Student Evaluations Of Faculty Research Articles

Online vs. Traditional Teaching Evaluation: A Cross-Sectional Study

Teaching evaluation contributed to the improvement of teaching quality and faculty's teaching skills. Faculty course evaluations have the potential to affect professional and career advancement. It is also important to medical education systems because is often used as the basis for evaluations of teaching effectiveness and improves the quality of manpower performance. This study's goal was to compare two methods of student evaluations of faculty, the traditional method versus online. This was a cross-sectional study. The study population was 658 students. The data gathering instrument was a questionnaire to evaluate the quality of faculty teaching gathered through paper-based approach or completed online. The findings showed that students preferred the online method for evaluating the quality of teaching (p<0.001) over the traditional method. Compared to traditional evaluation, online evaluation tends to have significantly greater advantages. The findings suggest that online evaluation of faculty may be a suitable alternative to the paper evaluation.

The Impact Of Students Expectations Of Grades And Perceptions Of Course Difficulty, Workload, And Pace On Faculty Evaluations

Decisions concerning tenure, promotion, and merit raises are of crucial importance to college and university faculty. These decisions are greatly affected by the evaluation of faculty by their students. It is often argued that student evaluations of faculty are influenced by a number of factors that do not reflect the important elements of university level instruction, such as subject knowledge and clarity of exposition. Rather, some faculty believe that if a professor is an easy grader, has a low workload, or if the class itself is considered easy, he or she is more likely to receive a favorable student evaluation. This paper utilizes a sample of faculty evaluations from the College of Business of a small southeastern university to investigate these hypotheses.

Are online student evaluations of faculty influenced by the timing of evaluations?

Student evaluations of faculty are important components of the medical curriculum and faculty development. To improve the effectiveness and timeliness of student evaluations of faculty in the physiology course, we investigated whether evaluations submitted during the course differed from those submitted after completion of the course. A secure web-based system was developed to collect student evaluations that included numerical rankings (1-5) of faculty performance and a section for comments. The grades that students received in the course were added to the data, which were sorted according to the time of submission of the evaluations and analyzed by Pearson's correlation and Student's t-test. Only 26% of students elected to submit evaluations before completion of the course, and the average faculty ratings of these evaluations were highly correlated [r(14) = 0.91] with the evaluations submitted after completion of the course. Faculty evaluations were also significantly correlated with the previous year [r(14) = 0.88]. Concurrent evaluators provided more comments that were statistically longer and subjectively scored as more "substantive." Students who submitted their evaluations during the course and who included comments had significantly higher final grades in the course. In conclusion, the numeric ratings that faculty received were not influenced by the timing of student evaluations. However, students who submitted early evaluations tended to be more engaged as evidenced by their more substantive comments and their better performance on exams. The consistency of faculty evaluations from year to year and concurrent versus at the end of the course suggest that faculty tend not to make significant adjustments to student evaluations.

Wayne State University School of Medicine

Wayne State University School of Medicine

Student Evaluation of Faculty: An Analysis of Survey Results

Along with the rapid growth in Internet-based instruction there have been concerns about the quality of online instruction and whether traditional student evaluations of faculty are suitable in online environments. This study uses data collected from ongoing student evaluations of faculty in an MBA programme within an on-line university to investigate the factors leading to student ratings of overall professor facilitator performance and overall satisfaction with the course. Using factor analysis we investigated the underlying factors related to the items on the survey which revealed factors relating to personal attributes of the professor facilitator, learning facilitation and quality of feedback. Results from regression analysis finds that evaluations of overall professor facilitator performance is predominantly driven by both the professor’s attributes and learning facilitation while overall student satisfaction is largely driven by factors associated with learning facilitation.

The impact of electronic media on faculty evaluation

With the proliferation of computer networks and the increased use of Internet‐based applications, many forms of social interactions now take place in an on‐line context through Computer‐Mediated Communication (CMC). Many universities are now reaping the benefits of using CMC applications to collect data on student evaluations of faculty, rather than using paper‐based surveys in Face‐To‐Face (FTF) classroom settings. While the relative merits of CMC versus FTF student evaluations have been researched extensively, there is limited research published about the ways students respond to the questions from either mode of data collection. This paper reports on a research study to analyse the communication differences between student scores from FTF student evaluations and CMC evaluation questions from end of semester evaluations from a university in the Middle East region. In addition to the questions about communication mode differences between two evaluation questions, several demographic variables were measured to determine any interaction effects. The results of our study suggest that the type of communication channel mitigates the responses that students make on CMC evaluations vis‐à‐vis FTF evaluations of faculty. In particular, even though there were significant differences found at the aggregate level between CMC and FTF evaluations, when the course and instructor are controlled for, there were no significant differences reported. In addition, several differences were noted depending on the type and level of the course being studied. Also, we found that students are more likely to express more extreme responses to scale questions in CMC than FTF evaluations. Administrators should consider these potential differences when implementing on‐line evaluation systems.

Religious Discrimination in Social Work Academic Programs: Whither Social Justice?

