Comprehensive Review of Reappointment, Renewal, and Repeated Term Appointment
 
Designing and Selecting the Sample: Making a Sampling Request


The preparation of the sample involves the following steps:

1. The department provides E&A with a completed Sampling Request Form. This form provides information such as:

  • The name of the faculty member being reviewed.
  • The type of review being conducted (e.g., comprehensive reappointment, renewal, repeated term).
  • The departmental contact for sample selection. In some departments, it is the chair; in others, it is the Academic Administrative Assistant.
  • The academic terms included in sample. E&A recommends the following; however, see the list of “issues to consider” below for in determining whether to follow these recommendations:
    • "Second" comprehensive reappointment reviews (often done in the fourth year of a tenure-track appointment): Request that the sample be s elected from the past four semesters of the candidate’s teaching, including any Interim courses taught but excluding the current semester and the faculty member’s first semester at St. Olaf.
    • Other reviews: Request that the sample be s elected from the past two or three semesters of the candidate’s teaching (depending on the length of the candidate’s employment at St. Olaf), including any Interim courses taught but excluding the current semester and, if possible, the candidate’s first semester at St. Olaf.
  • Course list verification and rationale for course exclusion. Normally, the sample is drawn from all courses taught during the terms specified by the department, but occasionally a course is excluded to improve the representativeness of the resulting sample. Departments are asked to verify whether all courses listed should be included in the sampling process, and if not, to offer a rationale for any exclusions.
  • Identification of team-taught courses. Departments may wish to limit the proportion of students in the sample selected from team-taught courses, because students often have difficulty differentiating among instructors in their teaching evaluations for these courses.
  • Indication whether students taught by the candidate in non-classroom settings* will be sampled by department. Examples include theater productions, private lessons, athletic organizations, and faculty-student research projects.
  • The number of students to be selected. Typically, for written evaluations, 40 students are selected for the "second" comprehensive reappointment reviews (often done in the fourth year of a tenure-track appointment), and 30 students are selected for other kinds of reviews. Smaller samples may be selected for interviews or focus groups.
  • Indication whether alumni** of the college will be sample by department.

2. E&A provides student sample. If requested by department, E&A will provide a random sample of current St. Olaf students who were taught by the faculty candidate during the target academic terms. This student sample will be provided in a MS Excel spreadsheet with these data for each student: St. Olaf ID number, complete name, class year, and email address.

[*Review Initiators who wish to sample students taught by the candidate in non-classroom settings are responsible for identifying these students and obtaining needed contact information.]

[**Review Initiators who wish to sample alumni are responsible for obtaining needed alumni addresses from the Online Alumni Directory.]

Departments are encouraged to consult with E&A in considering these issues.