Performance Appraisal: Professor Evaluation

Brock Addison, Marcos Contreras, Kiana Dickinson, Olivia Szendey

James Madison University

Performance Appraisal Overview

 In order to perform a performance appraisal for a professor, it is of the utmost importance
to set standards for evaluations. All professors in the Department of Psychology at James
Madison University will be evaluated utilizing this system. The procedure will be formally
communicated to employees at the start of the academic school year.

These evaluations will be in-class ratings, with all of the students in each of the classes
within the Department of Psychology receiving training prior to the first evaluation. The aim of
this training is to reduce bias and create a system that is as objective as possible. The criteria
utilized in the evaluation were tailored to be directly job related to the profession of university
professor. Therefore, all of the ratings are related to specific job functions as opposed to global
assessments. Traits were identified that were ideal for the professor position, and subsequent
behaviours based on those traits will be evaluated.

All performance information will be formally collected throughout the entire appraisal
period, on three evaluation dates . All information regarding an evaluation will be documented
and open to the ratee (professors), within a week's time. Following an evaluation, the information
will be discussed with the Dean of the Department. This ensures professors are aware of any
areas in which they need to improve, while also ensuring they have the opportunity to discuss
any concerns they may be having.

Evaluation Schedule

Each professor will be evaluated three times during the sixteen-week semester.

First Evaluation: Scheduled to take place following the first exam in the course, approximately
four weeks into the semester. This evaluation is crucial in assessing the professors natural
teaching strategies and how they approach the start of a new school term.

Second Evaluation: Scheduled to take place roughly around the midpoint, nine weeks after the
start of the semester. This evaluation is particularly important in assessing how the professor has
taken feedback from students, following the first evaluation. There is also a focus on how their
teaching methods have been shaped to fit the needs assessed.

Third Evaluation: The final evaluation will be given the fifteenth week of the semester. This
evaluation is essential in evaluating how the professor has evolved from the beginning of the
semester to the end of the semester.

Evaluation Training

Before the first appraisal, an associate from the assessment team at JMU will conduct
rater error training to give the students a better understanding of the halo, leniency, and central-
tendency errors. First, the associate will inform the students that their responses will remain
anonymous. Furthermore, the associate will ask the students to be as objective as possible and
refrain from being too nice or too mean in attempt to reduce the occurrence of leniency errors.
Next, the associate will inform the students that it is ok to leave a response blank if the item is
not applicable to their experience in the class in attempt to reduce the occurrence of halo and
central tendency errors. Students will be informed that responding to a non-applicable item, will
defeat the purpose of the assessment. Finally, the associate will end by asking the students to use
an objective lens while completing the evaluation in regards to relationships, emotions, and
attachment to academic achievement. This training intends to decrease bias among students and
increase the students awareness of various rater errors, leading to a reduction in the frequency of
these errors (Muchinsky & Culbertson, 2016).

The eight essential criteria raters will be evaluating are as follows; effective teaching
style, promotes critical thinking/ intellectually stimulating, realistic expectations, accessible,
prepared, knowledgeable, approachable, and effective communication. Student-raters will be
instructed to informally record relevant behaviors throughout the semester in order to prepare for
the formal evaluation dates. These are relevant behaviors that resemble the essential criteria. To
effectively appraise professors, the following behaviors should and must be taken into account:

1. Eye contact. It is important the professor engages in eye contact with the students
in order to keep them engaged, as well as create a warming environment in which the
students feel they can connect with the professor and feel comfortable engaging. This
addresses the need for professors to be approachable.
2. Voice projection. Professors need to speak loudly and clearly enough for students
to understand the information that is being presented.
3. Logical presentation of slides/information. In order for a professor to
communicate effectively, they must present information in a logical manner, beginning
with introductory topics and narrowing in on the specifics.
4. Pausing in between presenting to ask if students have questions. It is important
for the professor to allow brief pauses in their lectures to ensure students are caught up on
the information and do not need any clarification before moving onto the next topic. This
is an effective communication strategy and displays realistic expectations on the
professors part; one cannot expect students to know more complex information without
first understanding the foundation needed to fully grasp the entire concept.
5. Asking students questions. It is crucial for professors to ask questions in order to
promote an intellectually stimulating environment, which forces students to engage in
discussion and promotes critical thinking.
6. Confidently answering students questions. Professors should be able to answer
questions students ask throughout their lectures. This directly displays their knowledge of
the field they are employed to teach, as well as indicates their preparedness for topic of
discussion.
 System of Rating

The appraisal will utilize a Graphic Rating Scale. Each item will be rated on a continuum from
Never to Always concerning the frequency of occurrences of a critical incident. Respondents will
also be given the opportunity to record critical incidents they feel are important to the appraisal
at the end of the survey. Both positive and negative incidents will be encouraged. These critical
incidents will be included as qualitative feedback the professor receives.

We chose this system to allow both professors and the Department of Psychology to evaluate
frequency rather than to have dichotomic feedback. This is because knowing how often a
behavior happens (or fails to happen), is more helpful than simply knowing whether raters agree
or disagree with a specific criterion being met. Therefore, this system allows for further
discrimination of good and bad performance, while maintaining objectivity.

The evaluation will utilize 5-10 survey items to evaluate each criterion identified. Each of these
items will be counterbalanced. If the ratee cannot evaluate on something, they will have the
opportunity to answer Not-Applicable by simply leaving the question blank.

Example of Criterion Survey Question:

1. Effective communication. (If non-applicable, please leave blank)

A. The lectures clearly inform me of the material I need to know

B. I can have trouble understanding the professor when he or she

speaks

Example of Other Criterion:

2. Approachable
A. I feel comfortable asking the professor to go over a test with me
B. I feel comfortable asking the professor for clarification during
lecture
3. Knowledgeable
A. The professor is able to answer relevant questions in the field
 B. The professor presents current research in the field
4. Prepared
A. The professor starts class at the scheduled time.
B. The professor has a structured itinerary for class meetings
5. Accessible
A. The professor responds to emails within a few business days,
B. The professor is available during scheduled office hours
6. Realistic Expectations
A. The examinations draw from the lectures and assigned readings
B. The professor draws content from the listed course objectives
7. Promotes critical thinking/ intellectually stimulating.
A. The professor facilitates an intellectually stimulating
environment
B. The professor provides opportunities for critical thinking
8. Effective Teaching Style.
A. The professors teaching style facilitates learning
B. The professor uses analogies or examples when appropriate

Qualitative Item:

If you have any other comments, please state them below:

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