Teaching Excellence

Overview

The Faculty Senate, in partnership with the Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs, seeks to improve DU’s methods of course evaluation and teaching review for the purpose of annual reviews, promotion, and reappointment. This initiative will involve a multi-year and multi-committee process to have a robust, rigorous, and evidence-based set of methods to assess teaching performance holistically, and that allows units flexibility of practice in a way that best aligns with their faculty and academic programs.

Senate Motion Establishing the Task Force (pdf)

Governance and Structural Change: Teaching Excellence Task Force

This Task Force is the faculty-driven and also includes staff with subject matter expertise and administrators with oversight or job responsibilities in these areas. This group is responsible for overseeing policy changes and making recommendations to Senate for iterative motions over the life of this initiative. The charge of the Task Force is:

Survey local and national models
Identify additional metrics for demonstrating teaching success
Review/revise existing metrics like student evaluations of teaching
Document findings and create recommendations
Develop iterative changes and Senate motions

Membership

Paula Adamo, Spanish Language, Literary, and Cultural Studies (starting 2021)
Mohammed Albow, Computer Science (20-21)
Leslie Alvarez, OTL (co-chair, 21-22)
Jeff Bowen, Daniels (20-21)
Jillian Blueford, MCE
Richard Colby, Writing Program (starting 2021)
Michelle Kruse-Crocker, University College
Claude d’Estree, Korbel
Jared Del Rosso, Sociology and Criminology (co-chair, 21-22)
Barbekka Hurtt, Biological Sciences
Christina Paguyo, OTL (20-21)
Sarah Pessin, Senate President (co-chair, 20-21)
Kate Willink, VPFA (co-chair, 20-21)

Department- and Unit-level Change: Department Action Teams (DATs)

To begin engaging in department-level teaching evaluation change, a multi-year cohort program begins in 2022. This project supports the work of the Teaching Excellence Task Force and guides departments through a change process known as “Department Action Teams” (DATs). Participating departments/programs will determine ways to apply the Teaching Quality Framework and ensure three voices (self, student, peer) are reflected in teaching evaluation for annual and consequential review.

DATs at DU: Click here for more details and to participate

Faculty Fellows of Teaching and Learning

The Faculty Fellows of Teaching and Learning are key partners with the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Collaborating primarily with the Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning, the Faculty Fellows are engaging in activities to support change processes, build community, and lead efforts that advance DU’s university-wide initiative to move the institution beyond the use of student evaluations as a primary mode of evaluating teaching performance for merit, promotion, and reappointment. These fellows serve on the Teaching Excellence Task Force and as DAT facilitators.