Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

People Strategy, Equity, and Culture

Section 9: Performance Assessment

Periodic assessment of management and confidential employees shall be conducted in accordance with the following guidelines. Employee assessment serves multiple purposes, not only to provide a means to respond to external demands for accountability from government agencies, the public and others, thus improving the credibility of the management process, but also to:

  1. Define individual goals and performance expectations and ensure their consistency with the institutional mission.
  2. Improve individual and team performance, internal communications and institutional management.
  3. Encourage performance consistent with PCC’s values; develop organizational leaders; and recognize outstanding performance.
  4. Identify needed areas of professional development and personal growth as well as training and development needs.
  5. Form the basis for the processes of salary adjustments, promotion and retention. Annual salary increases for employees are contingent upon satisfactory evaluations.

Assessment Cycles

Probationary: Assessment of probationary management and confidential employees shall occur annually using the process described below. The assessment period shall be the fiscal year (July 1-June 30). In the event a probationary assessment will result in non-renewal of the employee, the assessment must be completed no later than March 31st in order to provide the employee with 90 days notice of such non-renewal.

A copy of the completed assessment shall be sent to Human Resources to be included in the employee’s official employee file.

Continuous Appointment: Assessment of management employees who have achieved continuous appointment status shall occur at least every third year after continuous appointment begins. Assessment of these employees shall be based on the fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), and shall be completed no later than September 15th, following the conclusion of the fiscal year. A copy of the completed assessment shall be sent to Human Resources to be included in the employee’s official employee file.

Continuous Appointment: Assessment of confidential employees who have achieved continuous appointment status shall occur at least every third year after continuous appointment begins. The assessment period shall be the fiscal year and shall be completed no later than September 15th, following the conclusion of the fiscal year.

In those years when a full assessment of a continuous appointment employee does not occur, the employee and supervisor shall meet and discuss the goals and achievements of the employee during the prior fiscal year and also develop a written statement of goals for the coming year. A copy of the written statement of goals, signed by both the employee and the supervisor, should be kept in the employee’s file in the employing department.

Assessment Process

Human Resources shall maintain forms and format of the assessment instrument. The form for assessment of management employees shall specifically address goals and achievements during the period being reviewed, as well as issues of leadership, planning and decision-making, communications and interpersonal relationships with their staff, peers and other managers, as well as other college staff and students.

The supervisor and the employee shall meet early each assessment year to:

  1. Review the employee’s job description, prioritize job duties, identify goals to be achieved, and outline the specifics of the assessment procedures to be used for the current year.
  2. Supervisory assessment is required and shall include feedback solicited from a cross-section of employees reporting to the manager, peers and other managers. Self-assessment is optional, but preferred.
  3. Review the previous year’s assessment or written goals statement, discuss whether or not the stated goals for the year were achieved, discuss strengths and weaknesses, identify methods of improving employee effectiveness (if needed), create an individual development plan, and make any necessary changes in the employee’s job description in accordance with Human Resources procedures. (Note: A job classification review may be appropriate if the structure of the job has changed considerably. Such review shall be conducted by Human Resources when requested by submitting the appropriate job questionnaire.)
  4. If the assessment is mutually satisfactory to both the employee and the supervisor, the entire assessment packet (signed by the employee and supervisor) shall be forwarded by the supervisor to the supervisor at the next level (i.e. Dean of Students, Dean of Instruction, Executive Officer, etc). After reviewing and signing the assessment, the Executive Officer (or designee) shall return a copy of the assessment to the employee and forward the original to Human Resources to be placed in the employee’s file.
  5. If the employee does not agree with the assessment, the employee will meet with the supervisor to discuss the employee’s concerns within seven days after receipt of the evaluation. Supervisor and employee will work together to clarify the performance standards expected for the position and determine whether or not those standards were met. Both employee and supervisor may suggest changes to the assessment as a result of the discussion. It is desirable for the supervisor and the employee to resolve the issues together. Supervisors are evaluated partially on their ability to evaluate their subordinates effectively. It is to the advantage of both supervisor and employee to attempt resolution at this stage.
  6. In the event that the supervisor and employee do not resolve the issues, the employee will prepare a written response to the assessment, attach it to the assessment and forward the documents to their supervisor’s supervisor along with a letter requesting a meeting. A meeting will be held within seven days at which time the supervisor will meet with the employee and the employee’s supervisor together to discuss the written response and insure that the process used to create the assessment was appropriate. The supervisor will provide both employees with a written summary of the meeting indicating any action which the supervisor and the two employees determined would be appropriate.

It is not the intent of this provision to imply that assessment is a disciplinary tool. Disciplinary measures may be undertaken at any time consistent with the provision of Section 10 of this handbook.