Policy title: Evaluative Review of Academic Administrators by Faculty and Other Personnel
Policy updated: 2008-09-13/jag.
I. Policy
Academic deans, associate provosts, department chairs, and other academic administrators with chair-like responsibilities will be evaluated annually by faculty and, where appropriate, other personnel. New academic administrators will be evaluated following the first year of service. (In this document, the terms "department chair" and "chair" refer to department chairs and to other academic administrators with chair-like responsibilities; the term "academic administrator" refers to any administrator evaluated under this policy.)
II. Responsibility
The Office of the Provost is responsible for implementing and monitoring the policy and its procedures and for collecting and tabulating all results.
III. Purposes of the Evaluation
- To provide evaluative feedback to academic administrators.
- To provide one evaluative measure (among others) of an academic administrator for use by those to whom an academic administrator reports.
- To serve as a basis of communication between academic administrators and those who report to them.
IV. Evaluation Process
A. Procedure
The Office of the Provost will notify academic administrators who are scheduled for review. Faculty under the supervision of the academic administrator will be notified of the review and will be invited to add up to five unit-specific items to the general evaluative survey. Unit-specific items are subject to review and modification every four years. In the case of evaluation of deans, these additional items will be formulated and submitted by department chairs reporting to the dean; in the case of evaluation of department chairs, additional items will be formulated and submitted by faculty (and others, as applicable; see IV.B, "For chairs") who report to the chair.
The Office of the Provost distributes the academic administrator evaluation forms to evaluators through the offices of the college deans. Completed evaluation forms for all academic administrators evaluated under this policy are forwarded directly to the Office of the Provost. Tabulated results (including transcribed comments) are provided to the academic administrator under review and to her/his
immediate supervisor, and a copy is maintained in the Office of the Provost. The evaluation results become a part of the evaluated administrator's personnel file in the Office of the Provost.
B. Evaluators
For deans and associate provosts: Full-time members of the faculty who serve in an academic dean's college – including other academic administrators supervised by the dean – will be invited to participate in the evaluative survey. Associate provosts will be evaluated by faculty who serve in units supervised by the associate provost and by deans, directors, coordinators, and other non-faculty personnel who report directly to them. Every academic dean and associate provost will also be asked to complete a self-evaluation. [Note: As of fall 2014, evaluations under this policy for associate provosts have not been implemented.]
The provost will use the results of the evaluative survey as one of her/his means of annually evaluating a dean/associate provost.
For chairs: Members of the faculty who serve in the department chair's department (or analogous administrative unit) will be invited to participate in the evaluative survey. In some cases – e.g., in the library – significant numbers of non-faculty personnel report to an academic administrator. These personnel will also be invited to participate in the evaluative survey. The chair will also be asked to complete a self-evaluation.
The dean or other immediate supervisor will use the results of the evaluative survey as one of her/his means of annually evaluating the chair.
C. Annual Timeline for Evaluation of Deans
The annual timeline may be adjusted if necessary from year to year.
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| September 15 | Notification of review to the academic administrator being reviewed and to those being invited to complete the evaluative survey. The Office of the Provost makes available a sample copy of the survey instrument. |
| September 30 | Deadline for submission, by departmental chairpersons, of unit specific items to the Office of the Provost (every fourth year). |
| October 15 | The evaluation form is sent to faculty and other designated respondents. |
| November 15 | Deadline for submission of completed evaluation forms to the Office of the Provost. |
| January 15 | Deadline for tabulation and dissemination of results (see above, section IV.A). |
D. Annual Timeline For Evaluation of Department Chairs
The annual timeline may be adjusted if necessary from year to year.
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| January 15 | Notification of review to the department chair being reviewed and to those being invited to complete the evaluative survey. The Office of the Provost makes available a sample copy of the survey instrument. |
| January 31 | Deadline for submission of unit specific items to the Office of the Dean (every fourth year). The Office of the Dean forwards these items to the Office of the Provost. |
| February 15 | Department chair evaluation forms are sent to faculty and other designated respondents. |
| March 15 | Deadline for return of completed evaluation forms to the Office of the Provost. |
| April 15 | Deadline for tabulation and dissemination of results (see above, section IV.A). |
V. Forms
A. Instruments
Evaluation forms have been developed in consultation with the Council of Deans, Council of Chairs, and Faculty Senate and have been approved by the provost. These forms will be used university-wide. Unit-specific concerns will be accounted for by the additional questions formulated and submitted by evaluators within the units. Unit-specific items are subject to review and modification every four years.
B. Identifying Information
On the evaluation form used for deans, respondents will be asked to identify themselves as chairs/associate deans, full-time faculty, or other personnel; on the evaluation form for department chairs, respondents will be asked to identify themselves as full-time faculty, part-time faculty, or other personnel. In each case, a "Prefer not to identify" option will be provided. The anonymity of respondents to the evaluative surveys will be scrupulously safeguarded.
C. Survey Forms
Responses submitted on copied survey forms will not be tabulated. This provision allows the Office of the Provost to keep track of how many forms are distributed and how many returned.
– Policy implemented Spring 2005