On Scoring System and Criteria

1. I saw that there was a ‘peer evaluation’ item in the teaching section. Our department/unit does not have this in place. How do we accomplish this?

There is no standardized peer evaluation across the UP System. However some units have already been implementing their own. This includes peer review of each other's curriculum, syllabus, and class observations. These earn additional points for teaching because good peer evaluations show agreement on the faculty's competence in a systematic and quantitative way. The points from this item will be based in reference to the unit's peer evaluation system only.

Unfortunately, since the period of evaluation is the previous 3 years, we do not advise that you conduct one just for the purpose of the application. It is not a requirement, to make it clear. You just cannot get points for that item in this manner. However, for now, you can get points from other items to compensate.

We do encourage your unit to establish a system of peer evaluation eventually because there may be awards in the future that will use that as one of its criteria.

2. Are we not disadvantaged because our unit does not have peer evaluation?

It is true that on System level, those that do not have peer evaluation yet will be disadvantaged by a possible 15 points. However, this will reward the units who had the initiative to start the system which according to initial information are not yet numerous. Hence, instead of a disadvantage to those units who do not have it, it is an advantage to the few units who have it.

There are enough points one could get from other accomplishments to make the application competitive.

3. What are SET score ranges that can be considered Outstanding, Very Satisfactory, and Satisfactory on the self-assessment form?

However, since the Unit Awards Committee would know the average ratings that the faculty members get in their unit, they may adjust the scores accordingly in reference to their own curve. The given examples are only a guide and the faculty member may input what he/she deems is an appropriate score, the final of which will be subject to the review of the Unit Awards Committee.

4. If I want to specifically apply for 2 work areas, should I still assign points in the other remaining work area?

You are encouraged to do so. The system will automatically mark you for the 2 work areas that you will be most competitive in. However, those that score high in all work areas are also being monitored for possible future awards. Aside from that, this database may be used again for future awards and hence, it will be good to make it as comprehensive as possible. If you do not want to be evaluated for the other work area, not inputting the scores will mark the work area as zero.

5. Why is there a minimum score for research publications? I can accomplish the research minimum but with other items.

The rationale of giving publications a minimum score is that thorough peer evaluation is at the core of the publication process. This rule is in place because we cannot guarantee that the patents alone (without the publications) were as rigorously reviewed by experts in the field compared to vetted research publications. In addition, we want to encourage faculty to be as highly productive as possible this way. Hence, we cannot substitute publication points with the Intellectual Property component.

Also, since the IP component will be scored based on patents or copyrighted products that have already been awarded, we would somehow expect that some of these would have had their research already published within the 3-year evaluation period.

6. What are considered under other achievements? What can we include in “other” items?

The general rule is, during the self-assessment, the faculty members can input anything they deem appropriate for a category. However, the validity or the qualification will be verified by the Unit Awards Committee. This is the system because the Unit Awards Committee is more familiar with the discipline and which achievements are actually valuable in the field. To avoid contention on the later stages of evaluation, the faculty members may consult the Unit Awards Committee members or their Unit Head.

7. What can be considered UP Committee Work?

UP Committee work must be an official appointment. If work was done for a UP committee, but there was no official appointment, the faculty member must put the achievement in the “others” category for consideration of the Unit Awards Committee.