Events2020 Annual MeetingYour AAR staff continues to work toward holding the Annual Meeting in Boston, Nov. 21-24, 2020. We are aware of the uncertainty and contradictory projections related to the COVID-19 pandemic and with health and safety as a priority, we will continue monitoring the guidance of governments and health experts as we plan and make decisions. Should any changes need to be made related to the 2020 Annual Meeting, we will promptly notify you. 2020 Regional MeetingsOpen Registration: All remaining regional meetings for 2020 have been canceled |
AAR Endorses ASA Statement on Faculty Review and Reappointment Processes During the COVID-19 CrisisThe AAR endorsed a statement from the American Sociological Association pushing for institutions to ease faculty review and reappointment processes during the COVID-19 crisis. The statement is printed in full below and can be found on the ASA's website.
ASA Statement Regarding Faculty Review and Reappointment Processes During the COVID-19 CrisisMarch 23, 2020 A Call to Higher Education Administrators Regarding Faculty Review and Reappointment Processes During the COVID-19 Crisis Higher education is facing unprecedented circumstances due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Courses are moving online; campuses are closing; conferences are cancelled. These changes are already generating significant consequences for institutions, faculty, and students. In response to these rapidly changing and uncertain conditions, several institutions have announced changes to their faculty review and reappointment processes, including allowing one-year tenure clock extensions and limiting how student evaluations of teaching from this term will be used. The American Sociological Association (ASA), in collaboration with the scholarly societies listed below, commends these institutions for quickly taking steps to recognize the parameters of our current context and encourages all institutions of higher education to consider appropriate temporary adjustments to their review and reappointment processes for tenure line and contingent faculty. Faculty members are working hard to maintain educational continuity for their students, in some instances without necessary institutional support. They have been asked to restructure their courses, assignments, and pedagogies within days and to make sure that even students with limited access to online resources from their off-campus homes can fulfill course requirements. In addition, they are spending considerable time advising and reassuring students who are trying to manage this stressful situation. Such faculty labor is easy to overlook, but it requires a considerable investment of time and energy. These disruptions to faculty work are compounded by the many disruptions throughout our communities. For example, school cancellations at the K-12 level mean that caretaking obligations have increased dramatically, often with an expectation that parents home school their children. Sick family members need care, and elderly people who are alone need support. At the same time that faculty are being asked to do more for their campuses, they are also being asked to do more for their families and communities. In this context, we recommend limiting the use of student evaluations of teaching from the current term for both tenure line and contingent faculty. Transitioning a course to an online format mid-semester will create disruptions which are beyond the control of the instructor, and many faculty and students are learning how to use online communication platforms for the first time. It seems inevitable that these circumstances will affect student evaluations of teaching in ways that may not accurately reflect the faculty member’s teaching under normal conditions. We also recommend adjusting expectations for faculty scholarship during this period. Data collection with human subjects has been curtailed; libraries and labs have closed; conferences and invited lectures have been cancelled; and journal review processes are likely to be delayed. In addition, the time that faculty have committed to ensure continuity in their students’ educational experiences means they have less time to devote to scholarship. It seems inevitable that these unavoidable circumstances will result in a period of reduced scholarly activity for faculty. In conclusion, to assure the continuation of high- quality research and excellence in teaching, we recommend a pause in normal procedures for faculty review and appointment. We call on institutions of higher education to clearly articulate to faculty how criteria and expectations for review and reappointment will be modified to reflect these unprecedented circumstances. Institutional measures must be adopted to support faculty in this new, uncharted environment. We also strongly encourage institutions to communicate these changes to their faculty expeditiously in the interest of allowing our colleagues to focus attention on the immediate work at hand rather than anxiety about future evaluation. During this difficult time, we are grateful that leaders in higher education are working hard to support both their institutional missions and the many people engaged in the hard work of accomplishing those missions. (For a PDF version of this statement, click here.) Endorsements: African Studies Association
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