FACULTY ANNUAL REPORT

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA

ANNUAL REPORTS ARE THE WAY TO EVALUATE FACULTY FOR THE PREVIOUS CALENDAR YEAR IN
TERMS OF THEIR TEACHING, SERVICE AND ACADEMIC RECORD. RATINGS BY DEPARTMENT HEADS
OR ADMINISTRATORS MUST BE IN LINE WITH THE EXPECTATIONS LAID OUT BY TENURE GUIDELINES
THAT HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED AT THE LEVEL OF THE DEPARTMENT, COLLEGE, AND UNIVERSITY.

Make sure to see the bulleted items in the appendix that are examples as to what might be included in a
given category. This is not an exhaustive list. Additional clarifications may be found in departmental
tenure guidelines.

EVALUATION SCALE

1 Fails to meet departmental expectations

2 Needs improvement to meet departmental expectations
3 Meets departmental expectations
4 Exceeds departmental expectations
5 Far exceeds departmental expectations

FACULTY INFORMATION

Faculty Member J. Michael Rifenburg

College Arts & Letters
Date 11 January 2019
Evaluator Joyce Stavick

A. TEACHING 60% UNLESS CONTRACTED OTHERWISE

Spring Summer Fall

Number of credit hours taught per semester 9 3 9
Number of teaching contact hours per week 12 6 12
Number of course preparations 3 1 3
Number of classes taught 3 3 3
Total enrollment in all classes (after drop/add) 52 7 65

Courses taught during Spring Semester

Enrollment
Semester
Course title After
Hours
Drop/Add
English 1102 3 14
English 4880 3 20
English 2230 3 18

Courses taught during Summer Semester

 Enrollment
Semester
Course title After
Hours
Drop/Add
English 1102 3 7

Courses taught during Fall Semester

Enrollment
Semester
Course title After
Hours
Drop/Add
English 3120 3 21
English 1101 3 24
English 2230 3 20

1. Efforts that Promote Outstanding Teaching (List and prioritize using bullet points)

 Encouraged students in English 3120 to engage with a wide-variety of digital technologies to

construct their arguments; instead of authoring a traditional 7- to 10-page academic research
essay, students took advantage of digital technologies to offer their thinking on issues we covered
in class. I highlight three student projects below:
o Madison Hill wrote and recorded four podcast episodes of roughly 25 minutes each. She
uploaded her audio content to Soundcloud.com and circulated it through Twitter and
Facebook. Her podcast, titled “Let’s Talk Death,” offers a rhetorical analysis of
obituaries, graveyards, and tombstones. Her first episode is titled “Who Spilled White
Out?” and looks at how African-Americans were often forgotten in the pages of early
American history because they were not afforded newspaper obituaries.
o Mackenzie Ford designed content across multiple digital platforms to launch her
evangelical Christian ministry she is titling “Redeemed Roots.” On Wordpress, Twitter,
Instagram, and YouTube, Mackenzie created visual, audio, and textual documents that
spread her message.
o Lauren Eckles recorded over 20 minutes of content that performs a rhetorical analysis of
sound in horror films. In her clip, she draws from theories of embodied knowledge and
embodied rhetoric before introducing sound in movies and how horror films, with sound,
seek a bodily reaction from their audience. She uploaded her recording to her personal
website, which she also uses to display her amateur photography and blog.
 Invited three guest speakers to English 3120: Dr. Michael Proulx talked with students about the
role of women in ancient Greek society and key ancient Greek orators; Dr. Ian Afflerbach
described central aspects of African-American literature; and Dr. David Connelly offered his
experience as a lawyer and introduced students to Supreme Court cases that set the tone for
conversations about race and racism in the United States. Taken together, all three guest speakers
introduced students to how race, gender, and rhetoric.
 Invited three guest speakers to English 4880: Appearing via Skype, Edward English, a Ph.D.
 student at the University of Louisville, and Laura Rosche, a Ph.D. student at Indiana University,
talked with students about graduate school. Also appearing via Skype, recent UNG graduate,
Shannon Simpson, talked about her current job with BlueCross BlueShield.
 Participated as a committee member for Renee VanHorn’s honors thesis titled “Risk Management
of Mental Health of College Student-Athletes.” VanHorn successfully defended her thesis. Spring
2018.
 Implemented one-on-one student/teacher conferences for students in English 1101 and English
2230. Spring 2018 and Fall 2018.
 Incorporated Wordpress, Twitter, and Google Drive in English 2230. Spring 2018 and Fall 2018.
 Taught six writing intensive courses: (English 1101 [once], English 1102 [twice], English 2230
[twice], English 3120 [once]).
 Arranged an honors upgrade for Madison Hill in English 3120. Fall 2018.