Recent reports in the media have suggested that social work students are being discriminated against within BSW and MSW programs due to their religious beliefs. We review the substance of these public allegations and provide some further examples of religious discrimination occurring within the classroom, in faculty evaluations of students, and in being unfairly dismissed from social work programs. These individual stories, combined with contemporary empirical research on the topic, lend credence to the charge that religious discrimination within academic social work remains an ongoing problem. This reflects a failure on the part of the profession to promote social justice. Religious bigotry deserves the same attention by social workers as do instances of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Some specific steps to remedy religious discrimination within social work academic programs are presented.

Student Evaluations Of Faculty: Concerns And Possible Solutions

Student evaluations of university instruction have long been used to evaluate the teaching performance of instructors of all ranks. In spite of the widespread use of the data acquired from student evaluations for the purpose of determining faculty teaching effectiveness, a review of the literature in the area indicates that questions concerning the validity and usefulness of such evaluations remain unanswered. With the pervasiveness use of student evaluations, it is doubtful that substantial changes in the system are going to be implemented across the country soon. This research reviews the major problems that have been identified in student evaluations of faculty, and suggests some possible methods to increase the validity of teaching evaluations without major changes to the current systems of evaluation of faculty. Any changes to teaching evaluations, which would increase the usefulness of student evaluations of faculty, would benefit both college students and faculty. Administrators of colleges and universities for some time have stressed the importance of a marketing orientation (Bush, Ferrell &amp; Thomas, Jr., 1998; Moore 2004). Students are one of the consumer groups interested in the product of a college education, and students’ opinions are considered a vital source of information concerning the quality of instruction at colleges and universities.

The Perilous Effects of Student Evaluations on Pedagogy

Student evaluations are used for administrative purposes across U.S. colleges and Starting with the hiring a faculty member to promotion and tenure, to annual evaluations and post-tenure evaluations, student evaluations of faculty play a major role, not only at teaching schools but also at research universities. However the validity of this instrument is highly doubtful. Studies indicate that student evaluations of faculty are, at best worthless, and on average, extremely harmful to the pedagogical standards. I suggest that the use of student evaluations of teachers be replaced by recording lectures which may be reviewed by peers. Selected recordings may also be used for instructional purposes of student teachers and new faculty members.

The Value of Student Ratings: Perceptions of Students, Teachers, and Administrators

Colleges and universities invest time, personnel, and money into the process of student evaluations of faculty. These data provide only one measure of evaluating the quality and effectiveness of instruction. This research responded to the lack of emphasis on more effective use of the data for the purpose of improving teaching effectiveness by questioning the opinions and practices of students, faculty, and administrators. More importantly, this research questioned the value of student ratings of teaching: Is the effort of doing student evaluations worth the institutional investment or is it simply a routine process which has little or no effect on improving teaching?

Medical Student Evaluation of Faculty in Student–Preceptor Pairs

Students' willingness to provide candid feedback about faculty in student-preceptor pairs is unknown. Strategies addressing this in U.S. medical schools have not been reported. This study describes student comfort in evaluating preceptors and how medical schools obtain/use evaluations of preceptors. First- and second-year medical students at Virginia Commonwealth University completed a survey at midyear and year end. A Web-based survey of U.S. medical schools was conducted. Two hundred eighty-two (78%) students and 84 (70%) medical schools responded. Most students felt comfortable providing feedback to program faculty (95%), whereas fewer felt comfortable with the preceptor (77%). Students commented on both the importance and awkwardness of giving feedback. Approximately 75% of medical schools agreed that lack of anonymity limits student candor on preceptorship evaluations. Understanding the impact of one-to-one ratio on student evaluations of faculty may enable programs to develop more effective evaluation strategies.

Student Evaluation of Faculty: Management Innovations at Russian Universities

The author describes basic functions of the student evaluation of faculty systems, discusses the main controversies and results of empirical research and considers the problem of possible biases in the quality evaluation in such systems. The article examines different institutional factors which limit the use of these systems. Special attention is paid to the Russian educational market.

Analysis of Bias in Student Evaluations of Faculty at an All Female Arab University in the Middle East

This paper reports results of analyses made at an all-female Gulf Arab university measuring the nature and extent of biases in students' evaluation of faculty. Comparisons are made with research reporting the nature of similar relationships in North America. Two issues are investigated: 1) What variables (if any) bias faculty evaluation results at an all-female Arab university? 2) Are biasing variables different in nature or magnitude to those reported at North America universities? Using the population of 13,300 faculty evaluation records collected over two school years at Zayed University, correlations of faculty evaluation results to nine potentially biasing factors are made. Results show biases to faculty evaluation results do exist. However, biases are small, and strikingly similar in nature to those reported at North American universities.

Identifying potential biasing variables in student evaluation of teaching in a newly accredited business program in the UAE

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of many factors on student evaluation of teaching.Design/methodology/approach – The study analyzed 3,185 student evaluations of faculty from a newly accredited business program at the United Arab Emirates University using univariate and multi‐analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA).Findings – The findings support previous research regarding the existence of potential biasing factors. The results indicate that expected grade, actual grade, course level, class size, course timing, student gender and course subject significantly affect student evaluation of teaching.Originality/value – Comparing individual faculty ratings regardless of other factors might not be fair. Our findings support the call of other researchers that ignoring these other factors may bias or make questionable the validity of student evaluation of teaching as a means of performance appraisal of faculty. Because of the possible existence of biasing factors in SET, there is a...

