DOCUMENT RESUME ED 312 009 JC 890 518 AUTHOR Burkhalter, Bettye B., Ed.; Buford, James A., Jr., Ed. TITLE Performance Appraisal: Concepts and Techniques for Postsecondary Education. INSTITUTION American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, Washington, D.C. REPORT NO ISBN-0-87117-197-X PUB DATE 89 NOTE 188p. AVAILABLE FROMAmerican Association of Community and Junior Colleges Publications, 80 South Ear:y Street, Alexandria, VA 22304 ($12.50; $9.50, members). PUB TYPE Viewpoints (120) -- Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Administrator Evaluation; *College Faculty; Compliance (Legal); Evaluation Criteria; *Evaluation Methods; *Legal Problems; *Personnel Evaluation; Postsecondary Education; *Teacher Evaluation ABSTRACT Designed primarily as a functional tool and reference book for administrators, this book provides a collection of essays covering various aspects of the performance appraisal of college faculty, administrators, and support staff. The booklet presents practical information on the key concepts, theories, practices, and legal constraints in performance appraisal. The collection contains: (1) "Performance Appraisal: An Overview," by Bettye B. Burkhalter; (2) "Legal Aspects of Performance Appraisal," by James A. Buford, Jr.;(3) "Considerations in Selectin"; a Performance Appraisal Technique," by James A. Buford;(4) "Development of Performance Appraisal and Accompanying Criteria," by Edith A. Miller; (5) "Communication Factors in Performance Appraisal," by Mark E. Meadows; (6) "Minimizing Rater Errors in Observing and Appraising Performance," by William I. Sauser, Jr.; (7) "A President's Perspective: A Rationale and a Strategy for Building a Performance Appraisal Program," by Richard J. Federinko; and (8) "Characteristics of an Effective and Legally Defensible System for Postsecondary Education," by Burkhalter and Buford. Appendixes contain examples of performance appraisal forms designed for a number of purposes within the Alabama college system and a checklist of legal requirements. (AYC) **********************************t*************K********************** Reproductj.ons supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************/************************************************ Performance Appraisal Concepts and Techniques for Postsecondary Education Bettye B. Burkhalter James A. Buford, Jr. ; V All rights reserved by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, One Dupont Circle, N W., Suite 410, Washington, D.C. 20036. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form without written permission from AACJC and us representatives Pnnted in the U S A IBSN 0-87117-197-X Performa.ice Appraisal Concepts and Techniques for Postsecondary Education Performance appraisal is conducted inalltypes of organizations and groups. Postsecondary educational institutions are no exception.Postsecondary administrators appraise the actions of department heads, faculty. and support personnel tomeasure their contribution to the objectives of the institution. Sonic. adEatnistrators perform this task perfunctonly and fad to see its value, while otherssee it as a valuable process. Members of the organization must receive feedback from othersconcerning the appropriateness of their behavior if they are to noproe productivity. Lorrect errors,and grow professionally. Terms used to describe this process vary among professional groups. Performance appraisal also is known as performance aluation, merit rating, performance review, performance andproductivityassessment, and effmencyandfitnessreporting. Performance appraisal has become the prefened term andis used in the most recent personnel and compensation textbooks and professional literature. The term evaluation should he avoided since it refers to those processes used to establish the internal worth of jobs. The process or performance appraisalaries from a series of informal assessments made by superiors who know their staff well to more structured systems which require superiors to complete various forms and make written Lomments. Many authorities contend that well-designed performanLe appraisal sytems are essential in effectively and legally managing human resources. In reality, however, few systems are totally successful. Onereason is that superiors have great difficulty writing useful and objective performance appraisal reports. They are often reluctant to criticize a subordinates work and put the LritiLism in writing. Another problem is there is no single approach that can fully addiess all thepurposes that organizations attempt to achieve with performance appiaisal. As for equaloppor- tunity considerations, many systems used today are not the solution but, rather,are part of the problem. A number of