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Student Ratings of Instruction

 

 

 

Process | Common Errors | Checklist & Control Sheet

Policy on Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness

Full Policy found on Academic Personnel Services website or click on the PDF version below

Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness Policy

Teaching is central to the mission of the University and, therefore, its effectiveness must be assessed. The dual purpose of the assessment of teaching effectiveness is to provide the individual instructor with specific information to enhance instruction and to provide information for use in personnel actions. The primary responsibility for assessing all aspects of teaching effectiveness rests with the faculty.

This policy establishes the framework for the assessment of teaching effectiveness, including procedures for the two major components of the assessment: (a) reports of classroom visits by peers and (b) student evaluation of instruction.

Although the reports of classroom visits by peers and student evaluation of instruction are the principal components of assessment of teaching effectiveness, additional information such as review of textbooks, course syllabi, representative assignments, examinations, and student projects should be incorporated into the assessment. Care should be taken to examine the number of course preparations, level and type of classes taught (graduate, undergraduate, required, elective, etc.), the instructional format lecture, discussion, lab, seminar, etc.), time of day and length of class period, and any other factors which may affect teaching effectiveness or its assessment Individuals involved in the assessment of teaching effectiveness must be most careful to avoid bias based upon race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, age disability, veteran's status, sexual preference, or sex. Everyone also must be alert to the possibility of such bias on the part of others.

Statistical data must be analyzed in the context of the foregoing paragraphs and with the realization that serious limitations exist relative to the accumulation and analysis of such data. For example, because the precision of most student ranking data is limited, computations such as arithmetic means should be reported only as whole numbers or to the first decimal place. Frequency distributions are an appropriate way of illustrating results of student evaluations and, generally, are less likely to lead to overinterpretation of data than other mathematical computations which may suggest more precision than actually exists. The assessment of statistical data should always attempt to identify and focus upon patterns of performance rather than upon idiosyncratic responses.

Statistical data shall not be the only information considered in evaluating teaching effectiveness. Department faculty are expected to go beyond the examination of numerical data and the comparisons of numerical rankings in their assessment of teaching performance. Qualitative analyses of reports of classroom visits by faculty peers as well as student evaluations and assessment of course materials should provide a non-quantitative component to the overall assessment of teaching effectiveness.