Faculty senators approved a streamlined and less ambiguous Student Evaluation of Teaching form at last week's Faculty Senate meeting. Scheduled to debut in fall 2006, the shorter form features a more consistent response scale, clearer separation between the course and faculty assessment sections, and more carefully worded questions, according to American Weekly.
The approval of the new evaluation marks the end of a three-year process that grew out of faculty concern over the original form's effectiveness and a growing body of research into best practices for such forms. Led by mathematics and statistics professor Lyn Stallings, a faculty committee, which also included staff from the Office of Institutional Assessment, began overhauling the 15-year old teaching evaluation form in 2003.
Nearly 2,000 students filled out the revised form in 2004 as part of a pilot program that assured the committee of the new evaluation's effectiveness. Stallings also submitted the form to representatives from graduate and undergraduate student government for their input months before last week's senate vote.
The narrative response section of the form remains unchanged.
