a question must be limited to the responses to that question in one class section only. There must not be any "composite" number derived from the results of the questions.
3. The frequency, standard deviation, mean or average of the results of each question must not be used explicitly to compute any department, College, or University-wide salary change including raises, merit pay or pay reductions.
4. The results of uniform student evaluations will be sent to the individual faculty member surveyed, to the department chair, to the Dean, to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and will be available in the Library.
5. Uniform student evaluations will be conducted within the last three weeks of the semester. Fall semester evaluation(s) shall be conducted in a timely manner so that results for probationary faculty will be available by January 10th.The results of the survey will not be available until after the final grade rosters are submitted to the Registrar. The Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will ensure that all grade rosters have been submitted.
6. Uniform student evaluations will be administered in all classes each semester for probationary faculty and instructional academic staff only, and evaluations will be administered each semester for one-third of tenured faculty. Tenured faculty to be evaluated will be selected alphabetically every third evaluation period. Faculty have the option to have evaluations done more frequently.

4.5.5.4 Recommendation for Further Evaluation

Individual faculty members may on their own volition conduct additional student surveys to help identify the effectiveness of specific instructional practices and areas for improvement or development. Individual students may decide whether to complete these surveys or not. The results of the surveys are confidential and are the property of the individual faculty member. At the discretion of the faculty member, a copy of the survey instrument, and any results obtained from them, may be included in the personnel file as a part of the teaching portfolio.