Five views of quality education are identified: the mystical, the reputational, the resources, the outcome, and the value-added. A new approach is proposed with the emphasis on good teaching, unpublicized student evaluations, and disinterested peer evaluation. (Author/MLW)

Asserts that an irony of academe is that professional judgments about teachers are made without direct knowledge of their teaching. Describes a four-part peer evaluation process used in a university sociology department. Discusses evaluation purposes, procedures, benefits, and dangers of the process. (CFR)

The Association of American Law Schools' statement on faculty tenure reviews tenure-related issues and results of a national study of tenure policies and practices. Issues discussed include the end of mandatory retirement, alternatives to tenure, faculty evaluation criteria, probationary period, and confidentiality. (MSE)

This monograph discusses how teaching portfolios can improve the quality of teaching and learning in higher education. Teaching portfolios can be defined as vehicles for documenting teaching (with an emphasis on demonstrating excellence), empowering professors to gain dominion over their professional lives, providing institutions with the means to…

Approved by the city's board of education in July 1982, Houston's Special Education Team Member Quality Assurance Program is intended to help assure continual professional growth for special education teachers. By establishing a system of faculty performance assessment, the program seeks to identify teachers' strengths and weaknesses, improve…

In the past 5 years, the University of Hawaii (UH) English Department has undergone significant changes in curriculum, staff, and students. Freshman English was formerly taught by lecturers, but is now the shared responsibility of all professors on the English faculty. The maximum class enrollment has been decreased from 25 students to 20.…

The literature on faculty research performance is reviewed, with a focus on research by individual faculty members. The literature on the sociology of science and data-based results from sociological studies are emphasized. Attention is directed to measures of performance, the explanations and specific correlates likely to influence high research…

"The Journal of Staff, Program and Organization Development" is published quarterly as a medium for the exchange of information, both practical and theoretical, regarding the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of practices and programs related to the effective and efficient functioning of institutions of higher education and the…

Proceedings of the 1983 Invitational Seminar on Faculty Development are presented. Focal areas included funding of faculty development and program development, the history and issues concerning faculty development, career development plans and growth contracts, the special needs from the period of midcareer to retirement, the context and overall…

This report details the response of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) Number 39 (Hayden), known as "Incentives for Improving Undergraduate Teaching." Part 1 provides the background and recent history of community college faculty development. Part 2 describes the current faculty…

Six major areas of part-time college faculty employment practices are discussed that illustrate how current practice can be detrimental to part-time faculty performance. Attention is directed to appointment, support services, communication with peers, participation in governance, compensation, and job security. The following areas that require…

This guide for college faculty attempts to balance assessment theory and practical advice on grading. Grading is viewed as a complex process that serves multiple roles: evaluation, motivation, communication, and organization, and this work provides examples from classrooms in many disciplines, sample assessment plans for departments and general…

Analysis of 73 University of Florida faculty portfolios, prepared as part of an instructional improvement program, revealed great variability in quantity, quality, and coherence of evidence presented to support claims of excellence in teaching. Seven guidelines for portfolio preparation, appropriate for different colleges and teaching assignments,…

A Tel Aviv University (Israel) study applied qualitative methods to evaluate a model for improvement of university teaching. A departmental instruction specialist treats instructional quality issues comprehensively within a department. Two years of implementation in the physics department have resulted in increased instructional quality, faculty…

A study investigated the response of faculty and administrators at four United Kingdom universities to implementation of faculty performance appraisal. Overall, staff felt the appraisal had little tangible benefit. Ambiguity over the objective of performance appraisal, as a management tool or for faculty development purposes, is seen as a concern.…