ARTICLE 10

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

 

10.1  Policy.

(a)     Annual Evaluations.  The purpose of the annual evaluation is to assess and communicate the nature and extent of an employee's performance of assigned duties consistent with the criteria specified in Section 10.4.  The performance of employees, other than those who have received notice of nonreappointment under Section 12.2 or those not entitled to receive notice of nonreappointment under Section  12.2 except those employees on appointments pursuant to Section 8.4(g), shall be evaluated at least once annually, and they shall be advised of the academic term during which such evaluation will be made.  Personnel decisions shall take such annual evaluations into account, provided that such decisions need not be based solely on written employee performance evaluations.

 

(b)     Sustained Performance Evaluations.  Tenured faculty members shall receive a sustained performance evaluation once every seven years following the award of tenure or their most recent promotion.  The purpose of this evaluation is to document sustained performance during the previous six years of assigned duties and to encourage continued professional growth and development.

 

10.2  Sources and Methods of Evaluation.

          (a)     In preparing the annual evaluation, the person(s) responsible for evaluating the employee may consider, where appropriate, information from the following sources: immediate supervisor, peers, students, employee/self, other university officials who have responsibility for supervision of the employee, and individuals to whom the employee may be responsible in the course of a service assignment, including public school officials when an employee has a service assignment to the public schools.

 

(b)     Observation/Visitation.  The employee, if assigned teaching duties, shall be notified at least two (2) weeks in advance of the date, time, and place of any direct classroom observation or visitation made in connection with the employee's annual evaluation.  If the employee determines that this date is not appropriate because of the scheduled class activities, the employee may suggest a more appropriate date.  Alternatively, if such classroom observation or visitation will be made, the employee shall be notified at least two (2) weeks in advance of the period (for example, a semester) over which no less than two (2) observations will be made.

 

10.3  Procedures. 

(a)     Annual Evaluation.

(1)     The proposed written annual evaluation, including the employee's annual assignment which was furnished pursuant to Section 9.3, shall be provided to the employee within thirty (30) days after the end of the academic term during which such evaluation will be made.  The employee shall be offered the opportunity to discuss the evaluation with the evaluator prior to its being finalized and placed in the employee's evaluation file.  The evaluation shall be signed and dated by the person performing the evaluation, and by the person being evaluated who may attach a concise comment to the evaluation.  A copy of the evaluation shall be provided to the employee.  The employee may request, in writing, a meeting with an administrator at the next higher level to discuss concerns regarding the evaluation which were not resolved in previous discussions with the evaluator.


(2)     Each university department/unit shall develop and maintain procedures by which to evaluate each employee according to criteria specified in Section 10.4.  These procedures will include the method for the distribution of salary increase funds  specified in Section 23.1(a)(2) based on said annual evaluation.  The employees of each department/unit, who are eligible to vote in department/unit governance, shall participate in the development of these procedures and shall recommend implementation by vote of a majority of at least a quorum of those employees.

a.       The proposed procedures, or revisions thereof, shall be reviewed by the President or representative to ensure that they are consistent with the mission and goals of the university and that they comply with this agreement.

b.       If the President or representative determines that the recommended  procedures do not meet the conditions in Section 10.3(2)(a) above, the proposal shall be referred to the department/unit for revision with a written statement of reasons for non‑approval.  No merit salary increase funds shall be provided to a department/unit until its procedures have been approved by the President or representative.

c.       Approved procedures, and revisions thereof, shall be kept on file in the department/unit office.  Employees in each department/unit shall be provided a copy of that department's/unit's current procedures for annual evaluation.

(3)     Upon written request from the employee, the persons responsible for supervising and evaluating an employee shall endeavor to assist the employee in correcting any major performance deficiencies reflected in the employee's annual evaluation.

 

(b)     Sustained Performance Evaluations. 

(1)     The sustained performance evaluation program shall provide that:

a.       Only elected faculty may participate in the development of applicable procedures.  Such procedures shall ensure involvement of both peers and administrators at the department and higher levels in the evaluation and shall ensure that an employee may attach a concise response to the evaluation;

b.       The university shall provide for an appeals process to accommodate instances when the employee and the supervisor cannot agree upon the elements to be included in the performance improvement plan; and   

c.       The proposed procedures for the sustained performance evaluation shall be available to faculty members and to UFF for review prior to final approval.   

(2)     Employee annual evaluations, including the documents contained in the evaluation file shall be the sole basis for the sustained performance evaluation. 

a.       An employee who received satisfactory annual evaluations during the previous six years shall not be rated below satisfactory in the sustained performance evaluation nor subject to a performance improvement plan. 

b.       A performance improvement plan shall be developed only for those employees whose performance is identified through the sustained performance evaluation as being consistently below satisfactory in one or more areas of assigned duties.  The performance improvement plan shall be developed by the employee, in concert with his/her supervisor, and include specific performance targets and a time period for achieving the targets.  The performance improvement plan shall be approved by the President or representative.  Specific resources identified in an approved performance improvement plan shall be provided by the university.  The supervisor shall meet periodically with the employee to review progress toward meeting the performance targets.  It is the responsibility of the employee to attain the performance targets specified in the performance improvement plan. 

