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OM 5.3.0 Standards for Faculty Evaluations

About This Policy

Effective Date: September 1995
Last Updated: May 2017
Responsible University Office: President's Office
Responsible University Administrator: President

Policy Contact:

Office of the Provost
provost@clarkson.edu

Pursuant to the University's goal of maintaining a faculty of distinguished teacher-scholars, the evaluation of faculty members must proceed in accord with the following standards. In addition to these specific standards, each faculty member should strive to maintain quality teaching and scholarship so that both contribute to his or her professional development.

A. GENERAL STANDARDS

  1. Each tenurable faculty member should possess the appropriate terminal degree for his or her field, ordinarily the doctorate, whenever that degree is the accepted norm for that person's profession. 
  2. Each faculty member should fulfill the duties of a faculty member [see 5.2]. 
  3. Each tenurable faculty member should excel in teaching The evaluation of teaching may include such considerations as: the faculty member's mastery of the literature in the relevant discipline, organization of course materials, development of innovative teaching techniques, presentation of new laboratory experiments, academic advising, evaluation by students and alumni, and assessment by professional colleagues. Other activities relevant to teaching may also be considered, including advising that has an instructional dimension (for example, thesis advising in the Honors Program, advising design and project teams, and direction of graduate theses and projects). 
  4. Each tenurable faculty member should excel in disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary scholarship. Scholarship is a multifaceted endeavor, embracing discovery of new ideas, integration of knowledge from diverse areas, application of knowledge in new ways, and advancement of pedagogy. Evaluation of scholarship ordinarily considers the quality and number of publications (especially in refereed journals) and scholarly books, the significance of the work, authorship of textbooks and pedagogical materials (including instructional software), and success in gaining external support in the form of research and/or curriculum development grants and contracts.

    Evaluation of scholarship will also consider, among other things, professional recognition in the form of awards received, patents granted, citations indexed, lecture invitations received, and conference papers presented. Additional evidence of scholarly accomplishment may be found in election to special status in professional societies, peer reviews, and invitations to visiting professorships. Other forms of professional activity, such as readings from and presentations of creative work shall be assessed. 
  5. Each tenurable faculty member should strive to maintain continual interaction between teaching and scholarship, so that each contributes to his or her professional development and to the mission of the University. While all tenurable faculty members should strive to excel in both teaching and scholarship, each individual may achieve a different balance of excellence. 
  6. Each faculty member should engage in University and professional service. While teaching and scholarship are of prime importance, service, such as committee work for the department, school and University along with service to student activities, will be a factor in faculty evaluation. Also to be evaluated are activities in service to the profession, such as appointment or election to editorships, work in government panels, editorial reviews of books or manuscripts for scholarly journals, etc.

B. STANDARDS BY ACADEMIC RANK

  1. The instructor should display: 
    1. demonstrated ability to perform his or her assigned duties, and 
    2. education and/or experience that is appropriate for his or her assigned duties. 
  2. The assistant professor should display: 
    1. an active commitment to and promise of scholarship 
    2. evident ability as a teacher, and 
    3. an interest in University and professional service.
  3. The associate professor should have demonstrated: 
    1. serious scholarly achievement, 
    2. consistent and substantial accomplishment as a teacher 
    3. potential for continuing growth as both a teacher and scholar, and 
    4. service to the University and the profession. 
  4. The professor should have: 
    1. made significant scholarly contributions such that the professor is recognized to be an authority in the relevant discipline and/or interdisciplinary area by experts in the field, 
    2. shown high accomplishment as a teacher, 
    3. contributed substantially, through service, to the University and profession, and 
    4. demonstrated an on-going commitment to excellence in both teaching and scholarship. 
  5. The distinguished professor should have: 
    1. exhibited characteristics that clearly exceed the requirements for promotion to professor.

C. BALANCING THE STANDARDS

Every effort should be made to attract and retain individuals further and enhance the stature of the University and the quality of its programs. Hence, excellence in both teaching and scholarship is of primary importance along with sustained contributions to the individual’s profession at the national or international level. However, the weights accorded teaching, scholarship, and service may differ from department to department so long as they meet the spirit of these guidelines. Specifically, the balancing of evaluative standards should not result in gross disparities in expectations and performance or inequities of treatment among the University faculty.

History

Approved by Administrative Council, September 1995

Approved by Faculty Senate, October 1995

Revision Approved by Faculty Senate, April 2003

Revision Approved by Administrative Council, May 2003

Revision Approved May 2017

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