If "scholarly activity" is considered broadly to include more than traditional, knowledge-producing research, then forensics qualifies as scholarly activity. This point of view is reflected in the tenure, promotion, and evaluation criteria at Morehead State University (Kentucky), where the work of faculty members is divided into three…

This study explored the association between tenure and college faculty productivity by comparing the efficacy of traditional and alternative definitions of faculty productivity and different productivity measurement systems. Specifically, the study addressed how college faculty use their time, how time spent on "scholarly" activities…

The practice of student evaluation of college faculty is discussed in terms of the literature on social ritual. The following arguments that critics have raised are considered: student ratings of professors are neither scientific nor objective; feedback needed by professors to improve the quality of their work and data needed by administrators to…

Despite the movement in dentistry toward a system of professional peer review, dental educators appear highly resistant to evaluation by their colleagues. The University of Maryland Dental School has a comprehensive evaluation system involving evaluation of courses and instruction by students, program evaluations by individual departments, formal…

Results of a conference reviewing recommendations favoring post-tenure evaluation were that: current procedures for evaluating faculty are satisfactory; additional formal periodic evaluation would incur unacceptable costs and scant benefit; and results of any evaluation should not be used as grounds for dismissal. (MSE)

An optimal evaluation system should have five features if it is to both stimulate academic work and lead to fair decisions: clear expectations, feedback on performance, formative evaluation, summative evaluation, and differential rewards. Women and minorities were asked about their experiences in relation to these features. None had received…

Ways to promote the evaluation of teaching performance by peers are considered. It is suggested that the evaluator's task be extended to include counseling and coaching the instructor being evaluated in order to help him/her overcome deficiencies in classroom performance. The counselor/evaluator should start by scheduling a short meeting with the…

Questionnaires concerning the importance of publication in professional journals were sent to 193 university economics department heads. There was a 60 percent response rate. Questions were asked about: (1) the necessity of publications for appointment and promotion, (2) how department heads rate the various journals in terms of prestige accrued…

Empire State College (ESC), a statewide college without a campus, requires Nontraditional concepts of faculty, since their role as mentor in a contractual learning situation is more diverse than that of a traditional faculty member. The ESC mentor role involves several activities: advisement, intellectual development, evaluation, college…

Pressure upon institutions of higher education to attract more students and to cut back on the number of courses offered has increased in recent years. A part of the problem is to determine which courses should continue to be offered and to better fit student interests to the course available. One solution to this problem, is the offering of…

This paper examines the current status of standards and assessment in California, focusing on the system's successes and failures, and on how professors of educational administration can be involved and of assistance to administrators and teachers in this endeavor. At this time, the California accountability system and other mandated factors have…

This paper gives an overview, from an institutional point of view, of the problems and issues surrounding faculty development. The paper sketches out four main changes that are occurring in higher education that have defined the sense of what faculty development issues of the future will be: changes in academic disciplines; changes in students;…

Information obtained from department heads as well as from staff highlight the difficulties of heads who have to make evaluative statements on departmental staff that may further or slow down their career. Heads may have positional authority, but academic conventions often prevent heads from exercising it. (Author/MLW)

Formative teacher evaluation promotes teacher growth by illuminating some areas of difficulty and creating a viable course for change. The goal is to help teachers become more effective. Since 1991, the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) has supported selected school systems in their attempts to design and implement formative…

A study expands on an earlier study by developing a prototypical evaluation instrument for directors of forensics. A 3-part questionnaire was constructed to assess the reliability and validity of the instrument used in the earlier study. Questionnaires were returned by 63 of 205 directors of forensics programs representing both public and private…