3.1.5.4 Responsibilities

(Charter)

Faculty are expected to promote academic excellence and to integrate faith and learning in carrying out the mission of the University and, more broadly, of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

  1. Responsibilities to Students

    Faculty are responsible for setting and maintaining high standards in
    1. Teaching, scholarship, and research

    2. Professional and personal ethics

    3. Assessment of student performance

    4. Interactions with and advisement of students

  2. Responsibilities to the academic community
    Faculty are responsible for

    1. Professional development and contribution to the academic discipline

    2. Collegiality within the academic department and University as a whole

    3. Participating actively in the life and governance system of the University

  3. Community contributions
    Faculty are responsible for

    1. Demonstrating a commitment to and participation in the Seventh-day Adventist Church

    2. Representing the University in a positive light to the broader community

    3. Seeking ways to contribute in civic and volunteer service beyond the boundaries of the University

(Bylaws)

Faculty Evaluation

  1. Faculty Performance Evaluation
    Faculty performance is evaluated annually to provide faculty with timely feedback regarding their responsibilities as outlined above. Faculty performance may meet or exceed expectation or may be below expectation in each of these areas. Performance evaluations facilitate annual documentation of faculty activities, goal setting, and discussion of ways in which the University can better support individual professional development. By identifying any areas in which performance is below expectation, faculty and chairs or deans can work to address concerns before the faculty member's next tenure review.

    As a part of each performance review, faculty members are expected to prepare a Professional Activities Report documenting activities in the areas of responsibility listed above. This report, along with other supporting documents, is submitted to the faculty member's chair or dean. After completion of the review process, the Professional Activities Report is also submitted to the Chief Academic Officer (CAO). All other evaluation materials are maintained by the chair or dean and not routinely shared with the CAO or Rank and Tenure Committee (see Procedures, below).

    If, in the opinion of the reviewing chair or dean, a tenured faculty member's performance is significantly below expectation during two consecutive annual reviews, he or she will be required to participate in an immediate tenure review.

  2. Course Evaluation

    Course evaluations are intended to help faculty provide excellent instruction (see Responsibilities to Students, above) and to inform rank and tenure evaluations (see 3.1.5.5 Rank and Tenure).

    Faculty members are expected to seek evaluation of all courses periodically using student and peer evaluation. The results of all course evaluations must be submitted to the faculty member’s department chair or school dean. A designated number of course evaluation results must also be submitted annually to the Chief Academic Officer (as noted in Procedures, below).

    Chairs or deans may, in consultation with a faculty member, designate specific courses for evaluation and may designate specific evaluative methods and evaluators. Faculty may submit written responses with any course evaluation sent to the Chief Academic Officer and/or the chair or dean. Responses will remain with course evaluation documents and receive consideration in the evaluation of faculty performance.

Use and Sale of Self-Published Materials

Faculty members are encouraged to pursue publication of textbooks and other educational materials. When materials produced by an instructor are required for a class that the instructor teaches, however, an apparent conflict of interest may be present, especially where the sale of such materials produces financial gain for the instructor. The following procedures relate to the sale of required textbooks and course materials that are self-published by a WWU instructor and sold to students in courses taught by that instructor.

Materials Sold at Cost

Prior to use, materials sold to students at cost must be reviewed by the academic department or school in which the course is offered. The instructor is responsible for submitting a request to the department which addresses
  • Reasons for using self-published materials

  • Comparisons with existing commercially published texts or materials

  • Request for student course evaluation to include specific feedback on content and usefulness of the selected texts or materials

The chair or dean is responsible for maintaining records of departmental approvals.

Materials Sold for Profit

Instructors intending to require the purchase of self-published course materials or textbooks for course or laboratory use, and to profit from the sale of those materials, must submit a petition to the Vice President for Academic Administration at least two quarters prior to the quarter in which the materials are to be used. The petition must include
  • A copy of one or more complete and thorough reviews, submitted by off-campus peer reviewer(s)

  • Rationale for the use of self-published materials

  • Comparison of price with existing commercially published texts or materials

  • Estimate of projected cost per unit and projected profit per unit, and rationale for profit margin (generally not to exceed 25 percent of cost or $25 per student, except as approved by the Vice President for Academic Administration)

  • Signature of department chair or school dean

  • Request for student course evaluation to include specific feedback on content, price, and usefulness of the selected texts or materials

Faculty may profit only from the sale of self-published materials that have received external peer review.