2. Involvement in Teaching beyond the Classroom

 Member of the MA in Publishing Committee. Worked with Committee members to present

proposal for program. Approved by Department. Spring 2018.
 Volunteer as a writing tutor for a home-schooled high school senior. Met weekly. Spring and Fall
2018.
 Volunteer as Vice Chair of the School Governance Council at Enota Multiple Intelligences
Academy [Gainesville City Schools]. Met monthly to discuss curriculum and student learning
data. Fall 2018.
 Incorporated undergraduate research in English 3120. Designed an optional assignment which
allows students an opportunity to prepare a paper for publication in an undergraduate research
journal.

3. Response to Student Evaluations and trends in student comments

Reading through student evaluations for English 2230 from Spring 2018, I see several themes. I highlight
one below: students would like more assessed writing assignments.

As currently constructed, I only assign three papers. The final course grade comes from these three papers
and from homework. As one student pointed out in the written feedback to this course, “there is not a way
to judge or see your grade in between [these papers].” While I have decided not to add more papers
(believing three papers is enough to help develop the writing skills of 2000-level college writers], I
understand the need to provide for feedback between writing assignments. I will ensure the grade on D2L
is consistently updated, so students can see where they stand throughout the semester.

4. If you were granted reassigned time, please state the amount and justification

I receive one course release per semester for my position as Director of First-Year Composition. In this
capacity, I provide guidance on and oversee over 400 sections of first-year composition (ENGL 0999,
1101, and 1102) each semester. Annually, over 8,000 students annually move through these courses
across our five campuses. Working with my assembled Committee, we observe classes, review syllabi,
implement professional development opportunities, and coordinate with textbook publishers regarding
departmental and student needs.

I coordinated two full Department workshops—one in January and one in August. For these workshops, I
brought in scholars to work with the Department on new developments in composition pedagogy. In
January, Dr. Anne Geller, of St. John’s University, led a half-day workshop on the Gainesville campus in
which she drew on findings from her award-winning co-authored book The Meaningful Writing Project:
Learning, Teaching, and Writing in Higher Education. In August, Dr. Chris Anson, of North Carolina
State University, led a half-day workshop on the Gainesville campus about plagiarism.

Finally, I use my release time to serve as co-chair of the English Committee related to the Gateways to
Completion (G2C) initiative coming down from the University system level. For the Department, this
initiative is designed to help us reconstruct the English 1101 curriculum. As co-chair, I help lead our
committee meetings, attend university-wide G2C meetings, and system-wide workshops and conferences.

5. Progress toward last year’s goals.

In my 2017 Faculty Annual Report, I wrote of my interest in working with Dr. Andrew Pearl, UNG’s
former Director of Academic Engagement, on providing more service-learning opportunities for my
students. Unfortunately, with Dr. Pearl left UNG, I have not been able to bring service-learning into my
2018 courses. Looking toward 2019, I aim to incorporate more undergraduate research opportunities. I
have already started this process. I coordinated with career services and the English Department’s
internship coordinator, Dr. Steven Brehe, to work with three undergraduate researchers on G2C. During
Spring 2019, I will introduce these students to human subject research and qualitative interviewing. In
Fall 2019, these undergrad researchers will interview current ENGL 1101 students, transcribe the
interviews, design graphs based on Institutional Effectiveness and interview data, and help me author a
peer-reviewed journal article on this data.

