Updating Faculty Evaluation for the Better

A new report from the TIAA Institute says that faculty appointment and evaluation systems at many institutions rely on outdated or inappropriate definitions of excellence and work—and that change is possible. Author KerryAnn O’Meara, a professor of higher education and distinguished scholar-teacher at the University of Maryland at College Park (and an occasional opinion contributor to Inside Higher Ed), advocates reforms such as adding multiple pathways to tenure, a “tenure by objectives” approach and improving working conditions for non-tenure-track faculty. These reforms, in turn, contribute to institutional goals including teaching excellence, diversity and academic leadership, the report says.