Essay on Proposal for Performance Evaluation of University Lecturers

               The university has to create a learning environment that shapes the personal and professional lives of students in so many different ways. It is not just about learning knowledge for their respective fields. It is also important for them to learn, how they should behave with their peers, and how they can develop their communication skills to handle different situations with a variety of people. All of this can only be learned in an effective learning environment, where lecturers are showing their full interest with capabilities to transfer their knowledge and experience to the students. This is the kind of commitment needed from the faculty members in all universities. The question is that how it will be made sure that lecturers are performing and delivering as per expectations, and what to do if they lack behind in any given terms. The answer to this question is “the performance evaluation criteria” to be developed and implemented so that the performance of lecturers is evaluated on a regular basis. This performance valuation of lecturers is critical in so many ways because it will keep them aware that they have to perform well to get rewards and recognition. It can be said that other than regards, it is important for the pride of lecturers as well so that they can be proud of their efforts that they have inspired so many students and changed their perspective of life. So, here we are going to present a proposal for performance evaluation for lecturers with possible elements, which can be implemented in a variety of situations.

               There could be different aspects of a lecturer to be analyzed. One aspect is his/her teaching effectiveness, and here are some of the points to consider in this regard:

·         How a lecturer is performing in its teaching methods?

·         If students are getting enough motivation and knowledge from their lecturers?

·         How students are performing in their daily, weekly, and monthly tasks and exams?

·         If a lecturer is able to cover the course material within a given time period?

·         If students are happy with the teaching method, where the lecturer is allowing them to understand each perceptive regarding their course?

·         If the lecturer has been able to develop a great learning environment, which is showing great performance from all students on an average basis.

               So, these are some of the points to be kept in mind while teaching effectiveness of lecturers is being evaluated and measured. It is proposed that to evaluate the above-mentioned points, a performance evaluation form should be developed, which has two parts. The first part of the performance evaluation will assign certain performance marks to a lecturer for a certain class and course. For instance, a lecturer will be analyzed on the basis of the average grade of the class for a particular course. The average grade of all students will be collected, and if average grades were above 60%, it would be given a satisfactory rating to lecturers. If grades were above 70%-79%, lecturers would be given more than satisfactory rating. If the average grade of students will be above 80%, then a lecturer would be marked as "the best lecturer of the month" with the best performance rating. Certain performance marks will be given to each category mentioned above.

               It is important to mention here that the first part of the evaluation will have 50% out of 100% performance evaluation marks for each lecturer. The second part of the evaluation will be getting feedback from students regarding the teaching method, style, class behavior, etc. of lecturers. A feedback form will be given to each student at the end of every month, and they would fill this form with their relevant answers. Each answer will be graded accordingly, and an average grade will be measured from the feedback response of all the students. If the majority of students will mention any kind of similar complaint about a lecturer, then the lecturer will be informed about it. The lecturer will be asked to rectify it and satisfy the concerns of the students. If a complaint would receive more than once, then an action committee will have a meeting with the lecturer to talk about the issue. It is important to mention here that only 20% of marks will be designated for this students’ feedback session because students can be biased in their approach against lecturers if they don’t like it for any personal reason. That’s why major performance evaluation portion is associated with the teaching effectiveness, which would be based on average grades and class performance of the students. The quality of learning in the institution should be improved so that the students can get a high-quality education. The following are some of the key ways through which excellence in teaching & learning can be achieved:

·         Training of Lecturers through skill development programs

·         The knowledge and skill enhancement through seminars

·         Workshops regarding the latest educational methods & approaches

·         Educational conferences regarding quality education

               The other critical part of performance evaluation of lecturers is tiers attitude, behavior as well as administrative skills. It has been mentioned earlier that lecturers will have to come up with a positive attitude and behavior, which allows developing an effective learning environment. If lecturers will lack this attribute, then it is almost impossible to develop a learning environment in the university, which is great for the students and their development. In this regard, the lecturers will be evaluated by their supervisors and department heads. They will define a criterion to evaluate the attitude, behavior, and skills of a lecturer in and out of class, dealing with fellow lecturers, and their relationship with other departments of the university. This data will be used to analyze the overall performance of lecturers, and if any developmental needs are identified, then the concerned department will arrange training and orientation sessions for lecturers so that they can develop positive skills and attitudes, which is essential for a positive learning environment. In the same way, the lecturers will also be analyzed for their communication skills. It is a fact that communication is the key to a great learning environment. The university education is not just about reading course material and understanding concepts on their own; rather, it is critical for students to have two-way communication with lecturers so that they can learn as much as possible. If they are stuck in understanding a concept, two-way communication will allow them to ask questions to mitigate any confusion.

               To evaluate the performance of lecturers, they will be analyzed with different perspectives on two-way communication. A routine lecture analysis session will be held where the head of the department will attend a lecture of a lecturer in the class. The expert will note down his/her observations for the effectiveness of the lecturer in the class. After the evaluation lecture, the lecturer will be provided considerable feedback, where bets things will be commended, and any areas of improvement will also be detailed so that the lecturer can improve his/her teaching style. The expert during the lecture will analyze the performance of the lecturer by looking at his/her way of teaching, how a lecturer is giving appropriate opportunities to each student to participate in the class. It will be analyzed if a lecturer is encouraging two-way communication by asking challenging and interesting questions. If a lecturer is involved in an active learning strategy, where students are engaged in the class throughout the lecture. It would also be analyzed if some students are more participative, but others are not, then how a lecturer identifies those students during the lecture and how those students are engaged in the activity so that they can also be a part of a great learning environment. So, these are some of the performance evaluation and measurement criteria to evaluate lecturers for the university. These proposed methods are just in an early stage of development, and if these suggestions are approved from the respected board, then a detailed performance evaluation program will be developed.