Performance and Planning (EDO)

Starting in January 2024, UTC transitioned to a calendar year cycle for faculty annual evaluation. This page describes that transition and the details of the new calendar and the new forms.

Online Discussion sessions will be hosted throughout the year, providing brief live presentations about the new system.

What is New, What is Not

The foundation of the annual evaluation system is not changing.

Specifically:

• Faculty member ranks remain the same, exactly as described in the UTC Faculty Handbook.
• Faculty member expectations by rank – as spelt out in the UTC Faculty Handbook and in individual appointment letters – remain the same.
• Faculty members will be rated on the same scale as before: Exceeds Expectations for Rank, Meets Expectations for Rank, Needs Improvement for Rank, and Unsatisfactory for Rank.

 
However, the timing is changing and the form will be simpler:

• For continuing appointments, the period of evaluation will be from January 1 to December 31 of a calendar year.
  • For new faculty members, the first evaluation period will be truncated and will focus primarily on setting appropriate objectives for rank.
• The electronic forms which will capture objectives, activity reports, and evaluations will change – mostly to be simpler.
• Dates for completion of each step of the process will change to fit the calendar year.

The Previous EDO Cycle

You may well wonder what this means for the EDO cycle we are finishing right now, the one for 2023-2024. It will wrap up this spring, just as we have done for decades, using the old system. Necessarily, that period of evaluation will overlap slightly with the new period, but that is a small quirk that we can abide as part of this transition to the new calendar.

Objectives Setting for Calendar 2024

The first part of the annual review cycle involves setting objectives for the calendar year. A faculty member should plan to correspond with their Department Head or School Director about their planned objectives, and especially how those objectives relate to their continued professional development. In response, the Head or Director should provide clear feedback for the faculty member, which may include recommendations for changes to the faculty member’s objectives.
 
The faculty member and Head/Director should have this exchange by whatever means is appropriate for them. That may be email, or Zoom, or even in person. We trust each of you as professionals to manage what should be a natural part of the life in academic departments. There will be no email reminders in January or February urging you to go to a form and respond by a deadline, as we have had in the past.
 
Ultimately, the objectives must be written down by the faculty member, reviewed by the Head/Director, with agreement from each. In the January-February time, this may be achieved by a simple email correspondence between the faculty member and the Head/Director, or it can be a physical document.
 
Once that is done, the faculty member must enter their objectives into Digital Measures by March 31st. There is now an “Annual Evaluation” section at the bottom of your “Activities” page in Digital Measures, and you can use the “Objectives” link there to enter your objectives for the current year.

 
We have created a brief training which demonstrates how to enter objectives into your faculty profile:

 View Training

As you plan your objectives, please take a few moments to read §3.4 of the UTC Faculty Handbook, and specifically §3.4.3.1. In those pages you will find important guidance on how to set your objectives at UTC.

Activity Reporting

The report which will be generated for your evaluation at the end of the year will be made up almost entirely by the data you enter into the system. This will require logging into Digital Measures and adding new activities from your “Activity” page.
 
You can include:

• New awards, honors, licensures, and professional memberships
• Direction of independent study courses, research projects, theses, or dissertations
• New publications, performances, exhibits, creative works, and presentations
• Service work for your department, college, or the university – and service for the profession, public, or community

 
The courses you teach at UTC will automatically be added to your record each semester, but even within those entries you can add context such as new course material preparation, new course delivery, or more.
 
If you are doing important work within your role as a faculty member at UTC and cannot find the place that it can be recorded in our system, then please contact [email protected] so we can better serve you. New fields can be created for your needs, and the improvements we add will benefit everyone.
 
Remember to do this throughout the year – because when you submit your report at the end of the year, this is the data that will go into your annual evaluation.

The steps below describe the entire evaluation process, from the setting of objectives, all the way through to the evaluation. You will be able to read the dates on the calendar we provide here.

The Full Evaluation Cycle, Step by Step

At the end of 2024, we will be completing an evaluation which contains your objectives, a report of your activity, and an evaluation by your Head/Director. The steps themselves and the dates are important, and you can find them described below.

1. Objectives – Typically in January or February of a calendar year, a faculty member will confer with their Department Head or School Director about their objectives for the calendar year. The timing and modality are up to the Head/Director and faculty member, but it must conclude with a written communication of objectives shared between the two. The agreed upon objectives must be recorded in Digital Measures by March 31st.
2. Record Activity – Throughout the year you should be reporting your activity in Digital Measures. Classes are automatically recorded for you, and you can add your publications, creations, performances, presentations, committees, community service, institutional service, disciplinary service, and other activity in the space provided in our system.
3. Evaluation Form/Attach Objectives – The form which will become a record of your evaluation for the year will typically open in October of that year, and you will attach your objectives on its first page. When you submit your Head or Director will affirm that the objectives are the ones you agreed upon.
4. Evaluation Form/Report – The Evaluation Form will remain dormant until you submit a report of your activity by December 31. The report will consist almost entirely of the activity you reported in Digital Measures (see above), with a small area available for limited context that may not be captured in the activity report.
5. Evaluation Form/Evaluation (Head/Director) – The report you submit will be reviewed by your Head or Director, typically in January after you submit your report. They will add their comments and assign a rating. You will have an opportunity to sign that evaluation (as afforded by the UTC Faculty Handbook), and it is then sent to the Dean for review.
6. Evaluation Form/Evaluation (Dean) – The evaluation submitted by the Head/Director is then reviewed by the Dean. At their discretion, they may amend the evaluation.
7. Evaluation Form/Evaluation (Provost) – The evaluation may then be reviewed by the Provost. At their discretion, they may amend the evaluation. That evaluation is final.