The following policy formalizes the recommendation of the Resolution Recognizing the Impact of COVID-19, which was passed at the March 31st meeting of the IU East Faculty Senate. Specifically, it clarifies the use of student evaluations of teaching for full-time and contingent faculty.

While course evaluations will be conducted as planned, faculty have the option to:

• Not use Spring 2020 or Summer 2020 evaluations in their tenure, long-term contract, or promotion dossiers. Faculty may also opt to not use these evaluations in their annual reviews.
• May use Spring 2020 or Summer 2020 evaluations, but those evaluations cannot be used as a punitive measure in any review of full-time faculty, including in annual reviews or tenure, long-term contract, or promotion review.

Furthermore, Spring 2020 and Summer 2020 evaluations should not directly factor into hiring or retention of part-time, contingent faculty members.

This policy specifically supersedes the requirement to submit “all course evaluations from all courses, complete with numerical ratings and student written comments,” which is present in the Indiana University East Promotion and Tenure Policy and Procedures, the Clinical Professor Appointments at IU East policy, and the Policy on Lecturer Appointments at IU East. Faculty who choose not to report their Spring 2020 or Summer 2020 evaluations may reference this policy in their dossiers.

Faculty who find that evaluations for Spring 2020 and Summer 2020 semesters are positive or reflect well on their performance during this time may utilize the evaluations in any review that they wish.