Williams College Employee Handbook
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Terms of Service for Faculty in the Department of Physical Education
Department Governance
The Director of Athletics (AD) holds the rank of assistant professor and serves as the chair of the Department of Physical Education, reporting to the Dean of the Faculty. The AD bears final responsibility for most matters pertaining to departmental governance and planning, including, for example, the overall coordination of intercollegiate athletic programs, intramural and club sports, physical education classes, fitness and recreation programs, and sports medicine; the oversight of all College-owned athletic facilities; the hiring of new faculty and other PE personnel; the evaluation of faculty and staff performance and progress; the preparation and submission of the annual staffing report and the annual budget requests; and compliance with NCAA, NESCAC, and other athletic conference standards, as relevant. The AD is assisted in these tasks by the associate and assistant athletic director(s) and the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA). Individual faculty members serve to coordinate the intramural, club sports, and PE programs.
Appointments, Reappointments and Promotions
The policies and procedures pertaining to appointments, reappointments and promotions in the Department of Physical Education adhere to the same principles of non-discrimination outlined in Faculty Appointments regarding academic faculty. Likewise, the initial recommendations regarding appointments, reappointments and promotions are made by the department and then considered in turn by the CAP and the President, whose further recommendations are ultimately acted upon by the Board of Trustees. In several other respects, however, the terms of service for faculty in the Department of Physical Education are necessarily different from those that apply to academic faculty.
Faculty members in the Department of Physical Education are appointed to the ranks of lecturer or assistant professor with one-, three-, or five-year contracts. Those with five-year contracts are the senior members of the department; all others are junior.
Lecturers are appointed for one-year terms or three-year terms with the possibility of renewal. There is no eligibility for promotion to assistant professor unless by means of a national search. This title is held mainly by those who hold head coaching positions, or by those with significant assistant coaching responsibility or other athletic programming roles, including the teaching of PE classes. For those holding three-year contracts, renewal decisions normally are made in the fall of the third contract year. Lecturers in the Department of Physical Education must serve for at least three years at an average FTE of 0.5 or more before becoming voting members of the faculty.
Faculty in the Department of Physical Education are appointed to the rank of assistant professor either as an initial appointment or as a promotion from the rank of lecturer following a national search. Normally in the fall of a faculty member's third year as an assistant professor, a decision will be made whether to reappoint him or her to a second three-year term. If the decision is positive, the assistant professor will, in the fall of his or her sixth year in rank, become eligible for reappointment to a five-year term. A Master's degree is required for promotion to a 5-year term, except in exceptional circumstances. Once promoted, assistant professors on five-year terms hold the most senior rank in the Department of Physical Education, and though these are term appointments and not tenured positions, further reappointments for terms of five years may take place thereafter. All assistant professors in PE are voting members of the faculty.
The criteria by which the CAP judges a PE faculty candidate for reappointment or promotion are the following: 1) above all, a strong interest in and talent for excellent teaching of undergraduates both in individual physical skill and, where appropriate, collective team development, and the promise of continuing growth in teaching/coaching ability; 2) demonstrated ability to provide participating students, whether in PE classes or on intercollegiate teams, with a positive and engaging learning experience; 3) demonstrated ability to attract excellent student-athletes who will flourish within the context of this academically rigorous institution - thus, a demonstrated commitment to the goals and values of the College; 4) continued professional development appropriate to their duties; 5) a demonstrated understanding of the importance of sportsmanship and his or her role as a leader on the team and within the athletic community; and 6) significant contribution to the College community - student advising, committee service, and so forth. Also, candidates for promotion to a five-year term will be expected to have completed a Master's degree, except in exceptional circumstances.
The Evaluation of PE Faculty
Faculty evaluation is conducted each year in the fall semester as part of the annual staffing report process. The department submits to the CAP a report on the performance and progress of each junior faculty member (excepting those in their first year) regardless of whether or not a reappointment or promotion decision is pending. In addition, reports on the performance and progress of senior faculty members are submitted in the fourth contract year and as needed in other years if there are special areas of concern.
All senior members of the department who are not on leave are expected to participate in the evaluation of the junior faculty and to contribute to the production of the annual staffing report, including for junior faculty eligible for initial promotion to a five-year contract. The senior faculty are expected to initial the final report prepared by the department chair as testimony that it reflects their opinions fully and fairly.
For senior faculty reappointments, the staffing report is prepared and signed only by the chair, the associate athletic directors and the SWA. When these individuals are due for their own reappointment reviews, the staffing report is prepared only by the chair. When the chair comes due for reappointment, the dean of the faculty prepares the staffing report.
