Resolution on Student Evaluation of Teaching

Date

Background

In addition to teaching portfolios and peer evaluations, there is substantial agreement that student evaluation of teaching can provide very useful information to help faculty members improve their teaching effectiveness; there is also very substantial evidence that student ratings of a faculty members’ teaching effectiveness are biased on the basis of gender, ethnicity, color, and national origin. There is also substantial evidence that the use of student evaluations of teaching in personnel decisions has a negative effect on the academic rigor and quality of an institution.

The NBFC, after a number of years of considering student evaluation of teaching, believes that now is the time for us to work with our new administration and the other faculty councils to define and implement the appropriate role for student evaluation of teaching (SIRS at Rutgers). This role is to provide information that faculty members can use to improve their teaching effectiveness. There are two guiding principles for defining this role:

  1.  A rating system that is undeniably biased should not be used in personnel actions, some of which can have life changing consequences for a faculty member. Even if it is only one component in a broad and detailed system of evaluating the teaching effectiveness of a faculty member being considered for promotion or reappointment; biased components should have no place in any Rutgers personnel evaluation.
  2. The SIRS at Rutgers must be substantially redesigned and improved, so that it provides meaningful information that can be used to improve teaching effectiveness. A number of relatively easy changes should be made. These include
    1. All questions that have numerical answers should be eliminated.
    2. Measures should be introduced to achieve participation by a substantial fraction of the class.
    3. Specific questions about specific aspects of teaching effectiveness should be fashioned.
    4. Inclusion of some information from the student about their expected grade that is not specific enough to identify the student.

Resolved;

The NBFC calls on the administration to work with us and the other faculty councils to re-design the SIRS so that it provides specific information that faculty members can use to improve their teaching effectiveness, and to ensure that the SIRS is no longer used in personnel decisions.