EVALUATION OF ADMINISTRATORS

AFT survey of deans & managers leads to District commitment to continue practice at all colleges 

Many of you have told us that you were grateful to have the opportunity to evaluate your deans and managers last spring. Here’s some history and a report on the All-District Faculty Survey of Deans and Managers.

In response to complaints from faculty members across the district and across divisions about managers’ lack of collaboration and faulty communication and decision-making, we asked the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) to help us design and administer a faculty survey. Up until now, CSM was the only one of the three colleges that regularly gave faculty the opportunity to evaluate their deans and managers.

A detailed survey & strong response rate

During the early part of the spring semester, the CFT researched and compiled sample survey questions, which we revised and refined to suit the needs of our district. The survey questionnaire was detailed and thorough, consisting of questions that rated deans and managers in a variety of different areas and contexts, and it included options for personal comments.

The Managers Survey was sent electronically to all part-time and full-time instructors on April 10, 2014. The response period ended on May 5, 2014.

A total of 286 faculty members participated, a very strong response rate that represents nearly one-third of all district faculty. Of those, 162 were full time tenured faculty, 23 were tenure-track and 98 were part time faculty. Three respondents chose not to identify their FT or PT status.

In June, we shared the results of the survey with Chancellor Galatolo, Eugene Whitlock, the new Vice-Chancellor for HR, and Harry Joel, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor for HR. Although the majority of the district’s deans and managers received positive, or mixed, responses, Chancellor Galatolo expressed his concern about a small number that received very negative ratings. He said he was committed to meeting with college presidents and VPIs to address the most egregious problems.

Chancellor promises changes

Galatolo assured representatives of the union who attended this meeting that a number of changes would be instituted:
• “360 degree” evaluations of deans and managers by all full-time and part-time faculty will occur at all three colleges on a yearly basis
• Union leadership will be consulted and involved in this process
• All deans and managers will be shown the results of their individual evaluations
• Problem deans will be scrutinized and negative behavior will not be allowed to continue

As you know, faculty members are required to be thoroughly evaluated on a regular basis, and student surveys are an integral part of the evaluation process. In contrast, regular feedback from faculty has not been part of the evaluation process for deans and managers at two of our colleges. The result is that for many newer deans, an evaluation by their faculty has never occurred, and for senior deans, not for a very long time. Ideally, the evaluation process should be parallel. Now that the union has initiated a new procedure and the District has committed to continue it, this survey will have real “teeth”; it will be a regular and serious evaluation with serious consequences.

Thank you to all of you who took the time to participate.