AA 2021-04

1.0 Policy Purpose

1.1 To take into account impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic when conducting performance evaluations of faculty to address the disruption of normal teaching, service, scholarly/creative productivity, librarianship, and counseling services.

2.0 Policy Statement

2.1 The global pandemic COVID-19 has disrupted the personal and professional lives of people throughout our country. California’s mandatory stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and rapid transformation to alternative remote instruction and business practices has created many challenges for faculty, students, and university services.

2.2 Faculty have been potentially impacted by the following factors during the pandemic:

• A rapid shift to alternate modalities requiring new pedagogical approaches, technical competencies, and logistical solutions
• Lack of suitable computer hardware and technical support
• Increased time devoted to supporting the emotional and technological needs of students while serving as a broker to student services
• New personal responsibilities involving dependent care and education
• Personal or family illnesses

2.3 Scholarship and creative activity during the pandemic was potentially limited by:

• Reprioritization of faculty time to the teaching mission of the university
• Cancelled or restricted travel
• Conference/meeting cancellations
• Closure of libraries and research labs, inability to access human research subjects, and limitations to field work or archival visits
• Prohibition of assembly that prevented creative activity in fields such as the arts
• Publication delays

2.4 Service during the pandemic was potentially limited by:

• Cancelled meetings and travel
• Searches delayed or cancelled
• Reduced or cancelled external professional/community service opportunity

2.5 Counseling faculty were potentially impacted by:

• A rapid shift to the provision of counseling and training via Telehealth services
• Reduced opportunity to participate in outreach programming with other departments on campus (e.g. workshops and classroom presentations)

2.6 Library faculty were potentially impacted by:

• A rapid shift to the provision of all library services to entirely virtual platforms (e.g. research help, information literacy instruction, user services, archival processing, collection services)
• Reduced opportunity to participate in outreach programming (e.g., workshops, finals stress-relief activities)

2.7 The pandemic will be time limited, but the professional effects will carry forward into the coming years. Impacts of COVID-19 must be duly considered when conducting faculty performance evaluations that include COVID-disrupted semesters for the period of review. With respect to the current pandemic, this policy will be in effect for the 2021-22 review cycle and will continue in the future until the pandemic effects have resolved, and faculty working through the pandemic have attained their next temporary appointment (non-tenure track), and tenure and/or promotion milestones (tenure track).

3.0 Policy

3.1 1 In recognition of the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on faculty productivity shall be considered in the performance evaluations and resulting decisions for all faculty.

3.2 For the sixth probationary year performance review of faculty with extensions for tenure/promotion, reviewers shall evaluate faculty with extensions of the tenure clock with the expectation that faculty must only meet (not exceed) their department’s criteria.

3.3 Faculty who utilized a voluntary COVID-19 leave shall not be penalized for their reduced time base and subsequent reduction in service to the university.

3.4 The transition to alternative modes of instruction/counseling during the pandemic may negatively influence students’ evaluations of teaching/counseling effectiveness in ways that may not accurately reflect teaching/counseling under normal conditions. Reviewers shall take this into consideration when reviewing the student feedback provided during this period.

3.5 A holistic approach to evaluating teaching effectiveness is necessary to achieve a robust and contextualized performance evaluation. A range of evidence representing engagement in pedagogy and teaching effectiveness may be presented. The following are suggested examples, but not mandatory prescriptions:

• Syllabi, teaching materials, and assessment measures (e.g., assignments with rubrics, projects, exams)
• Reports of peer evaluation of teaching and asynchronous instructional materials (course observation) received
• Participation in professional development for online pedagogy and academic technology and a reflective narrative explaining how this training informed course designs and/or teaching
• Self-reflection about the transition to alternative instruction, teaching through the pandemic, student feedback, and insights related to pedagogy that were gained
• Evidence of leadership for professional development such as online pedagogy and academic technology workshops or performing peer observations of teaching

3.6 Faculty are encouraged to note the effect of the pandemic on their teaching, scholarship or creative activity, and service in their WPAF/submitted review materials. It is further recommended that if faculty have elected to use COVID-19 modified agreements (e.g., exclusion of Spring 2020 PTE reports, extension of tenure clock, voluntary COVID-19 leave) that a copy of the memo/agreement be included in the materials submitted.

3.7 Reviewers should honor papers and presentations accepted at conferences, and/or recordings, performances, exhibits, etc., that were cancelled as evidence of scholarly/creative productivity and contribution. Faculty should include documentation relating to these cancelled activities in their review materials when possible.

3.8 Communication of this policy shall be accomplished by distribution faculty- wide, to reviewers at all levels, and as a part of routine training for RTP committee members.

4.0 Related Information

4.1 Office of Faculty Affairs and Development 3-13-2020 email “Spring 2020 Perceived Teaching Effectiveness Evaluations and COVID-19”

4.2 Office of Faculty Affairs and Development 4-9-2020 email “Campus Agreement Evaluation for One-Year and Three-Year Temporary Appointments During the COVID- 19 Crisis”

4.3 Office of Faculty Affairs and Development 4-15-2020 email “COVID-19Probationary Faculty RTP Clock Extension”

4.4 AA 2012-02 Policy for Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion Procedures

4.5 CSU/CFA Collective Bargaining Agreement applicable provisions of Article 13 (Probation and Tenure), 14 (Promotion), and 15 (Evaluation)