Teaching Stewardship & CFS
Teaching that results in significant student learning is, and should be, the most important activity of university faculty. Faculty members should engage, therefore, in continuous and ongoing efforts to become more effective teachers. (BYU Rank and Status Policy 3.2)
Your teaching stewardship is of great importance to you, your students, and to BYU. With a personal commitment to teaching excellence, your career will be more satisfying to you, beneficial to your students, and will contribute to the mission of BYU. While it can appear a daunting challenge, there are many—including all of us at CTL—who are eager to help you succeed.
Inherent to both a personal and institutional commitment to teaching excellence is the need for effective evaluation of that teaching to inform and support efforts of continuous improvement. BYU’s approach is a systematic, impactful process that will guide deliberate and informed efforts to improve teaching and learning and will help you provide “persuasive evidence” (BYU Rank and Status Policy 1.2) of your teaching stewardship for annual stewardship interviews and rank and status reviews. In brief, evaluation of teaching at BYU has two purposes:
- First, to provide actionable information to help faculty members improve teaching and learning. (Formative Purpose)
- Second, “to ensure that a faculty member’s present qualifications and future promise” (BYU Rank & Status Policy 5.1) warrant granting Continuing Faculty Status (CFS) and/or rank advancement. (Summative Purpose)
Persuasive evidence addresses the Three Pillars of Effective Teaching summarized below:
These pillars are centered around the mission of BYU to “provide a period of intensive learning in a stimulating setting where a commitment to excellence is expected and the full realization of human potential is pursued” and address both “present qualifications” and “future promise.” Evidence to evaluate teaching for annual stewardship interviews and rank & status reviews comes from three primary sources:
- Faculty member’s self-assessment through their Teaching Portfolio.
- Student feedback through Student Ratings & Comments.
- Peer Review of Teaching through the Teaching Portfolio, Student Ratings & Comments, and classroom visits.
See also: