Access Keys

This information applies to pages in the CSUN template system. Windows-press ALT + an access key. Macintosh-press CTRL + an access key.

The following access keys are available:

• 1 Home Page
• 2 Skip Navigation
• 3 People Finder
• 4 Search
• 9 Contact Page
• 0 Access key details

Personnel Policies & Procedures - Special Education

300 PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 300.1 Consideration for Retention, Promotion, and Tenure

300.1.1 The Department Chair will provide a copy of the departmental personnel procedures to new faculty members prior to or during the first month of the semester they are hired.

300.1.2 The Chair of the Personnel Committee will furnish a copy of Departmental Personnel Procedures to each faculty member being considered for tenure, promotion and/or retention prior to or during the semester of consideration.

300.1.3 Classroom Visitations

A. Candidates for retention, tenure, or promotion shall notify the Department Chair and the Chair of the Personnel Committee of the class schedule, room, and appropriate dates for visitation. Notification shall be on or before November 18. October 15.

B. Visits by the Department Chair shall be scheduled by the Department Chair.

C. Visits by Personnel Committee members shall be scheduled by the Chair of the Personnel Committee.

D. Candidates will be notified in advance of the visit. at least 24 hours on advance of a visit by members of the Department Personnel Committee or by the Department Chair.

E. Visitors shall observe. They shall not participate in class discussions.

F. Written reports will consider the criteria encompassed by the teaching evaluation form currently accepted for use by the Department.

G. Upon receipt of the written report of the Committee Member, visited Candidates may request, within five days, an additional visit by a different Committee member.

H. Reports will be distributed as follows:

Original to the Candidate, with copies to the Department Chair, Chair of the Department Personnel Committee, and the Dean of the School of Education, for inclusion in the candidate's Personnel Action File in the Dean's office.

300.2 Anonymous student evaluations of teaching effectiveness shall be collected at least once each academic year.

300.2.1 The Department Secretary will have the packets for the student evaluations ready by the eighth week of class or as soon as available from the Computer Center each semester.

300.2.2 The Department Secretary will inform the Special Education Faculty of the Computer Center schedule and deadline for processing each semester.

A. When the faculty member is not present in the room, student proctors will distribute and collect forms, seal envelope, and sign across the seal and return the envelope to the appropriate faculty member as designated by the Department Personnel Committee.

B. Envelope is sent to the computer center by the Department Secretary.

C. After grades have been turned in, evaluation results are returned to the faculty member.

D. Shall cover all teaching assignments for the semester.

E. Shall be divided between computerized forms and narrative appraisals: the computerized results shall be returned to the faculty member who will retain and submit them in the Professional Information File for an appropriate period of time (i.e., since initial appointment for those who have not been promoted yet, or since the last promotion) and in the Personnel Action File where it shall be retained in the Dean's office for a minimum of five years.

F. Narrative appraisals (returned to the faculty member without review) and instructional materials may be submitted to the Personnel Committee in the Professional Information File.

300.3 Procedures for Providing Students with the Opportunity to Consult with the Department Personnel Committee

300.3.1 The Department Chair will post the notice on the Department bulletin board advising students of the following procedures.In addition, no later than the 8th week of classes, faculty will be requested to read the procedures aloud in class and provide the names of all faculty under consideration for retention, promotion and tenure.

300.3.2 Students may consult with the Department Chair or with the Department Personnel Committee as follows:

A. Submit a written, signed statement to the Department Chair and schedule the date and time for meeting with the Department Personnel Committee. The student will attest to having received a statement of the Trustee's policy on confidentiality at the time.

B. Meet with Personnel Committee at the scheduled time.

300.4 Equivalencies to Publication

300.4.1 The University definition per 632.4.2 and

300.4.2 The Department interprets "scholarly books, articles and reviews" to include contribution as an editor as well as contributions as an author.300.4.3 The following alternatives from the definition listed in 632.4.2. These alternatives are widely used and accepted in the field of Special Education.

A. Monographs

B. Other forms of dissemination of information or ideas to the profession, such as: sound recordings, video recordings, computer software, curriculum materials, and translations of major works shall be considered equivalent to publications if they are produced by a recognized professional organization or commercial organization engaged in the production and distribution of such material.

Reports to external funding agencies giving results of research, training, or development work, provided that such reports are publicly available.

C. Books, tapes, or software published at the author's expense or other material for which the author pays the whole or part for publication, (other than articles printed in a professional journal that normally charges for publication) shall be considered a publication applicable to tenure or promotion only upon approval of the Department Personnel Committee.

D. Contributions to the field of study. In addition to the criteria in section 632.4, the Department shall consider externally funded proposals for research, training, or development grants in the field of special education when such a proposal includes a scholarly review of the literature and encompasses the extension of an existing, or development of an original scholarly model or theory. Such a proposal should be externally referred and approved for funding. The original proposal and the external reviews should be submitted by the candidate for consideration in the personnel process.

