SETEs and Probationary Year During Pandemic

Resolution Regarding Evaluation of Teaching Performance and RTP Review During the COVID-19 Emergency

Resolved: That the Sonoma State University (SSU) Academic Senate urge the SSU Administration to allow the following actions due to the COVID-19 emergency:

• Inclusion of Spring 2020 Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SETE) at the sole discretion of the faculty under review;

• No faculty be penalized in any way for exercising their right to exclude the results of their surveys of student evaluations of teaching from their PAF during this period;

• Should a faculty member be unable to complete any previously scheduled peer observations, or should they choose not to participate in the peer observation via an online format, no faculty member shall be penalized for failure to include the appropriate number of peer observations during the Spring semester.

• RTP reviews of probationary faculty impacted by the COVID-19 crisis be conducted with sensitivity to the difficulties those faculty experienced during the crisis and with as much flexibility as is possible;

• Presidential authorization of a deviation in the normal six (6) year probationary period to allow for an optional seventh (7) probationary year for all probationary faculty with a start date before August 2020;

• An individual faculty member’s decision to request an additional year to their time to tenure because of the COVID-19 pandemic should result in no negative effect to their eventual tenure review;

Resolved: That the SSU Academic Senate urge that a copy of this resolution be placed in every faculty member’s Personnel Action File (PAF) to provide the context for understanding the circumstances surrounding the periods including Spring 2020, Summer 2020, and potentially Fall 2020, and their potential impact on RTP processes and outcomes; and be it further

Resolved: That this resolution be distributed to President Sakaki, Provost Vollendorf, AVP Moranski, AVP Roberts, the School Deans, Department Chairs, Program Directors, RTP Chairs, CFA Sonoma State Chapter President Erma Jean Sims, ASCSU Chair Catherine Nelson, and CFA President Charles Toombs.

Approved by the Senate
04/16/2020