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Welcome to Palomar College Faculty Tenure and Evaluations

Palomar College’s Faculty Tenure and Evaluations are led by a tenured faculty member who serves as the Coordinator of the Tenure and Evaluations Review Board (TERB), is supported by the TERB committee members (9 faculty members and the VPI), and is assisted by the TERB Office assistant (staff member).

The TERB Coordinator, TERB committee members, and TERB assistant are all committed to providing a faculty evaluation process that is robust and supports excellence in teaching and learning.

TERB policies are outlines in Article 17 of the PFF Contract

General Overview of the Steps to Completing Faculty Evaluations

Step 1: Prepare for Evaluation

  • If you are due for an evaluation you will be notified by the TERB Office and/or your Department Chair.
  • Due by second week of the semester: Evaluation Information
    • Department Chairs are provided with a spreadsheet from TERB and are responsible for providing TERB with the following information:
      • For Part-Time Faculty: The department chair provides the name of the evaluation chair and the course selected to be reviewed.
      • For Tenured (Peer) Faculty: The department chair provides the name of the evaluation chair.
      • For Probationary Faculty: The department chair provides the name of the TEC chair and second member, and also confirms the courses for evaluation.
    • Tenured (Peer) Faculty provide TERB with the following information:
      • Tenured (Peer) Faculty are responsible for providing TERB with the name of their second member and the two courses selected for student evaluations (or for counselors, their selection for eval process).
  • Evaluees and Evaluators should prepare for evaluations by reviewing the evaluation process information for the type of evaluation being conducted.
  • Evaluees and Evaluators should review the Evaluations Calendars to see the important dates for evaluations, such as when student evals are launched, when student eval reports are sent to evaluators, and when the final reports are due.
  • Evaluators and the Evaluees should meet before conducting the evaluation to ensure each person understands the process and to mutually agree upon a date/time to conduct the observation(s).

Step 2: Conduct Evaluation

  • The type of evaluation determines the number of observations, the number of student evaluations, and whether a self-evaluation, submission of your professional development transcript, or a letter from your Department Chair is required.
  • All evaluations (PT, Peer, Probationary) Include:
    • Class Observation(s): The class observation form asks the Evaluee to provide the Evaluator with specific areas to focus on, the Evaluee should provide the information prior to the observation. After the completion of the observation, the Evaluee and the Evaluator meet to review the observation.
    • Student Course Evaluations: The TERB Office launches the students evaluations. Both students and faculty receive email notifications when the student evaluations have launched. Evaluations are launched between 50-75% of the course length. Once complete, the TERB Office sends the student evaluation report to the Evaluators.
      • Please note: As of March 2020, we no longer have an evaluation system that supports paper-based or scantron-based evaluations. All evaluations, for all modalities of instruction or workplace evaluations (such as counseling), are now completed using the same online system.
  • Part-Time also includes:
    • A Chair Form that is a part of the final evaluation report.
  • Peer and Probationary also Include:
    • Self-Evaluation: Evaluees submit self-evaluation to Evaluators.
    • Professional Development transcript: Evaluees submit their most recent PD transcript to Evaluators.
  • Probationary also includes:
    • Chair Letter: Evaluators will request the letter from the Department Chair.

Step 3: Complete Evaluation

  • The Evaluators write the final evaluation report. The report will includes information obtained from the observation, student evals, and if required the self-evaluation, professional development transcript, and chair letter.
    • Note: the PT Evaluation Report includes a Department Chair form
  • The Evaluator(s) meet with the Evaluee to review the Evaluation Report.
    • The Evaluator(s)/Evaluee meeting typically occurs after semester grades are submitted, however it can occur before grades if direct student comments are not included in the report.
  • The final evaluation report is submitted to the TERB Office using the online the submission forms on the TERB website.
  • The TERB Office reviews the reports for completeness and routes for digital signatures.
    • Please submit the report UNSIGNED. The TERB office will route for all signatures.
  • If a final evaluation report has a rating of Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory, an improvement plan is developed collaboratively by the Evaluee and Evaluator(s) with consultation from the TERB Coordinator, and, when necessary, the TERB Commitee and/or the Dean or first-level administrator. A faculty member with an Improvement Plan is re-evaluated in the following semester(s).
  • The Final signed report is filed in the evaluee’s official personnel file in Human Resources.