The Impact of Testing Frequency on Student Performance in a Marketing Course

Testing frequency has long been examined in the social sciences as an antecedent to student performance in the classroom. However, after nearly 70 years of study, the results are inconclusive. Given the developments in computerized testing over the last decade, professors now have the ability to create and conduct frequent tests without severely impinging on other duties. In this article, the authors reexamine the issue in a marketing context, and the findings suggest that, under certain conditions, students tend to perform better with more frequent testing. In addition, more frequent testing tends to increase student evaluations of faculty. The authors also discuss reasons for and limitations of these findings.

Academic freedom, tenure, and student evaluations of faculty: A response to Haskell and his critics.

I comment on the strengths and limitations of Haskell's article and provide a critical review of his arguments about the negative impact of SEF on tenure and other administrative decisions. I object to the limited evidence supporting the claim that the use of student evaluations per se challenges academic freedom.

Factors That Affect College of Business Student Opinion of Teaching and Learning

In this study, the authors analyzed 12,153 student faculty evaluations to investigate the effects of (a) faculty member gender; (b) course type (required business core courses, classes within designated majors, or graduate classes); and (c) course level (graduate versus undergraduate classes) on student faculty evaluations. The authors explored the effect of these three factors on students' perceptions of how much they learned in particular classes. They found that female instructors rated better than male ones and that ratings differed significantly by course type and by students' perceived amount of learning. Graduate students tended to give higher scores than undergraduates. These findings could indicate that comparing evaluation data across different courses might not produce valid overall effectiveness rankings.

FACTORS AFFECTING FACULTY EVALUATION BY STUDENTS IN KERMAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

Background Using students 'judgment through opinion questionnaires is one important tool in determining the faculty members' success in the education process. Purpose To determine the factors affecting faculty evaluation by students. Methods In this cross sectional study the students in different years from all schools of Kerman University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) participated. Data was gathered from 505 students by a questionnaire consisting of two parts; the first part included the demographic data of the students and faculty members and the second consisted of 10 questions in Likert 5-level scale. These questions were based on the formal evaluation questionnaire developed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education were modified after consulting with the experts of KUMS and determining the weight of each choice by the trim mean method. The validity of the questionnaire was determined by considering the experts' opinion through Delphi method and by using the content validity method (r=0.89). The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by a repeat test (r =0.91). Results Using SPSS software, data were analyzed by central and distribution indices with T-test. univariate test and regression test. In general. the majority of faculty members (69.8%) have u good rating in education, in the viewpoint of students. In assessment of /he effective factors, these variables were found to have a significant influence: the academic degree of the faculty member (P<0.001), faculty member's sex (P<0.01), the subject (P<0.05), student ·s age (P<0.05) and final score (P<0.01). the instructor's dedication and interest in the subject {P<0.001) and instructor's strictness (P<0.02), so that the higher scientific degrees, male faculty members, specific subjects and dedicated faculty members received a better score and strictness had a negative impact. Conclusion The students' evaluation of faculty members is affected by some factors, which reflects the complex nature of evaluation, the necessity of caution and attention in making conclusions and judging on the basis of a multi-dimensional assessment of the educational performance of the faculty members. Keywords faculty evaluation, Effective factors, Student faculty evaluation

A game theoretic analysis of faculty competition and academic standards

Grade inflation, particularly but not exclusively in higher education, is a serious concern of educators, educational policy-makers and researchers. It has been suggested that student evaluations of faculty are among its principal causes because students tend to give favorable evaluations to professors who give high grades, and that these evaluations are used by university administrators as part of the criteria for promotions, salary increases and similar faculty benefits. This explanation suggests that faculty members compete for favorable student evaluations. It can be generalized to state that faculty members cooperate and compete not only for favorable evaluations, but also for the enrollment of students in the courses they teach. The relevance of faculty cooperation and competition suggests that the Theory of Games could be a useful instrument to analyze the interactions among university professors. The object of this paper is to present a model based on these assumptions and to analyze the consequences that can be derived from it that are relevant for university policy decisions.

Identifying Significant Predictors of Student Evaluations of Faculty Through Hierarchical Regression Analysis

College teachers' ages and personalities, and students' course grades, gender, enrollment status, academic abilities, and ages were investigated as predictors of student evaluations of faculty. An evaluation form containing 7 items reflecting the personality trait of extraversion and 8 items reflecting teaching effectiveness was used to collect data from 351 undergraduates. Teachers' extraversion (.79) and teachers' ages (-.08) were correlated highest, and students' gender was correlated lowest (.08) with teaching effectiveness. Hierarchical regression revealed that teachers' extraversion was the only significant predictor of student evaluations (β = .76, p < .001) after controlling for enrollment status, course grades, and student ages.