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Teaching (TESE)

Teaching Effectiveness Standards and Evaluation (TESE)

The Provost and Deans have asked schools or departments to develop transparent guidelines for the evaluation of teaching effectiveness. This is in response to shared governance — a December 2022 recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee to move forward on this issue — and a decade of calls by faculty across appointment types for improved transparency, consistency, and research-informed practices in the evaluation of teaching (see the Historical Overview for more information). Transparent standards for teaching effectiveness and clear evaluation processes support our commitment to effective teaching and provide clear expectations for faculty.

All academic year faculty will participate in the drafting, revision, and implementation of teaching guidelines drawing upon past practice within the department and informed by the scholarship of teaching and learning. These Teaching Effectiveness Standards and Evaluation (TESE or “Tessy”) materials serve as a resource for programs in their articulation of selected dimensions of teaching effectiveness and the multiple sources of evidence that faculty will be expected to provide for their evaluations.

  • By September 10, 2026, department chairs will check that their department's most recent version of the TESE is recorded on the TESE tracker. If the posted version is obsolete, upload the most recent TESE to step 6 of the upload portal, below the tracker
  • Fall 2026: All programs at the department or school level will pilot their teaching standards with all faculty submitting FARs.
  • January-February 2027: All faculty provide feedback on TESE, both from the perspective of faculty submitting FAR materials and those evaluating FARs.
  • February-March 2027: Department-wide review of TESE pilot feedback and review/approval of proposed changes to TESE
  • March 15, 2027: Deadline to submit revised TESE and justification of changes, including pilot assessment findings and evidence of full faculty consultation, to the TESE Tracker (Step 7) for Task Force review. During March and April, the TESE Task Force members will conduct reviews and provide any necessary feedback to departments to ensure alignment with TESE goals.
  • June 4, 2027: Deadline to submit revised TESE for dean approval. Deans (not chairs) will upload revised TESE to the upload portal under the TESE Tracker (Step 8) to signal approval.

The Teaching Effectiveness Standards and Evaluation (TESE ) Guidelines provide an overview of the criteria for effective teaching and a template to guide teaching evaluation. We recommend you download this or make a copy to save to your Google Drive.

You can also refer to sample submission materials below. These resources include additional materials, such as a rubric to guide evaluation, and ways of tailoring expectations for faculty of varying position types, all part of the requirements for a department's TESE process.

  1. Blank form for department/program use: TESE worksheet
  2. "Social Science" Department completed sample worksheet
  3. "Social Science" Department completed sample guidelines
  4. The Department of Innovation completed sample worksheet
  5. SCU examples: see approved pilots and final TESEs on the TESE Tracker
  6. Sample TESE pilot report template