Evaluation of Teaching Activities (Whole Numbers Only)

Self-Evaluation 1 2 3 4 5
Department Head (Administrator) Evaluation 1 2 3 4X 5

Department Head/Administrator comments and suggestions for improvement:

Department Head/Administrator comments on faculty member’s teaching strengths:

Factors used by department head/administrator in evaluating teaching effectiveness

(Please check all that apply)

Student course evaluations (required to be used)

Trends in student comments
Summary peer review (Formative peer reviews should not be used in the annual
evaluation process)
 Classroom peer visitation
External review by colleagues/professional organizations
Videotaped review
Syllabi review
Supervisor classroom visitation
Teaching portfolio
Alumni survey data
Attention to the specificity of online pedagogy

B. PROFESSIONAL GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT/SCHOLARSHIP/ACADEMIC

ACHIEVEMENT
 10-30% ___15_____%

1. Workshop, Seminars and Conferences

Date Workshops, Seminars, Conferences Description of Involvement
March 2018 Conference on College Composition Co-chaired a panel on cognition
and Communication. Kansas City, and writing.
MO
March 2018 Public Scholarship Workshop. UNG Hosted two half-day workshops
for faculty on public
scholarship. I invited Dr.
Matthew Boedy and Dr.
Andrew Pearl to help lead these
workshops. Held one workshop
in Dahlonega and one
workshop in Gainesville.
April 2018 Rotary Club of Hall County Invited by Dr. Andrew Pearl to
talk about my work as a
professor in public higher
education. Delivered a 15-
minute talk titled “Talking With
All.”
July 2018 Conference on College Composition Presented a talk: ““Becoming a
and Communication, Summer Cadet: Preliminary Results
Regional Conference, University of from a Longitudinal Study into
Denver Learning Army Genres”
September 2018 The Naylor Workshop in Member of working group to
Undergraduate Research in Writing offer guidance on
Studies. York College, PA. undergraduate research
curriculum. In the process of
developing a white paper on
undergraduate research in
writing studies.
October 2018 Visiting Scholar, Masters Program in Invited to speak to a graduate
Writing and Rhetoric, University of class and deliver a lecture to
Findlay, OH faculty and staff based on my
book, The Embodied Playbook:
Writing Practices of Student-
Athletes. Title of my lecture:
 “How Student-Athletes Learn
Plays & What That Means for
College Writing Instruction.”
October 2018 Biannual Thomas R. Watson Presented a talk: “Making it
Conference. University of Louisville. Count: Shaping Public
KY Scholarship for Local
Promotion and Tenure
Guidelines.”

2. Professional Organization Memberships

Organization Description of Involvement
National Council of Teachers of Dues-paying member
English
Conference on College Newcomers’ Orientation Committee
Composition and
Communication
Council of Writing Program Best Book Award Committee, Nominating
Administrators Committee
American Association of Member, Associates Program
Colleges and Universities

3. Scholarly Publications, Research Projects, Grant Proposals, and/or specific creative activities that
would meet academic achievement within their area of expertise. (List and prioritize using bullet
points.)

 The Embodied Playbook: Writing Practices of Student-Athletes. Utah State University Press, an
imprint of the University Press of Colorado. 2018.
 “First-year Cadets’ Conceptions of General Education Writing at a Senior Military College” co-
authored with MAJ. Brian Forester. Teaching & Learning Inquiry. 6.1. (March 2018): 52-66.
 “Food Insecurity and the Student-Athlete.” University of Colorado blog. 3 April 2018.

4. Academic Courses taken & degrees received, certifications, continuing education

Facilitating Learning Online Certification Course. December 2018.

5. Progress toward last year’s goals

In my 2017 Faculty Annual Report, I stated my interest in continuing to develop my voice as a public
scholar. To this end, in April 2018, I published a blog post titled “Food Insecurity and the Student-
Athlete” on the University Press of Colorado’s website. This post caught the attention of a reporter with
Sports Illustrated who, based on my post, wanted to come to the UNG and film a documentary on food
insecurity and student-athlete. While the Athletics Department was in support of such an opportunity,
University Relations declined. The documentary never happened. Nevertheless, such attention to my
public writing is encouraging.

