There have been a lot of questions raised about peer review for county
faculty. The following are the procedures, approved by county faculty, that
we follow:
One peer review committee made up of representatives of our two major
program focus areas is appointed by the Director.
From the 1999 focus group meetings on peer review, the suggested
composition of the peer review committee is two sub-committees; one with 8
agents from agriculture and natural resource programs and one with 8 agents
from family and youth programs. Agents on year to year contracts, from
EIRP, area agents, and those who have returned from sabbatical or family
sick leave may be considered as "special cases". Agents in this category
will be included in the makeup of the peer review committee. County
directors who have more than 50% administrative responsibility will not be
included in the peer review committee. The chair will be elected by the
peer committee.
At present count, our county faculty consists of about 31 agents with
responsibilities in agriculture and/or natural resources and 37 agents with
responsibilities in the areas of family, youth, consumer sciences, and 4-H.
All county Extension faculty, after employment for at least 3 years, or
after completing their 2-year continuing appointment review, will be
eligible to serve on the peer review committee. The committee will be on a
rotation schedule (so that everyone serves). Terms will be for two years.
Time line for peer review:
November - Director appoints committee.
November/December - conference call with committee; address guidelines,
criteria and norming process; get commitment from committee members; select
chair; set dates to meet.
December - agents develop plan of work and major commitments; agents have
job description up to date.
January - draft APR completed; agents have APR reviewed in county; APR and
plan of work approved by county director and advisory board; CED gets input
on agent from clientele.
Feb 1 - APR due on campus.
February/March - committee meets. Peer review committee members are
responsible for printing APRs, job descriptions, and plans of work from the
website. Committee members review documents prior to meeting.
prior to May 1 - CED meets with agent for annual evaluation.
Meeting agenda and process:
1) Peer review committee meets by conference call prior to face to face
meeting.
2) Peer review committee reads and evaluates all APRs in their program area
prior to attending meeting. Members review individual job descriptions and
plans of work prior to attending meeting.
3) Complete committee meets to review guidelines.
a. address the form to be used
b. all scores will be given as whole or half numbers
c. the section on "extension programs" will be given the greatest weight
d. scores will be based on the present year, but past two years are
available for reference
e. reported outcomes will be evaluated based on plan of work and major
commitments
f. reported implementation will be evaluated based on job descriptions and
plans of work
4) Sub-committees separate to discuss, evaluate, and write comments and
elect a chair.
5) The total committee reconvenes to review all scores and to further
discuss all scores that are either below 3 or above 4.5.
6) Final reports for each county Extension faculty member are written by
overall elected chair and the chairs of each sub-committee.
7) Reports are key-entered and sent to the CED for discussion with and
overall review of agent; CEDs are reviewed by Extension Director.
* Winegrape Production: A Viticulture Shortcourse will be held March 28-30,
2002 at the UA Campus Ag Center in Tucson. The course will cover the
planning, establishment, and growing of wine grapes in Arizona and is
designed for potential wine grape and commercial wine grape growers.
Contact Mike Kilby, <mkilby@cals.arizona.edu>
* Arizona Noxious, Invasive Plant Summit will be held at the Radisson
Hotel, in Tucson, April 25 & 26, 2002. The Summit will be an excellent
opportunity for land managers, educators, legislators, and members of the
general public to come together to learn from experts and share information
about successes and challenges in noxious, invasive plant management, with
special emphasis on Arizona. Contact Larry Howery <lhowery@cals.arizona.edu>
* Natural Resources Conservation Workshop for Educators will be held at
Mormon Lake, June 10-15, 2002. There will be a week-long program that will
cover the basic knowledge of conservation, basic concepts of ecology,
integration, field investigations, and environmental issues. Contact Jill
Rubio <jrubio@cals.arizona.edu>