Minutes of the Evaluation and Assessment Committee
Xavier Retnam called the meeting to order on November 13, 2012 at 1 p.m. in Room 5210.
Members Present:
Peter Dorman, Joey Fronheiser, Lysa Holbrook, Carol Keeth Williams, Gary Randolph, Xavier Retnam (Chair), and Pam Reynolds (Recorder)
Members Absent:
Cathy Beale (non-voting member), Lynn Dillard, Jeff Laub, James Lemons, Muriel Mickles, Lorna Nelson, Kristin Ogden (non-voting member), Will Sandidge, and Cynthia Heying (non-voting member)
Meeting Minutes from October 2, 2012 meeting:
Xavier handed out a copy of the previous meeting’s minutes. Due to Pam sending a copy via email to all members prior to the meeting, the minutes were not read aloud. Peter approved the minutes and Carol seconded the approval.
Old Business:
Agenda from the previous meeting on October 2 included receiving and discussing Joey’s assessment list and timeline and an update from Peter and the subcommittee on faculty evaluations.
Assessment List and Timeline. Joey handed out a list of assessments which included when and how they should be administered. He discussed what role this committee should play in the assessments process. We need to develop a process and have one central place to look for each of the assessments.
Lysa stated that the big picture needed to be looked at concerning the assessments. For example, are they getting the info they need? Xavier stated we should receive a summary of each assessment. After looking over the list, Lysa also suggested adding a value column to see the importance of each item. There were two questionable items on the list—Student Satisfaction Survey and Employee Satisfaction Survey—as when they should be administered. Joey will work with the vice presidents and will bring feedback to our next meeting. After meeting with the vice presidents, Joey will improve the timeline. This will include adding a value column suggested by Lysa and getting rid of any non-useful information. Peter stated in the end we would need a policy statement for this committee to approve.
Update on Faculty Evaluations. Peter gave the update on the faculty evaluations. He handed out a DRAFT on Full-time Faculty Evaluation Policy on Rewards and Recognition for the committee to review. He had suggested using another college to assess our faculty but it was not well received. We all need to be professional and should be able to do it in house. Xavier stated the possibility of favoritism or prejudice. Lysa commented that it may be too much work to do with their current workload. Peter commented it should not be hard to assess when there are only two outcomes which are Meet Expectations or Not Meet Expectations. The work group has a default policy if they cannot agree on a plan. It will be out as a model by February. He will be working with the Faculty Evaluation Task Force on November 14, 2012 to discuss the draft. Gary suggested waiting for the Faculty Evaluation Task Force suggestions before this committee makes any decisions. No matter what the committee decides, it has to be approved by the VCCS. Peter stated this committee is an advice and consult committee.
Xavier stated he believed more value should be given to faculty. He thinks we should try to improve the college but not by making faculty feel stressful. Joey suggested peer evaluations to improve feedback. That is not always an easy way, but it is an effective way. Due to culture changes, Gary asked the question “How do you assess the assessor?” and Peter agreed there were a lot of culture changes. He stated an important culture change which came from the Chancellor. This change being faculty evaluations would now be on a calendar year and not academic year, due to the fact the VCCS policy states that non-returning faculty would need to be notified in December. He commented again just like in the previous meeting how he was excited to say we were way ahead of a lot of other colleges on creating a policy.
New Business:
Faculty Evaluation Task Force. Peter announced he would be meeting with the Faculty Evaluation Task Force on November 14, 2012. Gary believes there can be no discussions made on the Faculty Evaluation Policy on Rewards and Recognition until the next meeting when Peter will report his findings from the Task Force.
The committee suggested an agenda for our next meeting which will include the following:
· Update from Joey on the timeline for the assessments
· Update from Peter on the Faculty Evaluation Task Force meeting
Our next meeting will be January 15, 2013 at 1 p.m. in Room 5210.
Lysa motioned the meeting be adjourned at 2 p.m. Peter seconded the motion.
Minutes submitted by Pam Reynolds