SR 20-03 - Resolution on Continuity Amid Disruption by COVID-19: Peer Evaluations in Academic Year 2020/21

WHEREAS the continued spread of COVID-19 throughout our surrounding cities, region and state , puts immense pressure on all members of the University community, including unique pressures on the institution’s research, scholarship, and creative
missions; and

WHEREAS the emergency conditions surrounding the pandemic create social and psychological stress on students and instructional faculty that add to the difficulty of teaching and learning at a college-level; and

WHEREAS the rapid escalation of the world-wide health emergency disrupts professional travel of faculty, forcing them unexpectedly to cancel attendance at professional conferences and meetings, to cancel presentations in and attendance of colloquia and seminars, and to cancel visits to sources of primary documents; and

WHEREAS limited travel and in-person interaction with disciplinary peers limits a scholar’s ability to realize the goals they have set out in their Professional Development Plan because professional activities are critical to the growth of a scholar and the concomitant inability to interact with their disciplinary peers limits a scholar’s ability to disseminate their work and receive critical feedback from their peers in the disciplines; and

WHEREAS social distancing practices and current University practices mean face-to-face instruction is no longer occurring except in exceptional cases, making peer observation of teaching more difficult; and

WHEREAS the members of the Academic Senate agree that we make every effort to treat one another, our students, and all our CI colleagues with compassion as we all work to preserve our academic and professional standards so the University is positioned to safely continue its work;

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that faculty be permitted to forgo peer observation and if observed may permanently exclude peer observations from the 2020-2021 academic year; and,

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate and that Associate Vice-President of Faculty Affairs will add a joint letter to the Personnel Action File of all faculty that will memorialize that the 2020-2021 academic year is an annus horriblis due to the effects of COVID-19 on the University.

If any resolution or part of a resolution in this document conflicts with or contradicts guidance on other University policies or procedures, these resolutions shall prevail without invalidating any other portion of the University policy or procedure. If any part of a resolution statement in this document conflicts with existing CSU policy, executive order, or coded memoranda, or if any resolution in this document conflicts with local, state, or federal statute, or the Collective Bargaining Agreement, that part of a resolution statement will be declared invalid without harming any other resolution statement in this document

Supporting documents:
1. https://www.csuci.edu/news/campus-updates/fall-2020/documents/csuci-fall-2020-plan-final-0731-update.pdf