March 24, 2020
Administering TEVAL evaluations during COVID-19 disruption
Dear Colleagues,
Faculty and students have raised questions about TEVAL evaluations for this semester. As we have moved to remote teaching, we will also move to administering all TEVALs online for spring 2020.
There are a number of reasons for this decision. First, K-State values student voices in all that we do, especially in the classroom. In addition, in this time of rapid change, faculty may find value in hearing from students regarding the changes they have made to their classes in moving them to remote delivery.
As with the decision to extend the tenure clock by one year for probationary tenure-track faculty, we recognize that the disruption to academic life and the student experience caused by shifting to remote delivery amidst a public health crisis is real and impacts both our faculty and students. Such a disruption could likely result in lower than normal numbers on the TEVALs. Faculty have been facing, and will continue to face, challenges with the shift to remote teaching. The relative expertise of faculty new to this delivery mode cannot be expected to equal their face-to-face classroom capabilities.
For future evaluations such as annual reviews, reappointment, or promotion and tenure, department heads, deans, and faculty involved in decision-making should specifically note the COVID-19 crisis as the cause of any anomalous TEVAL scores during this crisis. We will develop specific guidance to explain these anomalies to teaching instruction. If you have any questions, please contact Brian Niehoff at niehoff@k-state.edu.
Sincerely,
Chuck Taber
Provost and Executive Vice President