Annual Evaluation

Rules established by the Board of the Oregon University System of Higher Education (OUS) call for a performance evaluation every year for every member of the UO faculty.  These annual evaluations - of teaching, scholarship, and service - are particularly important to untenured faculty and consequently are done more thoroughly with probationary than with tenured faculty.  These reviews allow you to evaluate, on a regular basis, what you are trying to do and how effectively you are getting it done.  They also provide you with constructive feedback on your goals and accomplishments.  Annual reviews should be viewed as a constructive tool for both you and your department head.  The structure encourages you to establish teaching, research, and service goals at the beginning of a year because you and your department head will assess your accomplishments in each of those areas at the end of each year.  Through this structure you have the opportunity to annually touch base with your immediate supervisor, who will ultimately be responsible for presenting your case for renewal, tenure, and promotion.  Tenure track faculty recieve more detailed reviews for their third and fifth year as described in the Promotion and Tenure Guide. 

The faculty member's immediate supervisor is responsible for conducting the evaluation, and for discussing it with the faculty member.  The main points of the evaluation are to be in writing and are to be placed in the faculty member's permanent personnel file maintained by the department.  The faculty member must sign the evaluation to indicate that he or she has read it.  A signature does not indicate agreement.  The evaluation discussion is intended to be a discussion—an opportunity for the faculty member to learn more about performance expectations and to acquaint the department more fully with the activities and achievements and future plans of the faculty member.  If a faculty member desires to respond to something in the evaluation, there are provisions for written response and an Appeal Process.  If faculty do not receive an annual review, they are strongly encouraged to ask for one.