ADDITIONAL WEBCAST FAQs

1. ADDITIONAL WEBCAST FAQs MAY 29, 2008

2. SECURITY Q: Where can I go for support for EIS Security Issues? A: Principals, Payroll Secretaries and ISC Staff should contact the Application Data Support Group at their ISC with requests for new school based EIS security access or password resets. Q: I have logged into EIS, but I am unable to access the school rating list that I am responsible for. A: Principals, Payroll Secretaries and ISC Staff should contact the Application Data Support Group at their ISC to update their school location in EIS.  Q: I am having security issues logging on to the web form for teachers online application? Where can I go for support? A: When accessing the ratings WEB form, school secretaries, principals, ISC staff and other approved users need to have a matched NAME in their outlook (LAN) and EIS accounts. If the names do not match, you will be prevented from accessing the WEB Form. An example of a mismatch would be: Laura Jones - payroll secretaryEIS name: L JonesOutlook name: L CohenIf you are prevented from accessing the WEB form due to a name mis-match, you should contact your ISC Data Application Group.

3. Q: I don’t have Adobe Acrobat installed on my PC. How can I print teacher rating forms? A: Principals, Payroll Secretaries or ISC Staff who wish to print teacher rating forms must have Adobe Acrobat installed on their PC. If you do not have the required software on you desk top you should contact the EIS DIIT Hot Line (x5100). This software cannot be installed remotely and a representative from the DIIT Hot Line must schedule an appointment with the site and install it.  Installation will take a minimum of three days. Refer your equipment supply or usage issues of the software to the school technology representative. Forms Q: How do I print rating forms for teachers? A: Once you have logged into the ratings web form, you will see a gray box just to the left of every employee on the screen. Click the gray box and the form will appear in a new window. To print, click the printer icon in the upper left hand menu of the pop-up screen. Each rating form is two pages long. Note that you can only print one employee form at a time. Q: When can I print the new web rating form for teachers? A: Teacher forms will be available to print on Monday June 2nd. The link will be available from the principal’s portal on the DOE intranet. (insert URL)

4. Q:When is the best time to print rating forms for teachers? A: It is recommended that teacher ratings forms be printed on or after June 13th, as they will be pre-populated with current CAR information from EIS. Forms can be printed any time between June 2nd and June 20th, provided all procedures are adhered to. Q: Should I update EIS ratings before the forms are printed? A: Yes. You should update EIS as soon as possible, as June 9th is the deadline for posting and approving rating entries. Q: Will the employee’s overall rating be populated on the web rating form for teachers? A:Depending on when EIS ratings are entered, the rating field will either be blank or populated. Forms printed after EIS entries are approved will display either an S (satisfactory), U (unsatisfactory) or D (doubtful). Q: If I change the employee’s rating in EIS should I print out a new web form? A: Yes. The forms should reflect the teacher’s final rating. Q: Do I still need to use paper forms for rating instructional staff? A: Paper ratings forms continue to be required for all instructional staff, and per diem substitute teachers. The web form is used for annualized teacher and annualized substitutes only. Q: How can I get a list of ratings codes? A: Press F1 Help in the employee ratings screen in EIS.

5. Timekeeping and CAR Q: What do I do if the CAR balances on the teacher ratings forms don’t match school records? A: EIS is the system of record for timekeeping. Schools have an obligation to review EIS timekeeping on a regular basis to ensure that EIS records are up to date and accurate. You should make every effort to update EIS records prior to June 12th to ensure CAR information on the rating forms are current. Q: What CAR balance information will be pre-populated on the teacher rating form? A: Absences recorded on the teacher rating form exclude non-attendance events, such as jury duty, death in the family, line of duty injury (LODI), and approved attendance at conferences. The Performance Evaluation process Q: Which employees will be rated in the 2007 -2008 school year? A: All instructional employees including supervisors (principals and assistant principals), teachers, guidance counselors, school social workers, psychologists, educational evaluators, school secretaries, teachers of speech improvement, laboratory specialists and per diem substitute employees must be rated. Ratings will not be entered into EIS for: + Summer school activities + EBank employees including paraprofessionals, schools aides, family workers, or community associates.

6. Q:Where can I go to for advice regarding performance evaluation policies and procedures, or for assistance in handling a difficult situation? A:Questions about guidance or policy should be referred to the HR Deputy or HR Partner at your ISC. Q:What is the impact of assigning a U Rating? A:U Ratings for full time instructional staff and per diem employees have consequences, and must be issued in accordance with established performance evaluation processes. An unsatisfactory rating will affect an employee’s summer school employment eligibility, transfers, future assignments, visas for international teachers, and license renewal for per diem teachers. Q: What procedures are required if an employee is being rated unsatisfactory or a discontinuance of probation is recommended? A: Follow existing policies and procedures and complete pertinent sections of the form. Q: What is the process for rating probationary instructional staff? A: Performance evaluation procedures and forms continue to be required for probationary instructional staff. Probationary staff can be rated either satisfactory (s) or unsatisfactory (U), or doubtful (d) - for first year probationers only.

7. When the teacher rating web form is printed for probationary staff, the probationary section at the top front portion of the form will be pre-populated. Section 3, on the second page of the teacher rating form, must be completed in cases where tenure is recommended. For other instructional staff, complete probationary information as required.