2700 - Student Evaluation of Teaching

2700

STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEACHING

A. PURPOSE. Student evaluation of teaching has two purposes. First, student evaluations assist individual instructors in improving their own teaching ("instructor," as used in this section, refers to any teaching member of the faculty or staff). Second, they assist academic administrators in counseling instructors about their teaching and they are carefully weighed as a factor in judging the teaching component in tenure, promotion, and salary determinations. To achieve the first of these purposes instructors are urged to provide their students mechanisms for evaluation throughout the academic term. To assist academic administrators in evaluation, the following policy and procedures have been adopted.

B. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.

B-1. All students will have the opportunity to evaluate each of their instructors in all sections of all courses during every academic term.

B-2. The standard university form, as approved by the faculty, will be used by all instructors in all of their classes, except in the College of Law which will use an evaluative device which it has tailored to its needs.

B-3. The Office of Academic Affairs has the responsibility of oversight in the administration of the evaluations, except those in the College of Law.

B-4. The evaluation shall take place during the last three weeks of the academic term (excluding final exam week) or the proportion thereof for courses of less than a semester duration.

B-5. Instructors will be able to view the student responses for their courses after final grades have been submitted.

B-6. A system for mid-term formative evaluation of instruction will be available to encourage student input for faculty seeking to improve teaching. The electronic data generated through the formative evaluation process shall be for evaluative use by the faculty member. The data are not considered part of the faculty member's record, and are not to be used in an evaluation of the faculty member by another, unless included in the record at the discretion of the faculty member.

B-7. The Office of Academic Affairs shall see that a database of evaluation results for at least the last five academic years is maintained. These results shall be made available to colleges and academic units as needed, and the numerical summaries of an instructor’s evaluations shall be made available to students or other members of the university community upon request.

B-8. The Office of Academic Affairs, in conjunction with the Teaching and Advising Committee, will review the student evaluation of teaching forms and processes periodically, at least every five years.

2016:

Student Feedback Form (PDF)

Version History

Amended July 2008. The on-line process was evaluated which resulted in minor policy language changes and removal of section C dealing with implementation of the on-line system. This made the original Handbook section obsolete, and thus it was completely revised.

Amended July 2002. Following a period of testing in 2001, a paperless web-based evaluation system was given formal approval in 2002.

Amended July 1992. Edits were made to reflect the removal of student evaluations to the Office of Academic Affairs.

Adopted 1979.