studies have shownLi 'tenon bias to be a serious short- coming, resulting in discrimination against blacks, ethnic minorities, andwomen. These systems may produce ratings that are subjeLtive, impres,ionistic, non-job-related, and unstandardized. When used to justify important personnel decisions, such ratings increase rather than decrease Equal Employ ment Opportunity (EEO) liability. Fortunately, the failures of the past have led to increa.,ed emphasison development of raters, more realistic expectations of what performanceappraisal can accomplish, workable appraisal techniques, and effectivestrategies to deal with EEO regulations. Examples of effective performance appraisalsystems can be found in all types of organizations including educational institutions. Turning diepotential of performance appraisal into productive reality isa challenge but attainah.e goal facing those who manage the affairs of postsecondary education. With few exceptions, both faculty and administrators approachthe performance appraisal process with some level of anxiety and apprehension.The editors have made a concerted effort in this book to relieve some of this anxiety by presenting themost pertinent information which will increase the understanding ofbasic knowledge that makes any performance appraisal system workable, fairto all parties, and legally defen- sible. While the editors recognize thatmany facets were omitted that could have been included, to do so would have made it unnecessarily long. This book is not intended to be a substitute for primarysources in the field, rather, it is meant to provide a concise framework for understandingthe basic concepts of per- formance appraisal and serve as a functional tool for practitionersand scholars.In addition, our hook is not designed to render legal adviceor lcgal opinion. Such advice may only be given by ]lensed, practicing attorney, and only when related to actual fact situations.This warning is particularly pertinent because of thenature of the topics covered herein.Specific legal questions concerning personnel performance appraisal should always be checked with the appropriate legal counsel. Bettye B. Burkhalter James A Buford. Jr. vi Acknowledgments The editors and contributors wish to thank the many administiators, faLulty, graduate students, and support staff who made this work possible We particularly are indebted to the following people for their Lomments or editorial assistance on one or more of the chapters in this book. William H. Holley, Bettye Campbell, Hayden D. Center, and James Palmer. Special acknowledgement goes to Anne S. Stewart who pro. ided on-site leadership for the study which led to the development of a perfoiniatke appraisal system at Southern Union State Junior College.Special acknowWgnient also is gLen to Deborah J. Mill,.r-Wood for research assistanctand for development of additional appraisal procedures from the study. vii (..) Contents Preface v Acknowledgments vii List of Figures xi 1 Performance Appraisal: An Overview 1 Bettye B. Burkhalter 2 Legal Aspects of Performance Appraisal 9 James A. Buford. Jr. 3 Considerations in Selecting a Performance Appraisal Technique 19 James A Buford, Jr. 4 Development of Performance Appraisal and Accompanying ('- .term 43 Edith A. Miller 5 Communication Factors in Performance Appraisal 57 Mark E. Meadows 6 Minimizing Rater Errors in Obsen mg and Appraising Performance 73 William I Sauser. Jr. 7 A President's Perspective: A Rationale and a Strategy for Building a Performance Appraisal Program 103 Richard .1. Federinko 8 Characteristics of an Effective and Legally Defensible System for Postsecondary Education 1 l Bettye B. Burkhalter and James A. Buford. Jr. ix Appendices Appendix A. Case Examples 119 Appendix B. Checklist for Legal Requirements 177 Name Index 181 Subject Index 185 About the Editors and Contributions 187 List of Figures 2.1 Simplified Overview of EEO Liability Process /3 3.1 Graphic Trait Rating Scale 2 / 3.2 Dimensionalized Rating Scale 22 3.3 Essay Appraisal Format 24 3.4 Ranking Scale Using Alternative Ranking Method26 3.5 Ranking With Paired Comparison 20 3.6 Forced Distribution 27 3.7 Forced Choice Appraisal 28 3.8 Performance Standards for instructional Position 3() 3.9 A Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale for the Dimension "Classroom Teaching Performance" 3/ 3.10 Behavioral Observation Scales for the Job Dimension of "Instruk.tion" 32 3.11 Example of a behavioral scale based on expanding the performance standard for "Method of Instruction"34 3.12Objectives and Performance Requirements 35 5.1 Basic Communication Transaction 59 5.2 Two Basic Needs Affecting Communication6/ 5.3 Factors Affecting the Flow of Messages Between Persons 02 5.4 Barriers to Effective