A brief history is provided of the efforts undertaken in California to devise alternatives to the current rules concerning credentials, tenures, and evaluation for faculty and administrators, along with a comparison of the recommendations emanating from two legislatively mandated studies of these issues. First, historical background is presented…

Factors that have led to post-tenure evaluation of faculty are considered, along with concerns that should be examined before designing a post-tenure review process. Post-tenure evaluation is not in opposition to the principle of tenure and to policy statements about tenure issued by the American Association of University Professors, provided that…

Factors that have led to post-tenure evaluation of faculty are considered, along with limitations of tenure in general and current post-tenure evaluation practices. Positions of advocacy and opposition to post-tenure evaluation are identified, along with practical considerations that institutions might consider before modifying or implementing a…

The issue of qualifications for tenure is examined with attention to judicial tests for qualification in lawsuits in which faculty alleged that negative tenure decisions were infected with illegal discrimination. The focus is the degree to which a faculty plaintiff must demonstrate at the first stage of the lawsuit that he or she was qualified for…

The efficacy of student ratings is examined through existing research, and it is concluded that although the ratings are generally reliable and valid indicators of teaching effectiveness and are not strongly influenced by extraneous factors, additional independent evaluation means are needed. (MSE)

Twenty-five profiles of college and university programs using teaching portfolios to evaluate faculty are presented to illustrate how portfolio use relates to institutional context and purposes of evaluation. An introductory section makes observations about the profiles in general and highlights some issues emerging during preparation of the…

Guidelines for colleges concerning the privacy of employee records are presented in two policy statements. Institutional policy should minimize intrusiveness, maximize fairness, and create legitimate expectations of confidentiality. In addition to strengthening professional equity of treatment, confidentiality permits consideration of both adverse…

The addition of a clinical component to formal legal education is discussed, along with a proposal to upgrade the status of clinical faculty. Attention is directed to the history of efforts by the practicing bar to influence the scope and methods of legal education, the controversy over a proposed equality-of-treatment standard, and the future of…

A recent Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching report counters the conventional wisdom in academe that faculty research must be evaluated by standards different from those of teaching and service, maintaining that the different types of faculty work have much in common and must be judged similarly if teaching and service are to gain…

A junior faculty member reflects on the dilemma of that professional position, noting that its anxieties fall into two categories: "Is this all there is?" and "What if we lose it?" She examines problems with, and prohibitions against, speaking one's mind in that position, sees solutions as being institutional or individual, and examines how…

In the United States, college students' ratings of instructors are routinely used to make personnel decisions. However, closer examination of the qualifications of amateur student raters and novice public school teachers who have received training that should enable them to be good raters suggests that neither group is qualified to give reliable…

Current university tenure and promotion criteria are examined critically, and it is suggested that they are both an effect and a source of gender bias. Current working assumptions regarding what constitutes good research, teaching, and service and the relative importance of each reflect and perpetuate masculine values and practices, preventing…

The philosophy, operations, and applications of the Eastern Washington University Department of Education Merit Pay System are described. The system is designed to: eliminate arbitrary assessments, reward desired behaviors, award merit pay to those achieving designated goals, individualize rewards, encourage cooperation, and simplify evaluative…

The views of 1,105 faculty members at seven diverse colleges and universities relating to pay-promotion criteria were surveyed. In addition, the parallel-perceptions inquiry enabled comparison of the views of 36 Harcum Junior College faculty and those of 1,069 faculty representing large, medium, and small colleges, both public and private.…

Issues concerning tenure of college faculty and the application of tenure policies on campuses are considered. Tenure decisions typically reflect evaluations of performance and judgments about potential. Minimum eligibility requirements commonly used and typical reasons for revoking an individual's tenure status are outlined. As defined by the…