Rewarding Collegiality: The Use of Collegiality as a Factor in Faculty Evaluation and Employment Decisions

• In Event: 30.054 - Determining Faculty Success

Abstract

As part of the promotion and tenure process, colleges in many countries have primarily evaluated faculty members on three key functional areas: research, teaching, and service. However, there has been recent debate about both the benefits and challenges of adding a fourth criterion – collegiality. In this paper, we examine how collegiality as a criterion for faculty evaluation affects faculty power dynamics. We also illustrate how the courts have addressed the use of collegiality as a measure of faculty performance, review how collegiality has been assessed in the past, and consider benefits and drawbacks to such approaches. Finally, we consider the implications for practice as colleges and universities consider how and when to use collegiality as a factor in performance reviews.

Authors

• Ann E. Blankenship Knox, University of Redlands

• R. Eric Platt, University of Southern Mississippi

• Hannah Read, University of Southern Mississippi