Areas of responsibility subject to evaluation include head coaching assignments, assistant coaching or junior varsity coaching, teaching of PE classes, professional development and administrative duties.
Head Coaching
Varsity team players fill out Student Athlete Evaluation (SAE) forms for their coaches at the end of every season. In addition, each junior faculty member's coaching (practice and games) is observed by a senior faculty member in each year of the first three-year contract and in each of the first two years of the second three-year contract. In each of those years, the senior faculty member discusses his or her observations with the junior faculty member and conveys the substance of those observations in writing to the chair. Interviews with players who have been coached by junior faculty members are conducted as well, by senior faculty members in each year of the first three-year contract and in each of the first two years of the second three-year contract, typically at the end of the relevant season and no later than the end of the academic year. The number of students selected should not be less than six and an effort should be made to interview a meaningful cross-section of students coached by the junior faculty member. The interviews should be conducted, when possible, by two senior members of the department. A written account of those interviews will be submitted to the chair by the end of the academic year. Other guidelines for conducting student interviews are described in Non-tenured Faculty Evaluation.
The procedures for the evaluation of senior PE faculty as head coaches are similar. Interviews with at least three players who have been coached by senior faculty members are conducted by the department chair or an associate AD in the third year of the contract, and in other years as well if there is a perceived need to do so. Written accounts of those interviews are kept by the chair.
Assistant Varsity/Junior Varsity Coaching
PE faculty members are asked to reflect on their experiences as assistant head coaches and as junior varsity coaches in the self-evaluations that they submit to the department in the year prior to each reappointment review. The emphasis of these reflections should be on experience and performance over time, rather than just in the year that the self-evaluation is written. In addition, within the context of the annual evaluation process, senior faculty members who serve as head coaches will provide insight into the performance of their junior colleagues who serve under them as assistant head coaches or as junior varsity coaches. Junior faculty members who serve as head coaches are not asked to evaluate the performance of other faculty members, junior or senior, who serve with them as an assistant head coaches or junior varsity coaches.
Physical Education Teaching
Students fill out SCS forms at the end of any PE quarters taught by all faculty members. Also, the department's PE coordinator or another senior faculty member observes each junior faculty member's physical education instruction at least once per semester in each year of the first three-year contract and in each of the first two years of the second three-year contract. For senior faculty members, the PE coordinator observes physical education instruction at least once during the third year of each five-year contract. The PE coordinator conveys the substance of his or her observations in writing to the chair of the department.
Professional Development
In the spring semester of the year prior to a reappointment review, both junior and senior faculty members complete a self-evaluation and bring their curriculum vitae up-to-date. These documents provide candidates for reappointment and promotion with the opportunity not just to list chronologically their responsibilities and accomplishments, but to reflect on their professional development since being hired or since their last reappointment review. For example, the self-evaluation might chart the course of progress toward a Master's degree, or describe experience gained in a summer coaching workshop or prospect camp, or interpret SCS and SAE results. It might also describe the significance of any new published works or conference papers presented, or service to a professional organization or athletic conference. The self-evaluation and CV are submitted to the department chair by July 1 along with any letters the candidate may have solicited assessing his or her teaching or coaching performance.
The candidate may also request, if desired, that the department seek an opinion regarding his or her professional development or coaching ability from several external reviewers, typically opposing coaches from peer institutions. The faculty member submits a list of four peer coaches that he or she would like to have submit an external evaluation. The chair, associate ADs and the SWA select two of those names, and then add one additional coach of their choosing, provided that person has coached against Williams for the past four years.
The Evaluation of Administrative and Community Service
Just as in the academic departments, PE faculty are expected to contribute to the department and to the College in a variety of ways. In addition to the specific administrative responsibilities they hold within the department (e.g., PE coordinator, director of club sports, coordinator of intramural sports), they serve on committees, they advise students, they organize community service efforts, they meet with alumni, parents, and prospective students, and they help to organize co-curricular activities such as Wellness classes. These activities are summarized and discussed in the yearly staffing report. The leadership potential or abilities of faculty members are also noted. A faculty member is welcome to ask the department chair to solicit a letter from the chair of a College committee on which he or she has served. Such letters are appended to the annual staffing report.
Mandated Communications
The College mandates that junior faculty in the PE department receive specific and helpful feedback annually, not only on team performance at games, meets and competitions, but also on professional progress and development independent of team performance. To this end, a CAP-approved copy of the fall staffing report is sent as an annual letter from the department to each junior faculty member (excepting those in their first year). Ordinarily, the staffing reports are quoted verbatim in these letters, but in the event that comparison to another faculty member is made in the staffing report, or that other faculty are specifically identified, those sections are removed. Within one month of the letter being sent, the chair and faculty member meet to discuss the report and address any questions. The Dean of the Faculty asks to be notified when these meetings have taken place. A signature form is used for this purpose, copies of which are supplied by the Dean of the Faculty Office.
