Evaluation (19)
This term relates to the evaluation of faculty teaching distance education courses. The evaluation of distance teaching is distinct from the evaluation of courses addressed by the Quality term (addressed in the previous section). Nineteen colleges have language about faculty distance teaching evaluation in their negotiated agreements. California and Iowa specify evaluation as a mandatory subject for bargaining. In other states, it is a permissive topic for bargaining.
Examples
Observations. The evaluation of distance education teaching can be a touchy subject. The people who are generally involved in evaluating the instruction – administrators, department heads, fellow faculty – are often relatively unfamiliar with distance education and are unable to effectively evaluate the quality of what they are seeing. To add to this problem, some institutions, in an effort to have all evaluations “the same”, have students and administrators using forms and processes which do not apply at all to distance education teaching. For example, a student might be asked whether a faculty member was on time for class or whether they called on students during the class time. How does a distance student answer such questions? Regardless of how such questions are answered, they do not yield useful information about the instruction which occurred.
Also, while there are good rubrics for evaluating distance education courses, like the Quality Matters Rubric, there are few widely accepted models for evaluating distance teaching, although models do exist (Quality Matters, 2008). Varvel (2007) established a comprehensive list of distance faculty competencies. Park University has established a distance instruction evaluation model (Mangernach, B.J., Donnelli, E., Dailey, A., and Shulte, M, 2005). The work of Varvel (2007) and Mangernach, et al (2005) provide some well researched guidance for institutions to consider when determining the best method of evaluating distance instruction. Whether colleges choose to adopt an existing model or create their own, some unique considerations are generally needed for the evaluation of distance instruction.