Policy 180.30 Undergraduate Faculty Evaluation

Owner: Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer

1. UMGC is committed to excellence in instruction and seeks to assign the most effective faculty to teach its courses.

2. All UMGC faculty participate in a systematic evaluation process which includes, but is not limited to, student ratings of every course.

3. The evaluation process has two purposes: (1) to provide faculty with feedback on the quality of their teaching in order to encourage improvement; and (2) to provide UMGC staff with the data necessary to ensure that instruction is effective.

4. The Faculty Development office maintains a separate teaching portfolio for each lecturer. The lecturer is responsible for providing material to keep the portfolio up to date. Each portfolio includes:

   1. A standard student rating summary for every course taught.

   2. Optional materials including alternate evaluation forms; reports of class visits; records of participation in Faculty Development activities; and other items which the lecturer considers relevant to evaluation of his or her teaching.

5. Evaluations and student ratings are strictly confidential. Only the lecturer and authorized UMGC staff, including assistant deans and program managers, have access to them.

6. UMGC uses a standard student rating form for all undergraduate courses. The current form is a brief, computer-processed questionnaire which has acknowledged reliability and validity. After the student responses are processed, the lecturer receives a computer printout summarizing the results, and any original evaluation forms containing written comments.

7. If a faculty member feels that the standard student rating form does not adequately reflect his/her teaching style and/or instructional goals, he/she may supplement, not replace, it with an additional assessment instrument of his/her choice.

   1. In all cases, the standard student rating form must be used.

   2. Inclusion of the results of supplemental assessments in the teaching portfolio is optional with the faculty member.

8. Evaluation review: Designated UMGC staff have responsibility for reviewing faculty portfolios. Full review of file material occurs in the following instances:

   1. Immediately after a new faculty member's first semester or term with UMGC.

   2. Whenever a faculty member's mean score in the student ratings for a given course indicates that there may be a serious problem.

   3. Whenever a faculty member has applied for a salary increase or is due to receive an automatic pay increment.

9. Action following unfavorable evaluation: Performance as a faculty member will be regarded as a significant factor in decisions by UMGC affecting faculty course assignment. The effectiveness of teaching skills will be judged on the basis of review of the entire evaluation file, not simply the student evaluation summary, and with recognition of the unique aspects of individual courses. If available file information indicates substandard performance, the following action will be taken:

   1. The appropriate associate dean or program director will request from the faculty member additional evidence of teaching effectiveness.

   2. When appropriate, participation in faculty development activities will be encouraged, and/or the use of more detailed diagnostic student evaluations in subsequent courses will be suggested.

   3. If there is no discernible improvement in the subsequent term of teaching, the faculty member will not be scheduled to teach in future terms.

10. Administrative Evaluation visits to UMGC classes: Apart from the Faculty Development Office, associate deans, department chair, program directors, and some collegiate faculty observe all classroom teachers on a regular basis and monitor all faculty teaching at a distance. Visits will be scheduled each term as follows:

    1. All faculty who are teaching their first course for UMGC will be visited.

    2. All faculty whose request for a salary increase has been favorably forwarded to the appropriate dean, shall be visited before action is taken on the recommendation.

    3. Other faculty may be visited at the discretion and direction of the appropriate dean or Vice President. Faculty will be notified by phone or in writing approximately two weeks before the visit in order that an alternative date may be scheduled in case of exams, films, or guest lecturers.