UF course evaluations roll around at the end of every term. Although some students may overlook them, faculty depend on them.
Student ratings not only determine whether a professor will receive tenure, they also affect their future promotions or teaching awards.
Faculty researchers from the University of California, Berkeley found that student evaluations are not the best method to rate professors and courses.
The study did find that students are in a good position to observe some aspects of teaching, including clarity, pace, legibility and their own excitement or boredom.
But, according to the study, students cannot rate effectiveness — regardless of their intentions.
“We don’t measure teaching effectiveness,” the report read. “We measure what students say, and pretend it’s the same thing. We calculate statistics, report numbers, and call it a day.”
Angel Kwolek-Folland, UF associate provost for academic and faculty affairs, said course evaluations are extremely important when considering the work of the faculty the university hires.
“Our creditors expect us to have standards for our faculty,” she said. “We also have high standards as a university and require our professors to meet those standards.”
While faculty members are expected to meet the teaching requirements of the university, the process of obtaining course evaluations from students is a difficult one.
Edit Nagy, a lecturer in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has received less online evaluations from students within the last few years than she did when they were paper-based.
“I wouldn’t say it’s better, but it is different,” she said. “There’s no exact time to tell students to fill out an evaluation form. When they were paper-based, we could have them fill it out during class.”
Nagy said most students who fill out evaluations fit an extreme end of a spectrum: those who responded well to a professor and a course, and those who did not.
Smaller classes, she said, leave more chances to interact with students while larger classes make it different to be open with a larger audience.
A native of Hungary, Nagy said she has received unfair evaluations from students based on uncontrollable factors, such as her accent.
“I have had some misunderstandings with students,” she said. “Sometimes my accent is an issue. The worst situation is when you have a small class and you only receive one evaluation.”
Students are not required to complete faculty evaluation forms, but Carmen Lopez-Ramirez, a 21-year-old UF Spanish senior, said it doesn’t hurt to fill one out when there is an incentive.
“I’ve had some professors offer extra credit or extra points on the final exam if we filled out the evaluation form,” she said. “For the most part, though, I’ll try to fill one out for every class.”
