Regarding Student Evaluations of Teaching and Merit Assessments for Academic Year 2020-2021 (5/17/21)

May 17, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

This joint communication provides information regarding a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding: Regarding Student Evaluations of Teaching and Merit Assessments for Academic Year 2020-2021.

The BGSU Faculty Association and the Office of the Provost desire to foster a pedagogical atmosphere of innovation in instructional materials. Academic unit merit policies (written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) frequently include thresholds based on average scores from student evaluation of teaching. The three-year rolling average used for annual merit scores mitigates individual year anomalies.

BUFM may include an explanatory memorandum with their Academic Year 2020-2021 merit dossier explaining challenges faced in the design and delivery of courses during the pandemic, innovations tried, and an assessment of what worked well or not to explain any lower than expected student evaluations. Merit review committees and chairs/directors may temporarily suspend strict adherence to merit thresholds. Chairs/Directors and BUFM’s will discuss options for professional development for scores resulting in “unacceptable” after application of the three-year rolling average.

The University and the BGSU Faculty Association felt it appropriate to memorialize our understanding in a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed on April 28, 2021.

 
Regards,
 

Joe B. Whitehead, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs
 

David Jackson, Ph.D.
President, BGSU Faculty Association