The Faculty Evaluation Process of DeKalb Technical College has two fundamental purposes: a formative purpose and a summative purpose. The formative purpose is to support strategy setting and achievement, instructional effectiveness, professional development, student support, and college and community service. The goal of this primary purpose is to improve instruction by all members of the faculty and thus to enhance the learning environment and the success of all students. The summative purpose is to assist the appropriate administrative officers of the college to make decisions regarding instructional support and contract renewal. The goal of this secondary purpose is to sustain the highest possible level of faculty performance and thus to advance the effectiveness of the college as a leader in higher education.
Faculty Status |
Formative Purpose |
Summative Purpose |
New full-time faculty |
Orientation to the evaluation process, including strategy setting, student evaluations, classroom observations, instructional materials, supervisor review, professional development, student support, and college and community service. Provide a benchmark for growth and qualitative improvement.
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Establish a quantifiable measure of faculty performance. Provide support for teaching assignments and contract renewal. |
Existing full-time faculty |
Develop and document improvements and initiatives in instruction, strategy setting, student evaluations, classroom observations, instructional materials, supervisor review, professional development, student support, and college and community service. Build a support network of supervisors, peers, and students. Make a significant contribution to the success of the college and community. |
Gauge levels of performance and quantify areas of improvement. Identify specific performance areas that need improvement. Provide support for teaching assignments and contract renewal. |
Periodically, the college administration, in consultation with faculty, staff, students, and business and government leaders, establishes long-term goals for the college. Instructional Planning and other planning units must set objectives, which will help the college accomplish its goals. In turn, faculty must identify strategies that support the accomplishment of college and planning unit objectives.
Faculty are encouraged to identify strategies that can be achieved within the planning cycle and are measurable. Faculty members must choose a minimum of three of the four DeKalb Tech goals and develop strategies based on these goals. Refer to the College’s “Goal Statements, Objectives, Benchmarks and Data Sources” for details. The faculty member and his / her supervisor must agree upon all goals and strategies. The DeKalb Tech goals are as follows:
College Goal 1: Promote student success by providing access to programs, services and support systems
College Goal 2: Provide quality program offerings that support: a) the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for fulfillment of goals, abilities and interests and b) employment and career success
College Goal 3: Demonstrate accountability and effectiveness through: a) the procurement and efficient use of resources and b) appropriate leadership and management practices
College Goal 4: Enhance economic development of the region through workforce development, job training and partnerships that add value to the communities served
To evaluate each strategy the following materials are used:
The description of each strategy includes:
Items A through E for each strategy should be completed in consultation with the faculty member’s supervisor and turned in to the department chairperson’s office by the first Monday of September. Each strategy must be approved by the department chair / dean. There is no limit on the total number of strategies that may be set during a particular year, but the faculty member and supervisor should weigh the quality of strategies over the quantity of strategies.
Strategies may be revised at any time during the calendar year with the approval of the supervisor. If strategies cannot be met, an explanation should be provided. Strategies not completed by the end of the evaluation period for a given year may be carried forward into the following year. Credit will be given for completion of a particular strategy only in the year completed. A long-term (multi-year) strategy may be separated into phases, with a phase completed in one year.
The supervisor must look first at the quality and difficulty of the strategies. The following guidelines are used in assessing quality activities:
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Satisfactory |
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Unsatisfactory |
Because teaching and learning represent the most significant contribution a faculty member makes to the college, it is important that this area be assessed carefully and thoroughly. Methods used to evaluate instruction include:
The results of the student evaluations are presented in a numeric fashion and allow the faculty member to see his / her ranking in comparison to other faculty members in his / her department. The supervisor should be extremely cautious about giving this number undue emphasis. It is more instructive to look at the result from a series of quarters and for a variety of classes rather than place too much emphasis on a single value. Care should also be taken to consider such factors as the size of the sample, and thus its statistical reliability, as well as the type of class being evaluated.
The following guidelines are used in assessing the numeric portion of the student evaluations:
Written student comments are very instructive and frequently suggest something different than the numeric results. The faculty member may request that these comments be used to counter-balance a low numeric score on the student evaluations. In consultation with the faculty member the supervisor may use positive student comments to justify a satisfactory rating even if the numeric score is less than 3.0.
The best assessment of teaching effectiveness is direct observation of instruction of the faculty member by those most familiar with teaching and learning, the instructor’s supervisor and / or an instructional dean. The intent of these classroom observations is to improve teaching and learning. Therefore, the observers should help the instructor identify his / her teaching strengths, and if applicable, suggest ways to improve teaching effectiveness and / or identify new or different teaching techniques that the instructor might utilize to help foster effective student learning.
All full-time faculty members shall have two classroom observations conducted by their supervisor and an instructional dean. At least one observation must occur before December 31. New full-time faculty shall have two classroom observations by the supervisor and dean each quarter for the first three quarters. The supervisor and / or dean will attend and evaluate the same class meeting.
For purposes of improving and / or enhancing teaching techniques or effectiveness, faculty may elect to set a teaching / learning strategy which utilizes classroom observations by their supervisor and / or dean.
Procedure for ObservationThe supervisor and instructional dean shall select the classes to be observed in consultation with the faculty member. Classroom visits shall be scheduled with the faculty member at least one week in advance of the observation. Observers should sit in the back of the classroom in order to minimize class disruption. The faculty member should indicate to the class the presence of the observers and the purpose of the observation.
Both the supervisor and instructional dean shall independently complete the Observation Evaluation Form (see Faculty Evaluation Forms). The supervisor and instructional dean should meet as soon as possible following the observation and develop a consensus evaluation. Within ten days of the observation, the faculty member and both observers shall have a meeting to discuss the observation. The focus of the meeting shall be the recognition of teaching strengths and constructive suggestions in areas where the observation indicates the faculty member needs improvement. At the end of this meeting, all three parties shall sign the Observation Evaluation Form. The faculty member shall have an opportunity to add comments to the Form before signing it.
The provisions of this section shall in no way limit visits by a Department Chairperson, Instructional Dean, or other Administrators in investigating student complaints or in conducting the business of the Instructional Department or College.
The supervisor should review a comprehensive packet of instructional materials (usually taken from a single course) used by the faculty member and complete the Instructional Materials Summary Sheet for these materials. In cases where the faculty member is teaching a course for which the syllabus and other course materials are prepared by the department, the supervisor or instructional dean and faculty member jointly determine what instructional materials will be evaluated.
Professional Development is defined as:
The faculty member should provide a brief descriptive summary:
Non-exhaustive List of Examples:
Student support is defined as activities that enhance the college’s recruitment, retention and student placement initiatives as well as those activities that improve or enhance student-advising efforts.
The faculty member should provide:
Non-exhaustive List of Examples:
College service is defined as service occurring within the institutional context that provides a benefit for the institution. Community service is defined as active participation in community organizations. Community service must not interfere with the faculty member’s contractual duties at the college.
The faculty member should provide:
Hours for which the faculty member receives compensation, either monetary or release time, may not be counted; however, the activities may be listed on the summary sheet.
Non-exhaustive List of Examples:
Faculty members must accumulate a total of 30 hours of activities each year in the three areas: 1) professional development; 2) student support; and 3) college and community service. Faculty members must devote a minimum of 5 hours to each category. Hours for each of these categories may be included in the completion of goals. In evaluating these activities the supervisor and instructional dean must look first at the quality of the activities. The following guidelines are used in assessing quality activities:
Other Guidelines :