Employee Performance Evaluations
Effective Date: December 8, 2010; amended August 26, 2014
Board Policy Reference: DLA
Purpose
Blinn College conducts performance evaluations to evaluate job performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, provide feedback, and establish a plan of action to further train and develop its employee’s career growth. The care and accuracy with which this evaluation is made will determine its value to the employee and the College.
The purpose of the employee performance evaluation shall be to:
- Continually monitor and improve the quality of instruction and service.
- Facilitate employee professional growth and improvement.
- Determine the employee’s future employment with the College.
Evaluating an employee’s performance is an obligation and the responsibility of the supervisor. Ratings for each competency should be judged according to the needs of each department and the employee’s job description.
Procedures
Faculty Evaluation Procedure
- Student Evaluations. A faculty evaluation instrument developed by the Academic Standards committee will be used.
Following faculty evaluation system guidelines, all students enrolled in each instructor's course will be asked to evaluate the instructor. Evaluations will be administered online. At the instructor’s discretion, he/she may elect to have students complete the evaluation in class using their mobile devices or Blinn College computer labs. If this is the case, the instructor will leave the classroom while the students are completing the evaluations.
The results of the student evaluation should be reviewed in context using additional information provided for this purpose. Longitudinal data developed for a two-year period provide the necessary context when reviewing the current student evaluation results. A summary of the instructor's performance on past evaluations is also necessary to provide for a meaningful review of the results. Comparative data developed with regard to the individual instructor, the specific course, the division, and the institution will also be of value. A review of the instructor's rating for each objective item on the student evaluation, as well as the overall rating per course and per instructor is also a critical part of the total evaluation process.
- Supervisor's Evaluation. The instructional dean or their designee will evaluate each instructor in the division using the designated instrument. Evaluation documents for part-time, adjunct, and full-time faculty members have been developed for evaluation purposes and are available at http://www.blinn.edu/personnel/Forms/forms.htm.
The content of each of these three documents is based on the approved institutional responsibilities for each of these three faculty populations. The expectation is that the instructor should receive a "meets expectations" for each item on the evaluation. If the supervisor determines that a higher or lower rating is appropriate, comments must be provided.
The instructional dean or their designee will also review, as part of the evaluation process, grade point distributions including withdrawals, course inventory results, course tracking, representative course examinations, course information sheets, class handouts, and any other appropriate documentation related to classroom instruction.
- Self-Assessment. The self-assessment instrument provides the faculty member with an opportunity to identify and discuss activities at the division and/or institutional level. This document also provides the instructor the opportunity to identify and discuss activities which address the institution's professional growth/development policy. An integral part of this document is the professional planning aspect. In the document, the faculty member provides specific feedback on accomplishment of stated personal professional goals, as well as develops goals for the next academic year. These personal professional goals may be viewed as the initial step in the institutional process of reviewing and setting division goals for the next academic year. The self-assessment instrument also affords the instructor an opportunity to review and reflect on evaluations by students, as well as the supervisor and respond to those evaluations. Each instructor shall complete the instrument and submit it for the review of the instructional dean.
Determination of a Rating
Each component of the faculty evaluation shall have the following value or weight:
- Student Evaluation: 60%
- Supervisor's Evaluation: 30%
- Self-Assessment: 10%
Administration of the System and Dissemination of Records
The responsibility for administering the faculty evaluation system and implementing its procedures shall be that of the Vice Chancellor, Instruction.
The appropriate Vice Chancellor for Instruction shall keep two separate files for each faculty member:
- The standard personnel file (including such items as transcripts, application, recommendations, service record)
- A file of the evaluation records as detailed by this system
Access to the evaluation records shall be strictly limited to the Chancellor, the appropriate Vice Chancellor for Instruction or his/her designee, deans, instructional deans, faculty member, and others as provided by law.
The faculty member shall be advised when any document is placed in the evaluation file and both the instructor and the instructional dean and/or the appropriate Vice Chancellor for Instruction shall sign and date the document. The faculty member shall be entitled to a photocopy of any document in the file.
Evaluation Conference
To provide for an open exchange of information and opinion and thus a means for utilizing the data collected in the evaluation process, the instructional dean or their designee shall meet privately with each instructor in the division to discuss the evaluation results for each element of the process. All evaluation forms are retained by the instructional dean for use in this conference.
Using student evaluations administered during the fall semester, faculty evaluation conferences are conducted during the spring semester. Early in the spring semester, January or February, instructional deans or their designees and faculty members review the student evaluations. At this time, instructional deans or their designees evaluate faculty members in the division and schedule a conference to review each faculty member's student evaluations, supervisor's evaluation, and the self-assessment document for the current academic year. The faculty member then completes a self-assessment document for the next academic year and schedules another meeting with the instructional deans or their designees, if necessary. Student evaluations conducted during the spring semester are reviewed with faculty members by the instructional dean or their designee when they return for the fall semester.
Timetable
Student evaluations of faculty members are conducted during a four-week period preceding final examinations during the fall semester. Faculty members on a semester or a one-year contract have all sections of all courses evaluated during the fall semester. Once a faculty member receives a two-year contract, one section of each course taught by the instructor is evaluated rather than all sections of all courses. The sections to be evaluated will be determined by the instructional dean in consultation with the instructor. Even if the number of course preparations exceeds three, a maximum of three sections are evaluated. All sections shall be evaluated. During the spring semester and summer sessions, student evaluations are conducted for those instructors joining the faculty.
Staff Evaluation Procedure
The staff evaluation procedure applies to all classified, professional, and executive personnel, excluding those who are on a faculty contract. A classified, non-contract employee is still an at-will employee with no property interest in employment, even though the employee is placed on this evaluation schedule.
The staff and administrative appraisal process encompasses an annual evaluation with quarterly meetings for progress. The online evaluation is due on the second Friday of March.
Before the performance evaluation, the supervisor will:
- Complete all sections of the appropriate evaluation form available at http://www.blinn.edu/personnel/Forms/forms.htm.
- Give advance notice to the employee when the performance evaluation will be conducted.
- Schedule an appointment for formal interview.
During the scheduled interview:
- Discuss each job element with the employee and support your rating with examples and/or documentation.
- Give the employee the opportunity to respond during the interview.
- Written comments are required to support the rating given to the employee. Where change and/or improvement is required, make sure there is a full understanding of your expectations.
- Indicate a plan of action for continued growth and development.
- Ask the employee to sign the evaluation and allow him/her to make written comments.
Performance Levels Definitions
- Level 4 (EE) Exceeds expectations
- Performance consistently exceeded expectations in all essential areas of responsibility, and the quality of work overall was excellent. Annual goals were met.
- Level 3 (ME) Meets expectations
- Performance consistently met expectations in all essential areas of responsibility, at times possibly exceeding expectations, and the quality of work overall was very good. The most critical annual goals were met.
- Level 2 (I) Improvement needed
- Performance did not consistently meet expectations – performance failed to meet expectations in one or more essential areas of responsibility, and/or one or more of the most critical goals were not met. A professional development plan to improve performance must be outlined in Section 4, including timelines, and monitored to measure progress.
- Level 1 (U) Unsatisfactory
- Performance was consistently below expectations in most essential areas of responsibility, and/or reasonable progress toward critical goals was not made. Significant improvement is needed in one or more important areas.