Looking toward 2019, I plan on submitting my complete book-length manuscript to my publisher,

University Press of Colorado. This will be my second single-authored book. The manuscript, currently
under contract, is tentatively titled Drilled to Write: A Longitudinal Study of Cadet Writing Instruction at
a Senior Military College. While the bulk of my research is complete for this book, I do have two travel
plans that will add a great deal of nuance to manuscript. In February 2019, I received permission to
conduct a face-to-face interview with General Stephen Townsend, Commanding General U.S. Army
Training and Doctrine Command, United States Army. Gen. Townsend, an UNG graduate, has agreed to
speak with me about Army writing instruction. In June 2019, I have been invited to visit General Tadeusz
Kosciuszko Military Academy of Land Forces in Poland. During my visit, I will interview the Lieutenant
Colonel Marcin Bielewicz who oversees the curriculum and observe some military science classes.

Taken together, these two travel opportunities will help me add nuance and depth to my manuscript and
illustrate the research projects which I am able to develop with the support of Department and College
funding.

Evaluation of Professional Growth & Development/Scholarship/Academic Achievement

(Whole Numbers Only)

Self-Evaluation 1 2 3 4 5
Department Head (Administrator) Evaluation 1 2 3 4X 5

Department Head/Administrator comments and suggestions for improvement:

Department Head/Administrator comments on faculty member’s professional growth & development:

C. SERVICE TO THE INSTITUTION, PROFESSION, COMMUNITY

 10-30% ___15_____%

1. Institutional, University System, College, or Departmental Service

Committee Description of Involvement
Director of First-Year Composition Tasked by the Department of English with
(Departmental) overseeing over 200 sections and over 4,000
students each semester in English 0999, 1101, and
1102. Worked with FYC Committee to bring
visiting scholar to campus to lead professional
development workshop with the whole Department.
Oversaw peer teaching observations and syllabi
review. Represented Department on G2C
University-system initiative.
 Senior Faculty Fellow for Scholarly Tasked by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and
Writing (Institutional) Leadership with establishing multifaceted faculty
development programs across five campuses that
enrich scholarly productivity through a focus on
research and writing skills. In 2018, I specifically
coordinated eight Shut Up & Write sessions: four on
the Gainesville campus and four on the Dahlonega
campus. I coordinated and led two, 12-week faculty
writing groups: one on the Gainesville campus and
one on the Dahlonega campus. I also coordinated
two half-day workshops for faculty on public
scholarship. I invited Dr. Matthew Boedy and Dr.
Andrew Pearl to help lead these workshops. We
held one workshop in Dahlonega and one workshop
in Gainesville.

Search committee for tenure-track Chaired Committee; coordinated the application

assistant professor, Department of review process with Committee members;
English, Cumming campus communicated directly with applicants; arranged
(Departmental) video or phone interviews; will handle logistics of
campus visits and make final recommendation to
Department Chair. Successfully filled the position.
Search committee for three tenure- Committee member; reviewed applications and
track assistant professors, Department made recommendations to search chair.
of English, Oconee campus
(Departmental)
MA in Publishing Committee Committee member; wrote syllabus on scholarly
(Departmental) publishing and editing.
Honors Program Advisory Council Council member; reviewed scholarship applications,
(Institutional) upgrade requests, and program applications.
Search committee for writing center Committee member; reviewed applications and
coordinator, Gainesville campus made recommendations to search chair.
(Institutional)

 Participation in Student Activities

Date Event Description of Involvement

2. Mentoring and/or Assisting Colleagues (List & prioritize using bullet points)

In my capacity as Director of First-Year Composition, I arranged two half-day workshops focused on

faculty development for my colleagues in the English Department who teach first-year composition
courses (i.e., English 0999, 1101, and 1102). Over 70 of the 82 faculty in the English Department teach
first-year composition courses. In January, I negotiated Department funding to bring Dr. Anne Geller to
the Gainesville campus. In her half-day workshop, Dr. Geller drew on findings from her award-winning
co-authored book The Meaningful Writing Project: Learning, Teaching, and Writing in Higher
Education. In August, I negotiated Department funding to bring Dr. Chris Anson, of North Carolina State
University, to the Gainesville campus. Dr. Anson led a half-day workshop on plagiarism.

