Shameless Bragging

So, my teaching portfolio came back.  Every faculty member has to turn in a portfolio at the end of the school year (which is in the first two weeks of August, normally, so the portfolio for Fall 2008-Spring 2009 is due August 15) that documents how they have fulfilled what they've been hired to do.  When you're hired at a university as a prof, you get a letter explaining what your duties are and what percentage corresponds to your duties.  My job is 80/20, which means 80% of my effort is supposed to be teaching (even though it feels like 234%) and 20% is supposed to be dedicated to "service," which means committee work for the department or other university work.  My position is in line with one of the newer trends in universities, because I have no research component.  That could probably be built in later, but more jobs are being created for people whose purpose is just to be a teacher; many other positions are traditionally created with a research component, and then the proportion is usually 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% service, or some combo thereof.  Anyhoo.  I had to turn in a portfolio this past December because as a new hire, I came in after the deadline, and they need something on the books in order to evaluate me in the Spring with everyone else.  Portfolios are always examined a year behind.  So, 2009-2010 raise money is based on what they're looking at right now in the Spring of 2009.  If I waited 'til August to turn mine in, I wouldn't be evaluated until 2010, which  means a year without a performance based raise.  If that makes sense.  I have to do *another* portfolio by August 15 of this year to encompass the whole year, but then I should be on track with everyone else and I should only have to do one a year.  That portfolio will determine my 2010-2011 money, since it will be evaluated in the Spring of 2010.

It was difficult to put a portfolio together at the end of last semester when I was dog tired from teaching six classes, grading a mountain of work for final grades, etc.  It caught me at a low point energy-wise.  After I finished and turned it in, I remember going to El Hijo's office to wait for him to get finished so we could go home--and I passed out in an office chair.  I was just beat.  I did have some help--my main boss looked it over for me and made some formatting and wording suggestions, so that made me feel better about the whole thing.  There was also some tension because it was my first one.  The rating goes Unsatisfactory/Satisfactory/Good/Excellent.  It's very difficult, so I'm told, to get an excellent in your first year of teaching.  For one thing, the committee might not want to give it out right away.  It depends on a lot of things.  My main boss and the chair of the dept. both told me not to feel bad about not getting an excellent.  The important thing is just not to be "unsatisfactory."

Well, I got an excellent in teaching!  It's 80% of what I'm being judged on, so W00t!  It was helped along tremendously by my student evaluations, which carry more weight since teaching evaluation is such a big part of my job performance.  The scale goes from one to five, five being the best.  The lowest score I got was a 4.6, which the committee called "enviably low."  My median score was a five, I believe.  In their response, the committee really praised all of those scores.  I'm happy about that.  And I'm really proud of myself.  This was a pilot project, and I couldn't have asked for a better result.

I find out in another two or three months if I still have a job, because they have to make the decision to continue this project or not.  At least I know I've done my part to prove myself.

-- DV