LTF In-Class Teaching Assessments for Fall 2021

To: RFA Members

Dear colleagues,

The Faculty Association and the University have agreed that for the Fall 2021 term, Limited Term Faculty (LTF) may elect whether or not they wish to have their normally scheduled teaching assessments take place.

The LTF shall confirm in writing by September 27, 2021, whether or not they wish to have teaching assessments by writing to the Chair of their DEC, who will inform the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs.

If no election is made by September 27, 2021, the default will be that a teaching assessment(s) shall not be completed for the Fall 2021 term.

LTF who elect to have their scheduled teaching assessments conducted will also be given the opportunity to elect if they wish to have this teaching assessment(s) as an official assessment that will be included in their Performance and Conduct File.

To facilitate this, when an assessment is completed, the assessor must provide it only to the LTF within three weeks of the class visit and advise the Chair/Director that the assessment has been completed.

By May 1, 2022 the LTF member must elect in writing to the Chair/Director if they wish one or more of their Fall 2021 assessments to form part of their Performance and Conduct File (PCF). If the member so elects, they will provide the assessments(s) to the Chair/Director who will forward it to the Dean, the RFA and for filing in the PCF.

For the Fall 2021, the pre-tenure faculty and a prospective assessor are strongly encouraged to have a discussion to determine the most appropriate manner to carry out the assessment taking into consideration the mode of delivery.

The unavailability of an assessor will not negatively affect the LTF.

Assessors and those reading assessments shall be informed that, while not devaluing excellence in innovation and technology, they ought to be cautious in placing undue weight on technology management where a course has been converted to virtual or remote delivery.

In those cases where the assessment was not in an in-person classroom the following statement will be appended to the LTF’s Fall 2021 Teaching Assessments that are included in their PCF: “This Teaching Assessment is of virtual teaching during the challenging conditions caused by the pandemic and should be viewed in that light. It is understood that the member may not have had the opportunity to demonstrate the normal range of in-person teaching skills.”

Requests for an extension to provide the written assessment beyond three weeks of the class visit can be forwarded to vpfa@torontomu.ca.

If an assessment is elected by a LTF member and is not completed (e.g., an assessor was not available), the Chair of the DEC must write a letter indicating the assessment was not done and the reason why. The letter must be copied to the Chair of Department/Director of the School, the member’s PCF, the Dean, and the RFA.

Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs