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

Memorandum of Understanding

WHEREAS, Bowling Green State University (the “University”) and the Bowling Green State University Faculty Association – AAUP (“BGSU-FA”) (collectively, the “Parties”) have agreed to a Collective Bargaining Agreement effective July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2022, (CBA) setting the terms and conditions of employment for Bargaining Unit Faculty Members (“BUFM”); and

WHEREAS, Article 17, Section 12.3.1 requires that, “The BUFMs of the academic unit shall establish a unit merit document following the “Merit Policy Part I: University-Wide Processes Required by the CBA” jointly developed by the University and the BGSU-FA; and

WHEREAS, many of the approved merit documents base salary adjustments on the exceeding of certain thresholds of means of student evaluation of teaching scores; and

WHEREAS, 100% of potential raises for BUFM for AY 2021-2022 require the BUFM to at least “meet expectations” in merit review; and

WHEREAS the three year rolling average used for annual merit scores mitigates individual year anomalies.

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions in course preparation and delivery; and  

WHEREAS, professional development opportunities have been offered to faculty to enhance and support their online and remote course preparation and delivery during COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, the parties wish to foster a pedagogical atmosphere that encourages BUFM to innovate in their instructional methods, and that such innovations may not always work well the first time or be well-received by students; and

WHEREAS, the approved academic unit merit policies frequently include thresholds based on average scores from student evaluations of teaching, and that these documents were all written prior to the pandemic and with no thought of the possibility of a disrupting global pandemic.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties agree as follows:

1. BUFM may include an explanatory memorandum along with their Academic Year 2020-2021 merit dossier that explains the particular challenges the faculty member faced in designing and delivering courses during a global pandemic, the pedagogical innovations they have tried, an assessment of what they believe worked well and what did not, and an explanation of any lower than expected student evaluation of teaching scores.
   
   
2. Merit review committees and chairs/directors may temporarily suspend requiring strict adherence to numerical thresholds in merit when assessing the teaching performance of all faculty in the merit process if they deem it necessary to produce an evaluation that is fair and supports continuous improvement in teaching. The Dean shall make the determination for merit salary raises, upon the advice and recommendation of the unit Chair/Director, as well as the recommendation of the BUFMs of the academic unit. Both the BUFMs of the academic unit (or the merit committee of the academic unit) and the Chair/Director may make recommendations to the Dean for the allocation of merit dollars and/or percentages. The Dean is not bound by such recommendations and the determination of the actual merit increase is within the Dean’s reasonable discretion. (Article 17, Section 12.3)
   
   
3. BUFM may appeal unfavorable merit evaluations by the Chair/Director to the Dean as set forth in Merit Policy Part I.
   
   
4. If a faculty member's teaching merit score causes the BUFM to receive the evaluation of "unacceptable," after application of the three year rolling average the chair/director and faculty member will discuss options for professional development and continuous improvement of teaching. Progress shall be reviewed and documented before the 2022-2023 merit review. Unsatisfactory progress will be reflected in the 2022-2023 merit review.
   
   

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
By:

Joe B. Whitehead, Jr.
Provost and Senior Vice President

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY ASSOCIATION- AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS

By:

David J. Jackson
BGSU-FA President