Update:

Adjustments to Faculty Evaluations and Tenure Timelines due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant disruptions to faculty work. In recognition of these disruptions, the university has adopted the following adjustments to its faculty evaluation processes and timelines:

• Negative impacts of COVID-19 on faculty members’ ability to conduct or present their scholarship, creative activities, or research must be duly considered when conducting progress towards promotion/tenure reviews and for promotion/tenure reviews of affected faculty. The impacts of COVID-19 must also be duly considered when conducting annual evaluations that include a COVID-disrupted semester for the period of review defined by departmental bylaws, but not to extend past the 2023 annual evaluation.
• Professional activities that were cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19 are to be included among faculty members’ accomplishments for annual, merit, and progress toward promotion evaluations. They are also to be included in FEAS Promotion/Tenure CVs.
• All eligible tenure-track faculty will be granted a one-year extension to their tenure timeline (i.e., tenure clock). This extra year is in addition to any prior extensions of the tenure clock a faculty member may have been granted. All current tenure-track faculty are eligible for this extension except those who have received notification of nonrenewal prior to the start of the 2020-21 academic year. Faculty may opt out of this one-year extension and continue with their original timeline. The decision to reject the extension is irrevocable and must be made prior to becoming a tenure candidate. No action is required at this time; see the Extension of Tenure Timeline Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic for more details.
• Considering the transition to remote teaching due to COVID-19, ratings from student course evaluations (SPCI) in Spring and Summer 2020 will be excluded from consideration when conducting annual evaluations, progress towards promotion/tenure letters, and promotion/tenure reviews, unless faculty request their inclusion. Faculty who are required to transition classes to remote teaching in future semesters due to the COVID-19 emergency shall have the option to exclude those student ratings (SPCI) from consideration in their evaluations. Note that this does not include student ratings of courses that are usually taught online.
• Adjustments to evaluations will also be made for faculty on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs). Spring and Summer 2020 SPCI ratings will be excluded for review of faculty on teaching-based Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), thus extending the PIP one semester. If required to transition classes to remote teaching in future semesters due to the COVID-19 emergency, faculty shall have the option to exclude those SPCI ratings from consideration in their evaluations (thus extending the PIP). Note that this does not include student ratings of courses that are usually taught online. Research-based PIPs shall be extended for as long as restricted access to research facilities disrupts regular operations.

For more announcements related to COVID-19, please visit https://news.fsu.edu/tag/coronavirus/.

Guide to Remote Teaching

Are you ready for summer at a distance? Planning to teach a quality summer course remotely from start to finish can be overwhelming. In addition to module objectives, assignments, and accessible course materials, you face the hard work of engaging your students and maintaining your "presence" in an environment that may be unfamiliar to you and your students. A focus on a few key strategies will help you approach some of the more challenging areas of quality course design and encourage student success in the process. The Office of Distance Learning has released a Guide to Remote Teaching for more helpful information.