PURPOSES

The purposes of peer review are to:

1. Review the faculty member’s professional performance.
   
   
2. Help the faculty member establish or clarify professional directions.
   
   
3. Provide the faculty member helpful feedback from peers.
   
   

SCOPE AND FREQUENCY

All tenured faculty will be reviewed at least once every five years. After three years at rank, Associate Professors may request to be reviewed in any given year.  They must inform the Departmental Executive Officer (DEO) in writing no later than May 31 of their desire to be reviewed during the next academic year.  There are two kinds of review, the standard review and the extended review (both are defined below).

The following are exceptions to the five-year schedule:

1. DEO’s and administrative officers are not included during tenure in office.
   
   
2. Faculty who have submitted written notification of retirement with plans to retire within one year of the review date are not included.
   
   
3. Faculty with an approved phased retirement plan are not included.
   
   
4. Faculty who are on developmental assignment during the review year may request a one-year extension.

1. The most current College of Education Faculty Vitae. (This includes a career publication record and selected service activities since the last peer review.)
   
   
2. Student evaluations of teaching by ACE forms or other instruments which provide data regarding teaching such as the Post-Student-Teaching Evaluation System used by Elementary Education.
   
   
3. Samples of representative teaching materials.
   
   
4. A written statement of plans for the future as related to research, teaching, and service. For an extended review, the faculty member must also submit a written self-assessment of efforts over the previous five years in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and service.
   
   
5. Any additional materials the faculty member considers appropriate.
   

PROCEDURE FOR A STANDARD REVIEW

The standard review procedure will involve the following steps:

1. The tenured faculty member, in consultation with the DEO, will select three individuals within the same or greater rank (two from within and on external to the department) to review the submitted materials. The DEO will designate one member as chair of the committee.
   
   
2. Standard reviews will include a minimum of one course teaching observation.  The faculty member, in consultation with the review committee, makes provision for the direct observation of his/her teaching and for individual interviews involving a representative sample of students with whom the faculty member has had direct contact in the time period since his/her last peer review.
   
   
3. Committee members will review the submitted materials and then arrange a meeting with the faculty member to discuss strengths, limitations, and plans for future development.
   
   
4. The chair of the review committee will prepare a written summary of the meeting with signature lines provided for committee members and the faculty member. The faculty member may respond in writing and attach the response to the summary.
   
   
5. The committee submits the final summary and any attachments to the DEO.
   
   
6. The DEO reviews the materials and forwards the approved review to the Dean’s Office. If the DEO has concerns about the review, he/she will arrange to meet with the review committee and the faculty member to address the concerns. A summary of the concerns and review process will be attached to the summary and will be submitted to the Dean. A copy of all materials submitted to the Dean’s Office will be given to the faculty member.
   
   
7. The review is placed in the faculty member’s College file.

1. The DEO, in consultation with the Dean of the College and the faculty member to be reviewed, appoints a three-member review committee made up of tenured faculty of equal or greater rank.
   
   
2. The faculty member prepares/gathers the materials described in the previous section and submits them to the committee including a written self-assessment of efforts over the previous five years in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and service.
   
   
3. The faculty member, in consultation with the review committee, makes provision for the direct observation of his/her teaching and for individual interviews involving a representative sample of students with whom the faculty member has had direct contact in the time period since his/her last peer review.
   
   
4. Upon completion of the review of the materials submitted, the observations of teaching and the interviews with students, the review committee prepares a written report to be submitted to the faculty member being reviewed. The report will include not only an evaluation of the faculty member’s performance since the last peer review, but also specific recommendations on how his/her performance might be improved in those areas where deficiencies have been noted.
   
   
5. The committee meets with the faculty member to discuss the report.
   
   
6. The committee submits a final report to the DEO who meets with the faculty member to discuss it and to develop a plan to promote improvements in the areas where deficiencies were noted.
   
   
7. The report, plus any written comments the faculty member or the DEO might wish to attach to it, is forwarded to the Dean of the College. The faculty member will be provided a copy of all materials that are forwarded to the Dean, including the comments of the DEO.
   
   
8. The Dean reviews the report and, if requested by the faculty member, schedules a meeting with the faculty member involved to discuss the report and the plan to promote improvement.
   
   
9. The review is placed in the  faculty member's College file.

PROCEDURE FOR PEER REVIEW OF JOINTLY APPOINTED FACULTY:

The DEO of the jointly appointed faculty member will consult with the DEO of the other appointing department to determine how the review will be conducted.

October 2007

POLICY & PROCEDURE QUESTIONS: Contact Judy Brewer.