There is no fall staffing report for first-year PE faculty, as they are so new when those reports are generated, but the department chair and other senior faculty members serve as their advisors and work to orient them to the culture of the department and the College, and to let them know what the expectations are for advancement. The chair informs new PE faculty of the annual staffing report process and provides them—as well as all continuing faculty—with a statement of methods used by the department to evaluate coaching, teaching, professional development and other contributions to the College and department. Towards the end of the year, each first-year faculty member meets with the chair. The purpose of these meetings is to review the new faculty member's work, to discuss any questions that he or she may have regarding the College or department, and to supply whatever help or advice the chair can provide. The chair and the faculty member notify the Dean of the Faculty when the meeting has taken place using a signature form.
For senior faculty, no department letter is mandated following a reappointment review, but in the event that there are any significant concerns about the faculty member's progress or performance, the faculty member should receive a written statement addressing those concerns. In most cases, the chair and the faculty member meet in person, in lieu of a letter, to reflect on the faculty member's experience since his or her previous reappointment, including his or her satisfactions, frustrations, and hopes for the future. This meeting is also an opportunity to consider steps that might be taken to minimize those frustrations and maximize those satisfactions.
Reconsideration and Appeal of PE Faculty Reappointment and Promotion Decisions
The decision not to reappoint or promote a faculty member who has been on a one-year or a three-year term can be performance related or not. Structural considerations related to the athletic program and its future needs, to the budget, to overall department and College staffing, or other factors, might also come into play. The College has broad latitude in making these decisions and is to be "accorded the widest latitude consistent with academic freedom, equal opportunity, and the standards of fairness" in discharging its responsibility "to recruit and retain the best qualified faculty within its goals and means."
Failure to reappoint a faculty member who has been on a five-year term will occur only for adequate cause, such as: financial exigency, discontinuation of a program, reorganization of the Department, physical or mental incapacity on the part of the appointee, or serious shortcomings in the discharge of professional duties. A faculty member who is not to be reappointed at the completion of a five-year term will be informed of the decision prior to the end of the fourth year of that term.
A decision not to reappoint is normally communicated orally to the faculty member by the department chair or the Dean of the Faculty. That notification is in every case confirmed in writing by the Dean of the Faculty. A faculty member who believes that improper consideration (as defined in Appointment Appeals footnote 3)contributed to the decision not to reappoint may invoke the review procedures stipulated in Appointment Appeals. . A faculty member who believes that the decision not to reappoint was based on inadequate consideration under the relevant standards of the College (as defined in Appointment Appeals footnote 4) and whose current term of appointment is for three years or less, may similarly invoke the review procedures stipulated in Appointment Appeals. If, however, the faculty member's current term of appointment is for a period of five years, he or she is entitled to request reconsideration of the decision by the College in accordance with the following procedure and having first reviewed the reasons for that decision with the department chair and the Dean of the Faculty.
The request for reconsideration of the decision must be submitted in writing to the Dean of the Faculty within a period of two months following written notification of non-reappointment and must indicate the factors warranting such a reconsideration. The response will normally be given within a period of no longer than two months. Should the issue not be resolved through this informal process, a review panel will be constituted. It will consist of three members: one chosen by the department chair, one by the petitioner, and a third chosen by the two other members. All three members must have held full-time appointments from the Trustees for a period of no less than three years. In order to discharge its responsibilities, the review panel must have access to whatever information the College weighed in reaching its decision. Having reviewed that information it will within a period of two months report its findings in writing, with or without recommendations concerning further procedures, both to the President and the petitioner. Should it request the President to initiate formal reconsideration of the decision by the department and the CAP, it will indicate its reasons for so doing. Its recommendation will not be binding on the President, whose decision will be final.
The procedures outlined above exhaust the provisions for appeal within the governing structure of the College. No further appeal may be initiated within the College.
Benefits and Leave Policy for PE Faculty
Faculty members in the Department of Physical Education who hold positions as lecturers or assistant professors will, with the exception of assistant professor leaves, receive fringe benefits comparable to those received by members of the academic faculty at those ranks. Those holding five-year appointments in PE are also eligible for second mortgages in accordance with the policies outlined in Housing. They may also apply for leaves of absence at full pay for one semester or at three-quarters pay for an academic year. In reviewing such applications and in deciding whether or not to grant such leaves the chair of the department and the CAP will weigh the contribution the proposed leave can be expected to make to the applicant's professional development and his or her potential for future service to the College.
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