AHA- the missing link: "The College is dedicated to excellence in teaching, advisement, and scholarly activities,"  I have been consistently impressed by our professors willingness to aim for the first two while pursuing the third!  Lest that sound like bald flattery, we require our students to touch base with their professors during office hours three times per semester.  Feedback on the accompanying forms is overwhelmingly specific to learning and often includes offers of assistance.

Rick

Rick Jagels
Education Specialist
College Assistance Migrant Program
111 Wilsbach Hall
State University of NY College at Oneonta
(607)436-2297
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From: Teaching Breakfast List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nepkie, Janet ([log in to unmask])
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 10:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Reminder for TB Meeting

Rick
I'm not sure I've entirely understood your comment, but I understood the Provost's Advisory Committee statement to mean that teachers should be given clear indication of what they're expected to do, and that would include whether the teacher has been hired to teach or to do research.  If the teacher is expected to do both, there should be some statement about the relative importance of each of those activities for that particular teacher.  In my department, for example, some of our teachers have a primary responsibility in the area of musical performance, and others may be expected to have primary responsibilities in other areas.  It's important for our department to recognize that  "Contribution to the arts" is included as a scholarly ability in the Board of Trustees Policies.   Our college mission statement says,  "The College is dedicated to excellence in teaching, advisement, and scholarly activities," so I assume that faculty assignment of responsibilities will support that statement.   We have always been a college that lists excellence in teaching as the first goal on its list of institutional attributes.

If faculty are not given clear statements of what is expected of us at a basic level, who will determine the criteria on which we will be judged?  The Policies of the Bd. of Trustees list five basic criteria that MAY be used to evaluate faculty.  It seems to me that the department should indicate to the faculty and to administration the goals that are important to the department,  the rationale for stated department goals, and how those goals will be used to evaluate faculty.  I'd like to know what we want to accomplish as a department and institution, and to evaluate our progress in meeting our goals.

OK.  Sorry for this long-winded response to your note. Thanks for your thought-provoking comment.

Janet


Dr. J. Nepkie
SUNY Distinguished Service Professor
Professor of Music and Music Industry
Fine Arts 145
State University College
Oneonta, NY 13820
tele: (607) 436 3425
fax:   607 436 2718
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From: Rick Jagels <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Reply-To: Teaching Breakfast List <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2011 09:04:54 -0500
To: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Subject: Re: Reminder for TB Meeting

Janet,

There is something educationallygobbldygookish about that provost committee quote.  It sounds good at first, but on closer examination, it seems to conflate excellence in teaching with success in a discipline, or worse yet; it seems to deem success in the discipline sufficient qualification for the right to promotion "...to serve the educational community ..."  Success in the discipline is probably a requisite for good teaching at the university level, but it is not sufficient unto itself.  Maybe as a students prior knowledge in a field builds, and their learning skills increase they can "tolerate" less accomplished pedagogy- my son paid dearly for master classes with successful musicians and his desire to learn from a master "filled in the blanks" in the masters lack of teaching ability.  I don't see how we can assume that level of compensation from all our students at all levels.

Good-Luck
Rick Jagels


________________________________
From: Teaching Breakfast List [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Nepkie, Janet ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 12:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Reminder for TB Meeting
Jim,
I am very disappointed to have to miss your next TB meeting.  The subject of your discussion has always been important but has become increasingly more critical in recent times.

As part of its planned activities this semester, the Music Department Personnel Committee is drafting a statement of purpose and academic values for eventual consideration by the entire department.  We are trying to express a list of goals that are central to the department.  I have no doubt this will be an interesting discussion.

The Personnel Committee has drawn some guidance from a statement of the State University of New York Provost's Advisory Committee on Faculty Development:


"Attracting and keeping outstanding faculty is essential to SUNY's
progress toward becoming a truly exceptional university.  As individuals
are recruited for positions at any SUNY institution, the campus should
present these new faculty with clear performance expectations.  While
the faculty pursue their professional activities, the University should
actively support their efforts.  Then, when these faculty seek
reappointment, promotion, tenure, or continuing appointment, they should
have no doubt that they will experience a fair evaluation process.
Finally, having succeeded in their disciplines, they should receive
appropriate recognition and be promoted to serve the educational
community and the citizens of New York."

Because departments have different goals, the performance expectations
should be most specific and clear on the departmental level.



Thanks,
Janet

Dr. J. Nepkie
SUNY Distinguished Service Professor
Professor of Music and Music Industry
Fine Arts 145
State University College
Oneonta, NY 13820
tele: (607) 436 3425
fax:   607 436 2718
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>


From: "Greenberg, James ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Reply-To: Teaching Breakfast List <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2011 10:47:41 -0500
To: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Subject: Reminder for TB Meeting

TBers,

This is a reminder that the next meeting of the TB group is this Thursday, March 3, at 8 am outside Starbucks in the Union.

Agenda:

All faculty are expected to demonstrate professional growth and development, which means different things in different academic disciplines (i.e. geology vs. music).  How can this be conveyed effectively when it comes time for decisions on retention, promotion, tenure?

Within this is the issue of student evaluation of courses which a few folks have asked we discuss also.

Hope to see you all there.

Mr. James B. Greenberg
Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
Milne Library
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, New York 13820

email: [log in to unmask]<UrlBlockedError.aspx>
phone: 607-436-2701
fax:   607-436-3677
Twitter: greenbjb

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