The unit must monitor and assess each teacher educator's effectiveness as an instructor at least once every three years, including using observations and candidate feedback, unless prohibited by an employment agreement.

As described in the Inter-Faculty Organization (IFO) Contract for all faculty in Minnesota State universities, there are five criteria for making decisions about tenure and promotion with the first being evidence of teaching effectiveness (Article 22). When submitting their annual Professional Development Reports (PDR) as probationary faculty seeking tenure or those with fixed-term appointments, or as tenured faculty who submit PDR’s either every two or three years depending on their rank or status, all faculty must provide evidence of teaching effectiveness to the dean for monitoring. Feedback to each faculty member from the UED Dean about teaching effectiveness is required per the IFO Contract according to when each faculty submits their evidence. Community faculty are also expected to provide evidence of teaching effectiveness every two years for the dean to monitor.

At the end of each semester, students are invited by email from the University to complete a course/instructor evaluation to provide feedback about the effectiveness of faculty members and the courses they taught. The online evaluation instrument (IDEA) provides students in a course an opportunity to comment on various aspects of the instructor's teaching and their experience in the course. This is the University's system for instructors receiving anonymous feedback from their students, and instructors receive an email when their course/instructor evaluations are ready for viewing. The University’s Office of Institutional Research (IR) aggregates student responses, and send de-identified data to instructors. Exhibit 25.3 shows an example of overall course and instructor evaluations over time with a trend data report. Exhibit 25.4 shows examples of more detailed instructor feedback comparing ratings on various questions across courses taught. It is important to note that faculty can also create their own tool to be used in providing feedback to them.

However, the IFO Contract prohibits a University from mandating use of one evaluation instrument for collecting student feedback, so each faculty may administer an alternative evaluation instrument(s) for students to complete as partial evidence of their teaching effectiveness. The contract also prohibits mandatory class observations to determine effectiveness of instruction. 

Besides monitoring the educators’ effectiveness, Metro State supports faculty to ensure that they model effective delivery of instruction. The Center for Faculty Development (CFD) regularly offers many programs and resources aimed at supporting teaching excellence. Information Technology Services (ITS) offers a variety of workshops and training about the use of technology in teaching. The Center for Online Learning (COL) supports faculty in their design of online courses and the use of technology. The Teaching Online Institute (OTI) schedules modules throughout the year to help faculty develop and improve their skills in online teaching.