301 Peer Review 301.1 Requirements

301.1.1 Each tenured faculty member shall be evaluated at least once every five years.

301.1.2 A normal evaluation for promotion satisfies this requirement.

301.1.3 Approximately one-fifth of the tenured faculty will be evaluated every year.

301.1.4 Faculty members will be identified for evaluation by the Department Chair on the basis of length of time since the last evaluation.

301.2 Selection of Review Committee

301.2.1 Each year the Department shall elect three tenured faculty members to serve on the Peer Review Committee.

301.2.2 Individuals scheduled for peer evaluation are not eligible for such service.

301.2.3 Members of the Peer Review Committee shall elect a Chair of the Committee. 301.3 Procedures301.3.1 Calendar of Evaluation

A. Faculty members scheduled for evaluation during a portion of an academic year shall be notified by the Department Chair by November 1 of that academic year.

B. The evaluation shall be completed before the end of the academic year.

301.3.2 Evidence to Be Used in the Evaluation

A. Student evaluations of instructional performance obtained since the last review.

B. Reports from at least two classroom visits prepared by peer evaluators.

C. Additional information or evidence pertaining to instructional performance, including currency in the field, as provided by the faculty member being evaluated.

301.3.3 Documents to Be Available to Peer Evaluators A. Documents associated with evidence described in the previous section.

B. The faculty member's Personnel Action File, only if the faculty member expresses, in writing, a desire for this document to be available to the peer evaluators.

301.3.4 Evaluation Conference

A. Following the review of available materials and consideration of the Peer Review Committee, there shall be a meeting with the Peer Review Committee Chair, the tenured faculty member, and the School Dean present, to discuss the results of the evaluation. The Department Chair may be included in this meeting if the faculty member so requests.

B. During the conference, the faculty member's strengths and weaknesses will be discussed along with suggestions, if any, for improvement.

301.4 Report

301.4.1 Following the evaluation conference and prior to the end of the academic year, the Committee Chair shall provide a written summary of the evaluation to the faculty member.

301.4.2 A copy of the summary shall be placed in the faculty member's Personnel Action File.

302 Recruitment and Hiring 302.1 Search & Screen Committee302.1.1 Composition

A. The Personnel Committee A minimum of three elected members from tenured faculty shall serve as the Search and Screen Committee for new positions.

302.1.2 Affirmitive Action Coordinator

A. The Chair of the Personnel Committee, or the chair's designee from that committee shall serve as the Department Affirmitive Action coordinator.

B. If more than one recruitment committee is operating at the same time there shall be one Affirmitive Action Representative from each committee.

C. The Department Chair shall not serve as Affirmitive Action Representative.

302.2 Responsibilities Chart 302.3 Part-time and short-term appointments

302.3.1 Screening and Ranking

A. Whenever possible, the Personnel Committee members assist the Department Chair in screening and ranking applicants for part-time positions. The chair may appoint other tenured faculty to assist with this task if their specific expertise is needed.

B. Each member of the Personnel Committee or tenured faculty member appointed to assist, reviews part-time files, and individualy ranks applicants separtely for each of the courses for which they have applied.

C. If the size of the pool is unusualy large, separate faculty groups may be formed to screen and rank sections of the pool. D. The Chair independently ranks candidates in the pool and summarizes Committee and tenured faculty rankings into one overall ranking of the qualifications for each applicant for each course.

E. If applicants have taught for the Department before, their past teaching evaluations will be reviewed by persons responsible for screening and ranking the part-time pool.

302.3.2 Hiring

A. The Department Chair is responsible for selecting part-time faculty as needed for specific course openings.

B. This selection shall be guided by the qualifications of the candidate, including past teaching in the Department.

303 Visiting Professors

In recognition that the Department of Special Education is frequently recipient of federal grants that allow for the employment of professionals with professorial credentials in such cases, the following procedures will be followed.

303.1 Appointment

303.1.1 Whenever possible, the Department Personnel Committee and Department Chair shall be consulted regarding position announcements written for grant supported positions, the Personnel Committee and Department Chair shall advise the grant's project director as to how departmental personnel needs relate to the grant's position description;

303.1.2 As many members of the Department Personnel Committee as possible, the Department Chair (or designee), and the School Dean (or designee) shall participate in interviews for the grant supported position in order to share their recommendations with the Search and Screen Committee for the grant position; and

303.1.3 The Department Personnel Committee and Department Chair shall make a recommendation to the School Dean regarding the appointment of a grant staff person as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Special Education;

303.1.4 As is frequently the case, when a grant is awarded or a grant position is filled during the summer months, the Personnel Committee of the previous academic year shall be the recommending agency.

303.2 Service

When appointed for a full year, a Visiting Professor may have the opportunity to assume the same responisibilities as a full-time lecturer: (1) serving as a sponsor to special education students; (2) serving on committees; and (3) serving as a member of the Department in terms of voting on any item other than a personnel matter.

303.3 Evaluation

Reappointment of a Visiting Professor for each successive year shall follow the same department evaluation and review procedures as probationary faculty.