Anoka Ramsey Community College

ARCC Faculty Reflection & Growth Process

Anoka-Ramsey Community College’s Faculty Reflection & Growth process serves as the college’s faculty evaluation procedure required by Minnesota State Board Policy 4.9 Employee Evaluation. This process was proposed by a task force comprised of ARCC faculty and administrators. Faculty Reflection & Growth is both an individualized process for personal reflection and a collaborative process between teaching colleagues and their deans to support professional growth, well-being, and excellence in teaching and learning.  

Process Overview

The Faculty Reflection & Growth process occurs on a three-year cycle. Throughout the three years, faculty set goals, review data and feedback, and reflect on their growth. Goals focus on three areas: Instruction and Professional Development, Service to the College and Community, and Well-Being. Feedback from students, faculty peers, and supervising deans is provided. Documents related to the process are housed in the college’s learning management system (currently D2L).

Roles and Responsibilities

Faculty

• All Unlimited Full-Time (UFT) faculty and Unlimited Part-Time (UPT) faculty, including Counselors and Librarians, will fully participate in the three-year Faculty Reflection & Growth process.
• Probationary UFT and UPT faculty will fully participate in the three-year process with an added dean observation in the first semester of Year One. The supervising dean may schedule additional touch points as needed during the three-year probationary period.
• Contingent faculty (used here to refer to any non-unlimited faculty) will receive a course observation by their dean in the first semester of Year One and will participate in the three-year process in a manner consistent with their course load and direction from their dean.

Deans

• Coordinate with faculty and deans support to schedule observations and follow-up discussions in the first semester of teaching for probationary UFT and UPT faculty and contingent faculty
• Coordinate with faculty and deans support to schedule observations and follow-up discussions for faculty in year two of the process who opt for a dean observation rather than a peer observation
• Coordinate with faculty and deans support to schedule conversations with faculty in year three of the process
• Meet with faculty who request additional consultation throughout the process

Deans Support

• Maintain the learning management system (D2L) sites for each supervising dean
• Assist in scheduling dean observations and related meetings with individual faculty

Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs (VPASA)

• Communicate annually with faculty, deans, and deans support staff regarding process structure and deadlines
• In collaboration with faculty and deans, develop templates for the learning management system (D2L) sites to provide structure for the activities required in each year of the three-year cycle
• Provide oversight

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

• Coordinate Course Experience Surveys
• Provide data via MinnState system approved access points such as PowerBI

Timeline  

For any date that occurs on a weekend or holiday, the revised due date is the following business day.

Year 1

• By September 15, the VPASA will communicate to faculty, deans, and deans support which faculty are in each year of the process and the timeline for the year.
• (Probationary UFT & UPT only) By October 15, the supervising dean will schedule a teaching observation.
• (Probationary UFT & UPT only) By November 30, the supervising Dean will complete the teaching observation and meet with the faculty member to share feedback.
• By April 1, Reflection & Growth document submitted by faculty in the learning management system (D2L).
• (Optional) By the end of spring semester, faculty may request input from their Dean on their goals.

Year 2

• By September 15, the VPASA will communicate to faculty, deans, and deans support which faculty are in each year of the process and the timeline for the year.
• By October 1, faculty will decide whether to plan their observation during the fall or spring semester.
  • If an observation will be requested for fall, faculty should notify their dean or the peer review coordinator by October 15.
  • If an observation will be requested for spring, faculty should notify their dean or the peer review coordinator by March 1.
• By the end of spring semester, faculty will submit their updated Reflection & Growth document in the learning management system (D2L).

Year 3

• By September 15, the VPASA will communicate to faculty, deans, and deans support which faculty are in each year of the process and the timeline for the year.
• By October 1, the supervising Dean will reach out to faculty to schedule their Year Three conversation for any time in the academic year.
• At least one week before their scheduled conversation with the supervising dean, faculty will submit their updated Reflection & Growth document and activities to the learning management system (D2L).

Impact of starting as a new faculty member in a Spring or Summer semester

The timeline outlined above assumes a faculty member will begin their new role in a fall semester. For faculty who begin in a spring or summer semester, their supervising dean will schedule a teaching observation in that first semester and then the faculty member will begin Year One in their first fall semester.

Impact of Sabbatical

When a faculty member returns from a sabbatical, they will complete the activities included in Year Three of the process regardless of the year they were on prior to taking a sabbatical. If a faculty member takes a fall only sabbatical and returns in the spring, they will begin the Year Three activities the following fall.

Transition from the current five-year cycle to the new three-year cycle

See Appendix.

History:

09.2025 Repeal of former policy. Adopted new policy.