5e.1. How are faculty evaluated? How regular, systematic, and comprehensive are the unit evaluations of adjunct/part-time, tenured, and non-tenured faculty, as well as graduate teaching assistants?

Faculty are evaluated at the end of each semester by students in all classes they teach. Faculty members (including non-tenured faculty) complete and submit the CEHD Evaluation of Faculty self-evaluation form each year (Exhibit 2a5.1 Faculty, Unit, Exist Evaluation Instruments). Each faculty member also submits an annual Faculty Activity Report (FAR), which describes the individual’s accomplishments in the areas of teaching, research, and service. The department head rates the information provided by the faculty member using the criteria listed in the department’s evaluation and merit procedures and also completes a CEHD Evaluation of Faculty form. A meeting is conducted between the faculty member and the department head to discuss the evaluation and to plan the faculty member’s professional development and goals for the coming year. Tenure track faculty seeking promotion and/or tenure must submit an application and an organized portfolio of documented evidence after 5 years of employment to support a continuous record of excellence in teaching, scholarly activity, and service. A department tenure committee meets and makes recommendations to the department head who forwards the recommendations to the CEHD tenure committee. After the CEHD tenure committee meets, a recommendation for tenure is forwarded to the Provost. (Exhibit 5e1.1 Faculty Activity Reports and Promotion and Tenure Portfolio).

Adjunct/part-time faculty are evaluated based on course evaluations by candidates and observations by department heads. Graduate teaching assistants are evaluated using self-evaluation and a faculty member evaluation of their graduate assistant. At the start of the assistantship, a graduate assistant meets with his/her faculty member and fills out a job description form. The job description form addresses four main areas; general duties, teaching, scholarship and academic support. This form is then turned into the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for CEHD. At the end of the assistantship, the graduate assistant fills out a self-evaluation form, meets with the supervising faculty member who then completes an evaluation form. Both instruments are submitted to the Associate Dean. (Exhibit 5e1.2 Graduate Assistant Handbook)

5e.2. How well do faculty perform on the unit's evaluations? [A table summarizing faculty performance could be attached at Prompt 5e.4 below.)

Each department uses a different faculty evalaution instrument to evalute its faculty at the end of each academic year. For the 2008-2009 academic year the 11 Curriculum and Instruction faculty members were rated either above average or average in the areas of teaching, service and publicastion. One faculty member was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor during this academic year. The department of Educational Leadership & Counseling houses 8 faculty members with over 180 years of service to ULM.  In terms of teaching, service and research faculty members were rated either average or above average. The 2 faculty members who teach in the School Psychology program received above average or average scores in teaching, service and publication. The seven faculty members in Kinesiology received a good to excellent rating in terms of teaching and service. One faculty member was promoted to full Professor during the 2008-2009 academic year. (Exhibit 5e2.1 Faculty Evaluations Performance)

5e.3. How are faculty evaluations used to improve teaching, scholarship, and service?

Methodical, organized, and comprehensive unit evaluation of the ULM faculty includes the areas of scholarship, professionalism, teaching, advising, and service. Systematic evaluation ensures that ULM Learning Facilitators continuously assess, reflect, adjust, and instruct as they accommodate the needs of the candidates. Through the evaluation process, faculty members reflect on their practice and their interactions with the candidates and improve their courses and enhance their professional development. Faculty members in Curriculum and Instruction list their goals for the upcoming year. These goals are based upon their analysis and reflection from the previous year. University approved evaluations are distributed each semester to the candidates to rate the course, instructor, and advisement. They also have the opportunity to provide written comments. Faculty use the results of these evaluations to inform and facilitate improvements in the course, instruction, and advisement.

5e.4. (Optional Upload for Online IR) Tables, figures, and a list of links to key exhibits related to the unit's evaluation of professional education faculty may be attached here. [Because BOE members should be able to access many exhibits electronically, a limited number of attachments (0-3) should be uploaded.]