The inclusion of self-assessment in merit evaluation

The purpose of this survey study was to collect faculty perceptions toward changes made to the faculty merit evaluation process in a college of education at a state comprehensive university. The changes in the evaluation occurred over a two-year period, where a formative rubric and faculty self-assessment were incorporated into the merit instrument. The sampling frame for the study included the college of education faculty members at the university. The data for the study were collected in two different phases using a field-tested online survey that was created to collect the faculty perceptions of the newly developed instrument and process for completing the merit evaluation. The data collected from the surveys were analyzed using nonparametric tests and qualitative textual analysis. Findings from the study indicated favorable perceptions of the new merit evaluation and only a limited number of differences among the demographic groups.