To: Fort Wayne Senate

From: Faculty Affairs Committee

Date: December 5, 1994

Subj: Policy on the Appointment, Reappointment, Evaluation, and Professional Development of Part-time Instructional Personnel

 

Disposition: To the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for Implementation

 

 

WHEREAS: IPFW has no campus policy on the appointment, reappointment, and professional development of part-time instructional personnel; and

 

WHEREAS: Part-time instructional personnel make a vital contribution to the teaching mission of IPFW; and

 

WHEREAS: The IU Board of Trustees approved on September 24, 1994, recommendations concerning the establishment of formal policies such as the attached;

 

RESOLVED: That the Senate approve the attached document

 

IPFW appoints persons to part-time instructional positions in two classifications: graduate aides and associate faculty. Together, these two categories of personnel shoulder responsibility for a substantial portion of the campus's course offerings. Therefore, their preparedness and development as teachers are important to realizing the institution's academic mission. Usually, graduate aides are without post-baccalaureate education and have little pertinent professional experience. Usually, persons hired as associate faculty are appropriately degree-credentiallcd, and many of them bring discipline-specific expertise gained from their regular employment. Like graduate aides, however, they may lack teaching experience. Because IPFW cannot fulfill its commitment to excellent instruction without providing for the evaluation of part-time instructional personnel through the appointing and reappointing processes and through support for their professional development, the following policy on appointment, reappointment, evaluation, and professional development shall be established.

Appointment. Standards for appointment shall guarantee that courses are taught by qualified individuals. Toward that end, each school/division shall develop minimum criteria for appointing part-time instructional personnel and submit them to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for approval. The criteria should be specific to the two classifications of part-time personnel, levels of instruction (lower division, upper division, and graduate), and types of instruction (lecture, recitation, laboratory, etc).

Evaluation, All part-time instructional personnel shall be evaluated on a regular basis by customary measures of classroom effectiveness. Toward that end, each school/division shall develop a plan for evaluating part-time instructional personnel.

The plan shall identify appropriate criteria for evaluating such personnel, specify the combination of measures that shall be applicable, establish guidelines for how the evaluations shall be conducted, explain how and to whom the results of the evaluation shall be reported, and establish a schedule for the evaluations.

Reappointment. Reappointment of part-time instructional personnel shall be predicated on satisfactory teaching evaluations. Toward that end, recommendations to reappoint shall be accompanied by a summary of the results of the evaluation of the member's performance.

Professional Development. IPFW shall provide for the professional development of part-time instructional personnel. Toward that end, graduate aides in all schools/divisions shall participate in a teacher training program organized by the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences in consultation with the deans and directors of other schools/divisions that appoint graduate aides to instructional duties; all part-time instructional personnel shall participate in formal orientation organized by their respective schools/divisions; and all departments shall make efforts to integrate part-time instructional personnel with full-time faculty. Further, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs shall fund an account to support internal and external professional development activities and programs intended to promote success as teachers and the enhancement of pedagogical skills. These resources shall not preclude use of department and school/division resources for the professional development of part-time instructional personnel.

Responsibility for Part-time Instructional Personnel. The Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs shall oversee the implementation of this policy.