The Need-to-Know List for Faculty Evaluating Part-Time Faculty

This list will be updated as revisions or corrections are needed.

Overview

Part-time faculty are meant to be evaluated once within the first year of hire and at least once in every six (6) subsequent semesters (3 years). Requests for out-of-cycle evaluation for any part-time faculty member can be made at any time.

The standard Part-Time Faculty evaluation consists of:

• One (1) classroom/workplace observation
• One (1) sets of student evaluations
• Final written evaluation report (including Chair Supplemental Form)

Access: Part-Time Faculty Evaluation Documents

Out-of-Cycle Evaluations

The Department Chair/Director and/or Dean may request a re-evaluation or an out-of-cycle evaluation of a part-time faculty member during any semester of service to monitor progress, subject to the approval of TERB. The request must be made in writing to the TERB office noting the Evaluee name, course name, course 5 digit ID, the name of the Evaluator and the reason for the request. Upon approval from TERB the Department Chair shall notify the Evaluee of the out-of-cycle evaluation. These evaluations shall be conducted using all elements of the Part-time Evaluation Checklist.

3 Steps to Completion

Step 1: Preparation- Committee (Evaluator) and Course Selection

• Evaluator/Committee
  • The Evaluator is either the Department Chair or a full-time faculty in the department designated by the Department Chair.
    • Tenured, tenure-track, or temporary full-time faculty are permitted to be evaluators for part-time faculty.
  • The division Dean is given a list of part-time faculty up for evaluation during the given semester. Per contract, they can request to see the draft evaluation report, student evaluations, and observation report. Once available, they can see this material after the observation is complete but before the final rating is decided/the final meeting with the part-time faculty member occurs.
  • The division Dean has an optional Dean Form they can complete, if they made the request mentioned above. This Dean Form becomes part of the evaluation packet–though those comments may or may not be included in the evaluation report itself. Per contract, evaluating faculty have the option to (or not to) incorporate Dean comments into the actual report or consider them when assigning ratings. Of note, Dean comments have been quite valuable during the part-time evaluation process.
• Course Selection
  • The Department Chair or Full-Time Faculty designee selects the course to be evaluated.
• Preparation meeting
  • It is a best practice for the Evaluator and Evaluee to have a meeting to go over the evaluation process. During this meeting the Evaluator should make sure to explain the process and answer any questions the Evaluee might have about the process. During this meeting also be sure to: set the date for the observation (remind them to provide the info needed for the observation), set a meeting date to review the observation, and set a meeting date for the Evaluation report review (likely after grades are posted).

Step 2: Conduct the Evaluation

• Student Evaluations
  • The TERB Office sends out the electronic student course evaluations between about 50-75% of the course.
  • As of March 2020, Palomar no longer has a paper-based or scantron-based evaluation system, all student evaluations are conducted electronically for all modalities.
  • For face-to-face classes, on the day of the course observations, the observer can have the evaluee step outside and use a few minutes to explain the importance of student evaluations, provide an opportunity for students to ask questions, and encourage them to complete the evaluation by having them take out their devices and show them how to access the evaluation (they get an email notification and Canvas dashboard notifications with the link).
  • There are special circumstances where evaluations cannot be tied to the student roster, when this happens, TERB works with the TEC to determine the best options.
• Course Observation
  • The Department Chair or Full-Time Faculty designee conducts a course observation. The observers’ role is just to observe. There should be no interaction with students, Evaluee, or any class activities.
  • The method of observation is intended to be collaboratively and collegially decided upon between the evaluator and evaluee.
  • The faculty evaluator conducts the classroom/workplace observation using the classroom/workplace observation form during the observation/evaluation window (usually October/March for full semester classes). See calendars for timing for other courses–but you’re aiming for the middle of the term for observations and evaluations.
  • Two options for Online Course Observation:
    • Gain Canvas access to the evaluee’s online course and observe the course for a maximum of two weeks (including watching a live course if one occurs during the two week window). Evaluators hoping to watch a live course are encouraged to opt for this option.
    • Sit down with the evaluee and look through the online course with the evaluee while asking questions relevant to the observation (any recordings available on the online course can/should be viewed).
  • The Evaluee and Observer should meet soon after the observation to note positive observations and constructive criticism based on the observation. Please don’t leave an evaluee hanging with anxiety by not sharing some thoughts from the observation in a reasonable timeframe following the observation.
• Department Chair Supplemental Form
  • The Chair Supplemental Form is included in the Part-Time Evaluation report. This must be completed by the Department Chair. Note: The chairs’ signature can be added when TERB Office routes through Adobe Sign.

Step 3: Complete Final Evaluation Report

• The TERB Office sends the student course evaluation results to the Evaluator (The Department Chair or Full-Time Faculty designee).
• The Evaluator uses the course evaluation reports, class observation form, and the Chair supplemental form to write the final evaluation report.
  • Each discrete item in the report gets a separate rating. The final rating is not necessarily an average of the discrete items. Instead, the final rating is the evaluation of the Part-Time Faculty member’s overall performance–using information from all the items.
  • Unsatisfactory or Needs Improvement Rating
    • If an evaluee receives an overall rating of “Needs Improvement” and has a PN, a part-time improvement plan is required.
    • The Improvement Plan and must accompany the review report. The Improvement Plan must be approved and signed by the Department Chair and the TERB Coordinator before being presented to the evaluee for signature. The Improvement Plan then becomes part of the review report.
    • If the evaluee is rated “Needs Improvement” but does not have a PN, the improvement plan is optional. However, if the plan is to give the evaluee a class in an upcoming semester, an improvement plan would be beneficial.
    • Per contract, a part-timer under required improvement plan must be reevaluated with one year. If your evaluation results in a required improvement plan, please inform your department chair so records can be kept on your end as well as they’ll need to request an out-of-cycle evaluation sometime during the next year.
• Reminder: If the Dean has requested to see the draft evaluation report, student evaluations, and observation report, please provide them with the material after the observation is complete but before the final rating is decided.
  • The division Dean has an optional Dean Form they can complete, if they made the request mentioned above. This Dean Form becomes part of the evaluation packet–though those comments may or may not be included in the evaluation report itself. Per contract, evaluating faculty have the option to (or not to) incorporate Dean comments into the actual report or consider them when assigning ratings. Of note, Dean comments have been quite valuable during the part-time evaluation process.
• When the report is complete, the Evaluator submits the report to the TERB Office.
• Evaluator schedules a meeting with the Evaluee to review the Evaluation Report. This meeting occurs, typically, after grades are submitted, however if no student comments are included in the report, the PRC may meet with the evaluee before grades are posted.
• The TERB Office routes the report for all signatures.
• After the report is signed, the part-time evaluee has 10 business days from the date of their signing to write a response and submit it to the TERB Coordinator, they should indicate if they’d like anyone else to immediately receive the response. The response becomes part of the evaluation packet and is viewable by Department Chairs (or other full-time faculty) responsible for making assignments (i.e. assigning classes).

Notes about Priority Number and Evaluations:

A part-time evaluee needs a rating of “standard” or higher on two successive evaluations to receive a Priority Number for the purposes of priority in class assignments. Two successive ratings of Needs Improvement removes the evaluee’s PN. One Unsatisfactory rating also removes an evaluee’s PN. A PN can be regained after two successive evaluations with a rating of “standard” or higher. As such, as with other part-time faculty without a PN, and following contract guidelines, faculty who received ratings that removed their PN can still be offered class. Two NIs or on Unsatisfactory is not at all intended to imply the part-time faculty member is fired (faculty cannot fire faculty); it simply means they’ve lost their PN and priority status.