FSU received excellent rankings by examining its best-performing professors first.
When it was reported earlier this month that no faculty had completed the new post-tenure critique process, while at least some of the Sunshine State’s universities had academic staff members who had failed to meet the required standards, Florida State University came out as sort of an anomaly.
At the University of Florida, for example, 34 professors did n’t meet expectations and five were dubbed unsatisfactory. A total of 262 people were criticized during the first wave of reviews, which was fueled by a 2022 Florida legislation that required professors to have post-tenure review.
According to statistics compiled by Inside Higher Ed, failure rates on various colleges included about 11 percentage of those who went through the post-tenure review process at the University of Central Florida, 5 cent at Florida International University, 7 percent at the University of West Florida, and 6 percent at the University of North Florida.
Except for Florida State University, which included no faculty on the list of bad performers.
Are all FSU faculty extraordinary, or did the organization flout the law?
Neither, said Amy Farnum-Patronis, a Florida State University director, in an email to The College Fix.
” To meet the required 20 percent level, FSU selected university in their second year of career, and next rounded out the party with university individuals. We grasped that this would result in an unusually strong group of highly effective university people,” said Farnum-Patronis.
We thought that by focusing on our strongest university first, it may offer us an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of this program by honoring our best players, she said. We anticipate that the benefits of this approach may be distributed across all the categories once the strange sampling process begins in 2025 and we have a more normal class of instructors.
She said the school is in support of” a comprehensive post-tenure assessment system”, adding:” We merely differed in the selection of our first cohort”.
The Florida Board of Governors was given the opportunity to establish a post-tenure assessment process after the law was passed in 2022, and the first round of the operation started earlier this year.
Academics are evaluated on their research, teaching and service as well as “performance of intellectual commitments”, “non-compliance with state law”, and” supported student issues”, among other factors, according to process approved by the board in March 2023.
The College Fix repeatedly emailed cabinet members who are involved in the development of personnel and faculty, but they failed to respond.
Every five times, post-tenure reviews may be required of academics.
In 2023, DeSantis stated that” the most significant deadweight cost at colleges is typically permanent faculty who are unproductive.”
As The College Fix recently reported, academics are rated by their supervisors according to a four-point level. Supervisors may suggest to the rector “appropriate identification and/or payment” for professors who receive the standing “exceeds expectations” or “meets expectations”.
Professors graded as “does not meet expectations” will be placed on a performance-improvement plan, and those rated “unsatisfactory” will be fired, according to the regulations.
MORE: New Florida board ruling allows tenured professors to be fired.
MORE: Florida State University YouTube screenshot
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