After considering eliminating faculty comments and restricting what information would be available to the public, the Ohio University administration will move forward with its original dean evaluation format.
The Post asked for all documents associated with dean evaluations, which caused the administrators to consider changing the format of comments.
Currently, faculty members receive an evaluation form with a series of categories in which they rank their dean. On the back of the form, there is space for comments, which are usually handwritten.
This year, dean evaluation committees included a letter with the normal forms warning faculty about The Post's request and cautioning that anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
Kathy Krendl, executive vice president and provost, said the records request came before the procedure began.
I don't think that has ever happened before
she said. The faculty assume these are anonymous and we wanted to make sure they knew (anonymity isn't guaranteed).
At a Feb. 11 Faculty Senate meeting, David Descutner, interim executive vice provost, explained the administration's dilemma.
I think records requests are essential but they do impede the work of the committee
he said. I don't think the committee can do its work as well.
In a later interview, Descutner said he worries comments would be taken out of context if reported before committees finalized the reports.
Initially the provost's office told faculty it was considering eliminating the open comments section.
The excuse they used was that you Posties would get that information and that would be a terrible thing
said Joe Bernt, a College of Communications senator.
Administrators have decided to keep the open comments section, but the Office of Institutional Research, which normally compiles the numerical data and transcribes the comments, will not transcribe the evaluations this year.
Some faculty expressed concern that handwriting would be identifiable now that the comments won't be transcribed. In the past, some handwritten records have been requested and identified, but faculty and administrators agree that would be extremely unlikely in this situation.
Faculty Senate Chairman Sergio L+
he said. Of course
the problem is when you start talking about that
it seems like you're trying to restrict the media ... It's kind of a darned if you do
darned if you don't situation.
English professor Joe McLaughlin told Faculty Senate he thinks the best way to decrease interest in The Post records requests is to conduct business as though they don't happen.
It seems that I can't go to a meeting these days without someone expressing concern about The Post and an open records request
he said. We're getting to the point where no one on campus is going to write anything down ... We're caving to this and it's just getting in our way of doing business.
There were also conversations early on, according to some sources, about destroying documents before the media could request them. Ann Fidler, dean of the Honors Tutorial College and a lawyer, said she did not hear that suggestion.
That wouldn't be legal
she said.
L+