Additionally, in my capacity as Director of First-Year Composition, I authored an annual report which I

emailed to the Department and select upper administrators. The 2017-2018 FYC Annual Report, which I
released in May 2018, ran 13 pages and covered key data points about FYC at UNG, a recap of the work
of the FYC Committee and a look forward to planned work during the upcoming year, and provided
readers a highlight of recent published scholarship related to teaching writing at the college-level. I also
placed this Annual Report on my personal website, on the English Department’s Facebook page, and
tweeted out a link to my 1,500 followers on Twitter.

In my capacity as Senior Faculty Fellow for Scholarly Writing under the Center for Teaching, Learning,
and Leadership, I organized and led two faculty writing groups for 12 weeks during the Fall 2018
semester. Titled the Write Now Academy, I designed faculty work groups that encouraged participants to
cultivate, draft, and submit an academic article. Through monthly in-person meetings and weekly
digital updates, participants worked through Wendy Belcher's Writing Your Journal Article in 12
Weeks to structure their academic writing and publishing. I led faculty writing groups on the
Gainesville and Dahlonega campus and identified two faculty to lead similar writing groups on the
Cumming and Oconee campus in 2019.

3. Advising

I advise 19 undergraduate Writing & Publication majors on the Dahlonega campus. During advising, I
stress the Learning Outcomes for Advising offered by Academic Affairs and align with our QEP, “On
Time & On Target.”

4. Service to the Profession: Editor/Reviewer for peer review publications, holding office in
professional group, other forms of professional service

 Associate editor, Perspectives on Writing book series, The WAC Clearinghouse / University Press of
Colorado.

 Member, Nominating Committee, Council of Writing Program Administrators.

 Member, Council of Writing Program Administrators Best Book Committee.

 Member, Newcomers’ Orientation Committee, Conference on College Composition and

Communication

 Reviewer, Writing Center Journal, Composition Studies, and Queen City Writers, a refereed journal
for undergraduate composition

 Reviewer, University of North Georgia Press, Utah State University Press, Routledge
 5. Community Service
Date(s) Event or Organization Description of Involvement

6. Progress toward last year’s goals

I have continued my goal of using my expertise to develop and lead faculty development workshops. I am
proud of the workshops I offered at the Department and Institutional level and will continue to develop
faculty development material for my Department and Institution based on research and best practices on
writing instruction and on scholarly productivity. Looking toward 2019, I plan on taking on an increased
role with the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Leadership. Through this increased role, I hope to
develop and implement full-day writing research for my colleagues across UNG.

Evaluation of Service Activities (Whole Numbers Only)

Self-Evaluation 1 2 3 4 5
Department Head (Administrator) Evaluation 1 2 3 4X 5

Department Head/Administrator comments and suggestions for improvement:

Department Head/Administrator comments on faculty member’s strengths in service to the profession:

D. OTHER (optional)
This is an optional and non-scored section for those who want to present additional information.

E. PERCENTAGES FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE YEAR’S EVALUATION

Percentages for this year’s evaluation: Teaching _______ Scholarship _______ Service _______

Percentages for next year’s evaluation: Teaching _______ Scholarship _______ Service _______

F. SUPERVISOR’S EVALUATION
Overall evaluation based on above factors and in relation to other faculty members within the
Division.
A major factor in any evaluation of faculty (including tenure and promotion) is to identify the long-
term value an individual may have to the institution. Factors influencing a faculty member's value
include citizenship, team membership, and overall professional behavior. Positive performances or
problems surrounding these factors should be a component of the annual evaluation process.

Comments (required):

Proposed Goals for coming year (required): Determined in consultation with faculty member.

SUMMARY OF SUPERVISOR RATINGS

Rating Departmental
Mean
Teaching (current year %)_______

Service (current year %)_______

Scholarship & Research (current year

%)____

TOTAL (100%) = Teaching (60%) Scholarship and Research (10-30%) + Service (10-30%)

Teaching (60%)
Service ( %)
Scholarship and Research ( %)
EVALUATION TOTAL (100%)

______________________________________________ _________________
Department Head/Supervisor’s Signature Date
G. FACULTY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have reviewed the above evaluation with my supervisor and understand its contents. I am aware that
I may respond to this evaluation in writing to my supervisor within five working days; my response
will be attached to the evaluation; my supervisor will acknowledge in writing his/her receipt of the
response; and note any subsequent changes made in the evaluation. The acknowledgement will also
be attached to this evaluation.

