Academic Review

As is typical of universities worldwide, evaluation of teaching forms part of the University's quality assurance process and is also one element in a triadic assessment for Academic Review that is comprised of teaching, research and service. The general criterion for teaching within the academic review process is that the member of faculty can demonstrate:

"teaching effectiveness, including mastery of the subject, dedication in development, preparation and presentation of material, generation of interest and understanding for the subject in students, and maintenance of appropriate academic standards"

As differences exist among disciplines in the factors contributing to excellence, Schools and Departments provide clarifications particular to their fields in terms of the:

• Criteria for substantiation within the above guidelines, and
• Types of evidence that are preferable and acceptable for making decisions on substantiation.

All departments in all four Schools supply a very similar list of evidential items that can be used by the candidate. These are:

• Level and number of courses taught
• Student evaluation of teaching
• Peer review of teaching
• Peer review of course materials
• Development/modernization of courses and/or laboratories
• Publication of textbooks and their adoption by other education institutions
• Development of innovative instructional techniques
• Innovations in course development and curriculum design
• Awards for teaching
• Effective supervision of UG projects and PG theses
• Participation in courses outside of one's department

In terms of item 2 on this list, the University supports both end-of-semester evaluation, plus during-course teaching evaluation which can be used by individual instructors at any time to gain feedback from students on their courses and teaching.