 

10.4  Criteria.  The annual performance evaluation shall be based upon assigned duties,

and shall carefully consider the nature of the assignments, in terms, where applicable, of:

(a)     Teaching effectiveness, including effectiveness in presenting knowledge, information, and ideas by means or methods such as lecture, discussion, assignment and recitation, demonstration, laboratory exercise, practical experience, and direct consultation with students.  The evaluation shall include consideration of effectiveness in imparting knowledge and skills, and effectiveness in stimulating students' critical thinking and/or creative abilities, the development or revision of curriculum and course structure, and adherence to accepted standards of professional behavior in meeting responsibilities to students.  The evaluator may take into account class notes, syllabi, student exams and assignments, and any other materials relevant to the employee's teaching assignment.  The teaching evaluation must take into account any relevant materials submitted by the employee, including the results of peer evaluations of teaching, and may not be based solely on student evaluations when this additional information has been made available to the evaluator. 

 

(b)     Contribution to the discovery of new knowledge, development of new educational techniques, and other forms of creative activity.  Evidence of research and other creative activity shall include, but not be limited to, published books; articles and papers in professional journals; musical compositions, paintings, sculpture; works of performing art; papers presented at meetings of professional societies; and research and creative activity that has not yet resulted in publication, display, or performance.  The evaluation shall include consideration of the employee's productivity, including the quality and quantity of what has been done during the year, and of the employee's research and other creative programs and contributions; and recognition by the academic or professional community of what is done.

 

(c)     Public service that extends professional or discipline‑related contributions to the community; the State, including public schools; and the national and international community.  This public service includes contributions to scholarly and professional organizations and governmental boards, agencies, and commissions that are beneficial to such groups and individuals.

 

(d)     Participation in the governance processes of the institution through significant service on committees, councils, and senates, beyond that associated with the expected responsibility to participate in the governance of the institution through participation in regular departmental or college meetings.

 

(e)     Other assigned university duties, such as advising, counseling, supervision of interns, and academic administration, or as described in a Position Description, if any, of the position held by the employee.

 

10.5  Proficiency in Spoken English.  No employee shall be evaluat­ed as deficient in oral English language skills unless proved deficient in accordance with the appropriate procedures and examinations established by Section 240.246, Florida Statutes, and Board of Regents rule, for testing such deficiency.

(a)     Faculty involved in classroom instruction, other than in courses conducted primarily in a foreign language, found by their supervisor, as part of the annual evaluation, to be potentially deficient in English oral language skills, shall be tested in accordance with appropriate procedures and examinations estab­lished by statute and rule cited above for testing such skills.  No reference to an alleged deficiency shall appear in the annual evaluation or in the personnel file of a faculty member who achieves a satisfactory examination score determining proficiency in oral English as specified in the rule (currently "50" or above on the Test of Spoken English).

 

(b)     Faculty who score at a specified level on an exami­nation established by statute and rule cited above for testing oral English language skills ("45" on the Test of Spoken English), may continue to be involved in classroom instruction up to one (1) semester while enrolled in appropriate English language instruction, as described in paragraph (d) below, provided the appropriate administrator determines that the quality of instruc­tion will not suffer.  Only such faculty members who demonstrate, on the basis of examinations established by statute and rule, that they are no longer deficient in oral English language skills may be involved in classroom instruction beyond one (1) semester.

 

(c)     Faculty who score below a minimum score on an examina­tion established by statute and rule for determining proficiency in oral English (currently "45" on the Test of Spoken English) shall be assigned appropriate non-classroom duties for the period of oral English language instruction provided by the university under paragraph (d) below, unless during the period of instruction the faculty member is found, on the basis of an examination specified above, to be no longer deficient in oral English language skills.  In that instance, the faculty member will again be eligible for assignment to classroom instructional duties and shall not be disadvantaged by the fact of having been determined to be deficient in oral English language skills.

 

(d)     It is the responsibility of each faculty member who is found, as part of the annual evaluation, to be deficient in oral English language skills by virtue of scoring below the satisfactory score on an examination established by statute and rule for determining such proficiency (see paragraph (a)), to take appro­priate actions to correct these deficiencies.  To assist the faculty member in this endeavor, the university shall provide appropriate oral English language instruction without cost to such faculty members for a period consistent with their length of appointment and not to exceed two (2) consecutive semesters.  The time the faculty member spends in such instruction shall not be consid­ered part of the individual assignment or time worked, nor shall the faculty member be disadvantaged by the fact of participation in such instruction.

 

(e)     If a university determines, as part of the annual evaluation, that one (1) or more administrations of a test to deter­mine proficiency in oral English language skills is necessary, in accordance with statute and rule and this section, the university shall pay the expenses for up to two (2) administrations of the test.  The faculty member shall pay for additional testing that may be necessary.

 

10.6  Employee Assistance Programs.  Neither the fact of an employ­ee's participation in an employee assistance program nor informa­tion generated by participation in the program, shall be used as evidence of a performance deficiency within the evaluation process described in this Article, except for information relating to an employee's failure to participate in an employee assistance program consistent with the terms to which the employee and the university have agreed.