______________________________________________ _________________
Faculty Signature Date

EVALUATION SCALE AND CONTENT SUGGESTIONS

Department Head’s Evaluation Scale
1 Fails to meet departmental expectations
2 Needs improvement to meet departmental
expectations
3 Meets departmental expectations
4 Exceeds departmental expectations
5 Far exceeds departmental expectations
 Appendix:
The bulleted items are suggestions as to what might be included in a given category.
Additional clarifications may be found in departmental guidelines. This is not an exhaustive list.

Teaching
Efforts that Promote Outstanding Teaching
 incorporating techniques and methods and  handling difficult or atypical class
how you monitor their effectiveness schedules effectively
 trying a new approach  incorporating technology into courses
 evaluating techniques  incorporating multicultural issues
 developing new materials  using collaborative learning techniques
 participating in peer evaluations/observation  making curriculum contemporary and
 incorporating a diversity of techniques to relevant
reach department and institution goals  developing of a new course
 teaching special format classes like hybrids  reflecting on comments from colleagues
or on-line sections and/or students
 making significant course/curriculum  participating in a learning community
improvements  directing independent studies, theses,
 earning recognition/awards for distinguished honors courses
teaching  receiving grants/contracts related to
 teaching a writing intensive course instruction
 one-time library teaching

Teaching beyond the Classroom

Criteria: (1) involves an activity associated with one’s area of academic expertise, and (2) always
has a strong and explicit connection to students.
 presenting a colloquium or workshop  being involved in field trips
 working with students in co-curricular  participating in studies abroad e.g., sponsor,
activities student, and/or instructor
 sponsoring a club related to an academic  participating in volunteer activities
discipline  supervising service learning activities
 being a guest lecturer in a colleague's class  developing curriculum
 speaking or guest lecturing to UNG-related  incorporating undergraduate research in
organization teaching
 incorporation of service learning
 study-abroad teaching

Student Evaluations
 Summarize overall scores and provide a narrative discussing your strengths and weaknesses as
revealed by students.

Professional Growth & Development, Scholarship and Academic Achievement

 serving on boards related to your academic  courses taken
area  certificates and/or degrees received
 workshops attended  research
 publications of books, chapters, or juried  grants written
articles  teaching workshops
 papers presented at professional meetings  grants associated with scholarship and
  publication of a proceedings paper research
 professional memberships  honors and awards associated with
 conference attendance, activities, scholarship and research
sponsorship  Community engagement that is based on
 book reviews professional background and incorporates
 research or creative activities currently specialized knowledge and skills.
underway  being involved in juried exhibits as
 SOTL participant
 Invited performances or presentations  directing undergraduate research programs
that results in presentations / publications

Service to the Institution, Profession and Community

 UNG committees (including time
commitment and duties) at all levels.  serving in performing groups or
(department, college, University) professional boards in the community
 University System of Georgia committees  performing public service that may
 area leader/lead faculty illuminate teaching
 learning support or discipline library liaison  speaking to community organizations and
 service to regional and national professional other community work
organizations  judging events and working with local
 grading entrance exams/comprehensive schools – if related to discipline
exams  honors or awards associated with service
 participation in a K-12 experience – if  grants and contracts related to service
related to discipline  leadership in student retention policies
 participation in workshops/programs related  service to the department or profession
to leadership/service  serving as expert guest / consultant
 teaching a learning community

Advising
 Indicate which campuses at which you advise.
 Indicate the number of advisees assigned to you if applicable.
 Indicate the approximate number of advisees you see during each semester.
 Indicate the number of hours you spend in group advisement sessions.
 Detail your advisement duties.
 Detail contributions you made to the overall advisement process at the University.
 Indicate ways in which you improved your advising over the past year

Supporting Documentation: Faculty Self-Reporting Form

Faculty members do not need to include supporting documentation within this form; however, faculty
should retain such documentation