The
University Senate of Michigan Technological University
PROPOSAL
8-09
“TEACHING
EFFECTIVENESS POLICY”
(Voting Units: Academic)
BACKGROUND:
Senate
proposal 2-87 describes the procedures for Student Evaluations of Teaching
Effectiveness. This proposal was superseded by Senate Proposal 12-03. Section 3 of Proposal 12-03 reverses past
policy and is impossible to implement (e.g., it is not possible to give the
originals to two parties.)
The
Senate Instructional Policy Committee (IPC) requests an amendment to Proposal
12-03 which would clarify the procedure and restore it to the original intent
and procedures for student evaluations.
PROPOSAL
Proposal
12-03, Section 3. states that
Procedures
for student evaluations:
Following directions provided with the
student rating of instruction instruments, the instructor will give the
evaluation materials to a student in the class and then leave the room. The
student will distribute the forms and then collect and return the completed
forms in a sealed envelope to the relevant departmental office or to the Center
for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development. Departmental offices are to
send these sealed envelopes containing the completed evaluations directly to
the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development.
After scanning the
forms, the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development will return
the original forms and sheets summarizing numerical responses to the faculty
member and the faculty member's immediate instructional supervisor. The chief
academic officer, or her/his designee, as well as other academic administrators
will also be provided with copies of the relevant section summary sheets.
Summary sheets from general education core
course sections will constitute a special case and also be sent to the relevant
core course coordinator and to the person charged by the chief academic officer
with general education instructional oversight.
The
Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development will not release any
information related to the student rating of instruction scores of any
instructor to any other parties without the prior written permission of that
instructor.
The
section of interest is
After scanning the forms, the Center for
Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development will return the original forms and
sheets summarizing numerical responses to the faculty member and the faculty
member's immediate instructional supervisor. The chief academic officer, or
her/his designee, as well as other academic administrators will also be
provided with copies of the relevant section summary sheets.
The
original forms and summary numerical responses cannot be returned to two
different parties.
The
original intent, and historical practice, is that the original evaluations are
returned to the faculty member only.
As
stated in the preceding proposal 2-87
Procedures for Student Evaluations:
Evaluation instruments will be completed by students during a class meeting
during the seventh through tenth week of the term. The faculty member will give
the evaluation materials and instructions to a student in the class and leave
the room. The student will distribute the forms and then collect and return
completed forms in a sealed envelope to the departmental office or another
designated location.
The completed evaluations will be collected at the Center for Teaching
Excellence. After scoring and analysis are complete, the Center for Teaching
Excellence will return the entire student evaluation package to the faculty
member and the tabulated summary of the university core items to the faculty
member's immediate academic administrator. The Center for Teaching
Excellence will not keep records of the results of individual evaluations
unless requested by the individual faculty member.
Therefore,
the IPC requests an amendment to proposal 12-03 to change the procedure back to
the procedure described in proposal 2-87 as follows.
The
completed evaluations are to be sent to the Center for Teaching, Learning,
and Faculty Development for processing. After processing is complete,
and the instructor has submitted his/her grades for the course, the original
student evaluation of instruction forms will be returned to the instructor.
Sheets summarizing the numerical results compiled from the individual
evaluation forms from each section are sent to the instructor, to the instructor's
immediate supervisor(s), and are made available to the appropriate dean, provost,
or president upon request. Data from these summary sheets will not be released
to anyone other than those university administrators previously mentioned
without the written consent of the instructor.