The three-year Miami University (Ohio) project to develop teaching portfolios is described. The department-based approach acknowledges that departments and disciplines have different cultures, and that departments are where rewards are determined. Issues in portfolio development and use, including benefits and problems, are discussed and…

An alternative method for college faculty to develop teaching portfolios is outlined, with the objective of minimizing professional risk. It is recommended that faculty work on course portfolios privately rather than in an organizational project, and that teaching philosophy be written last, not first. A two-year curriculum for developing a…

A survey of 436 faculty at one university concerning usefulness of student ratings of teaching found little resistance to ratings in general or their use in faculty evaluation. Usefulness of feedback was viewed differentially, with feedback on interaction with students seen as most useful, followed by feedback on grading practices, global ratings…

A survey of 1,331 business administration school faculty, department heads, and deans investigated attitudes concerning tenure. Results indicated most faculty believe tenure is necessary for academic freedom, but only half of department heads and deans agree. A majority of all three groups agree tenure is overapplied. Most also agree that tenure…

Describes the author's five years directing the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE), an accrediting agency for institutions which offer preparation programs for Montessori teaching. Notes how she found the program to be a means of self-improvement, ensuring credibility with the public, and assuring Montessori teachers…

King's College (Pennsylvania) has redesigned its faculty reward system, mixing intrinsic and extrinsic incentives in three interrelated institutional initiatives related to general educational reform, senior faculty performance appraisal, and merit pay. An early result of the effort is a perceptible improvement in faculty motivation and…

A new approach to medical school faculty compensation and advancement is proposed as a means for developing a better ethos for teaching. According to the plan, half the available resources are distributed according to departmental merit, based on research and teaching performance of each department faculty as a group. (Author/MSE)

The case of a dispute over the college faculty promotion process is examined in the context of a model of the organization of campus governance. The model describes three levels of power relationships with increasing amounts of shared responsibility between faculty and administration. A commitment to partnership is advocated. (MSE)

Analysis of court cases, employment law, and events in higher education yielded information about tenure as a contract, use of credentials as evidence, and due process in orderly tenure procedures. Academic, legal, and ethical perspectives are considered. Guidelines for social work faculty in dealing with these issues are offered. (Author/MSE)

The evolution of the recent discussion of quality assessment and evaluation of teaching in German higher education is chronicled. Concern began in the 1980s over the length of time to degree and has shifted to interest in improvement of teaching quality and overall system effectiveness. (Author/MSE)

A study of 55 University of Sydney (Australia) faculty investigated relationships between willingness to seek evaluations from students, perceived competence on teaching tasks, and 7 demographic, educational, and professional background variables. Perceived competence was a direct but negative influence on willingness. Gender, doctorate, and…

A study evaluated the instrument used for rating faculty in the pediatrics department of the University of Wisconsin medical school by assessing its measurement of overall teaching effectiveness in two different instructional settings. The form was shown to be reliable and useful for faculty development and decision making. (MSE)

Examines trends in use of teaching portfolios for college-faculty evaluation and development in Australia and the United States, offering a framework for portfolio use to address the diverse purposes, products, and processes of evaluation and the need for both formative and summative evaluation methods. The framework enables portfolio use to be…

A survey of 197 pharmacy school faculty members found the faculty evaluation criteria deemed most important in promotion and tenure decisions included refereed publications, extramural funding, the department head's evaluation, and invited scholarly presentations. Respondents expressed a desire to have more importance placed on other aspects of…

Central governance of undergraduate medical school curriculum is compared with traditional departmental approaches, based on experiences at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). It is argued that centralized governance has more advantages but greater cost. A major challenge of this approach is in resolution of faculty conflict between…