Approved petitions may remain in effect for up to three calendar years, after which the faculty member must submit a new petition.

The Vice President for Academic Administration may deny a petition and will respond in writing with a rationale for a decision.

Faculty using self-published materials are strongly encouraged to make available, through the university library and/or online, copies of their materials to accommodate students who choose not to purchase the materials.

Sales of required self-published materials to students must be transacted through the university bookstore.

(Procedures)

  1. Faculty Performance Evaluation

    1. A faculty member’s chair or dean initiates the performance evaluation by providing the faculty member with his or her performance metrics for the previous year and the evaluation rubric to be used (both provided by the CAO).

    2. The faculty member prepares supporting material for the evaluation and submits it to the chair or dean no more than two weeks after the performance evaluation is initiated. These materials should include

      i. A current curriculum vitae

      ii. A Professional Activity Report documenting the faculty member’s activities in the areas of faculty responsibility outlined above

      iii. A list of proposed goals for the coming year

      iv. Any department-specific items requested by the chair or dean

      v. Other materials the faculty member deems relevant to the evaluation process

    3. After reviewing the faculty member's supporting documentation and goals from the previous year, or if the faculty member fails to submit the supporting documentation within four weeks of the initiation of the performance evaluation, the chair or dean completes a performance evaluation rubric indicating areas in which the faculty member meets or exceeds expectation and areas in which he or she is below expectation.

    4. The faculty member and chair or dean review the performance evaluation rubric, identifying specific strengths and commendations, progress on goals from the previous year, and goals for the coming year.

    5. Any area in which a faculty member’s performance is found to be below expectation must be addressed by outlining specific goals and by establishing a timeline and method for review. If, in the opinion of the reviewing chair or dean, a tenured faculty member’s performance is significantly below expectation for two consecutive years,

      i. The chair or dean will notify the CAO and the chair of the Rank and Tenure committee, providing both with a copy of the performance evaluation rubric and all supporting materials for the last two years

      ii. The faculty member will participate in an immediate tenure review no more than three months from the date of the second annual review in which his or her performance was deemed below expectation

    6. The faculty member will submit his or her Professional Activity Report to the CAO.

  2. Course Evaluation

    1. For tenure-track faculty with a one-year appointment and non-tenure-track faculty in their first three one-year appointments at WWU,

      i. Each course must be evaluated by students each time the course is taught.

      ii. One course per academic term must be evaluated by a peer. The same course may be selected for both peer and student evaluation

    2. For tenure-track faculty with a three-year appointment or permanent tenure and non-tenure-track faculty after their first three one-year appointments at WWU,

      i. Three courses per academic year must be evaluated by students

      ii. Regular peer evaluation is encouraged through processes established within departments or schools

      iii. If a faculty performance evaluation indicates that performance is below expectation in the area of responsibilities to students, the chair or dean may designate specific courses for evaluation and may designate specific evaluative methods.

  3. Scholarship

    Faculty scholarship plays a key role in the scholarly life of Walla Walla University (see Responsibilities to Students, above, and Responsibilities to the Academic Community, above). Faculty, in pursuing inquiry and creativity in their respective disciplines, model for students the mission of the University as “a community of faith and discovery.” While teaching is the primary focus of the faculty, the teaching and learning taking place in the institution are kept fresh and growing by a commitment to “teaching undergirded by scholarship.” The standards for faculty scholarship at each level of rank reflect an expectation of maturation and maintenance of scholarly activities. Faculty teaching in graduate programs are expected to consistently model a level of scholarship and publication appropriate to the objectives of graduate study; they receive loading to help provide for this work. The institution aids faculty scholarship and publication through modest faculty research grants, sabbaticals, funding for conference attendance and presentations, and support for grant-writing activities

    Faculty scholarship is evaluated periodically through the performance evaluation and Rank and Tenure processes. Definitions and evaluation standards for scholarship activity are found in Appendix G: Rank and Tenure Forms and Scholarship Guidelines.