Approval of your Department Policy on Peer Evaluations and Student Course Evaluations (RE: APM 322)
MEMORANDUM
FROM: William A. Covin
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
DATE: November 21, 2011
TO: Faculty
Department of Linguistics
M/S PB 92
SUBJECT: Approval of your Department Policy on Peer Evaluations
and Student Course Evaluations (RE: APM 322)
I have received and reviewed your departmental documents, and they are
tentatively approved for implementation during the remainder of AY11-12.
I am, however, concerned about your department’s use of a relatively low
statistical standard for student ratings—a standard that may render data used to
support AY12-13 RTP recommendations less than persuasive. Thus, it is my
hope that, once AY11-12 data becomes widely available, you may wish to adjust
the departmental standard upward to a more meaningful measure of relative
teaching performance.
In the meantime, I want to reiterate my commitment to our Academic Senate’s
stated beliefs that student feedback is best viewed from a multi-year perspective,
and considered within the larger context of all evidence presented in support of a
colleague’s teaching effectiveness.
WAC:kyp
cc: Jose Diaz, Acting Dean, College of Arts & Humanities
Ted Wendt, AVP for Academic Personnel
Office of the President
and Vice President
for Academic Affairs
Harold H. Haak
Administrative Center
Henry Madden library
5200 N. Barton Ave. MIS ML54
Fresno, CA 93740-8014
559.2782636
Fax 559.278.7987
THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS
POLICY ON ASSESSMENT OF TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
APM 322 is the official policy on the Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness. This Departmental
policy is
designed to further define requirements at the Departmental level as specified in
APM 322.
STUDENT RATINGS OF INSTRUCTION
Each faculty member shall have a minimum of two sections rated by students annually.
While the IDEA Short Form will be the standard paper instrument for the campus, faculty
may elect to
use either the Diagnostic Form or Online version.
Student ratings of instruction shall be assessed to identify patterns and trends of
teaching performance and
effectiveness. It is expected that the faculty member shall meet or exceed the department
standard, 3 out
of 5, using adjusted or unadjusted scores, whichever are higher, on a regular basis;
however, it is more
important to evaluate on the basis of multi-year trends rather than focusing on a
single course or narrow
time frame.
PEER EVALUATIONS
1. Frequency
a. For part-time temporary faculty, the first time a course is taught by the instructor
and,
thereafter, at least one section every other year of employment regardless of a break
in service.
b. For full-time temporary faculty, two sections each semester for the first year
and two sections
each academic year thereafter.
c. For probationary faculty, two sections (to include as many different courses as
possible) every
semester.
d. For tenured faculty, one section each academic year on a rotating basis such that
during a five
year period the maximum number of different courses is evaluated.
2. Faculty will use the attached Departmentally approved form to evaluate Course Content,
Instructional
Design, Instructional Delivery and Assessment methods.
OVERALL
The Department will follow the guidelines in APM 325, APM 327 and APM 328 when electing
committees selected to prepare the overall evaluation of teaching.
APPROVAL PROCESS
Departmental policies will be submitted to the appropriate School/College Dean and
to the Provost for
review and approval.
Last Updated: September 8, 2011
California State University, Fresno
PEER EVALUATION FORM
Department of Linguistics
Professor Evaluated:
Rank: Course: Term/Year:
Date of Classroom Visitation:
Name of Evaluator Signature:
Ratings Scale: 5 = superior I 4 = above average I 3 = average I 2 = below average
I 1 = weak
Category Rating (1-5)
A. Course Content. The assessment of course content shall include a review of the
currency of the content of a course, the appropriateness of the level of the content
of a
course, and the appropriateness of the sequencing of the content to best achieve the
learning objectives for the course.
COMMENTS:
B. Instructional Design. The assessment of the instructional design of the course
shall
include a review of learning objectives, syllabi, instructional support materials,
organization of lectures, and the use of technology appropriate to the class.
COMMENTS:
C. Instructional Delivery. The assessment of delivery shall include a review of oral
presentation skills, written communication skills, skills using various forms of informational
technology, and the ability to create an overall environment conducive to student
learning.
COMMENTS:
D. Assessment Methods. The evaluation of assessment methods shall consist of a
review of the tools, procedures, and strategies used for measuring student learning,
and
providing timely and meaningful feedback to students.
COMMENTS:
Additional comments may be included on the reverse side of this form.
This PDF is provided as a print-only reference document and may not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology. For more information, please visit Title II Rule on Digital Accessibility page.