Purpose of Teaching and Learning FTE and Student Evaluations

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Purpose of Teaching and Learning FTE and Student Evaluations

Data provided by the College are always intended to inform the formative and summative evaluations of our faculty. Our goal is commitment to excellence in the academic mission and continuous improvement in instruction and student learning, advising, assessment and service to our students. Our focus is on articulating learning outcomes and developing innovative curricula that align with these outcomes as well as documenting student achieving of the outcomes at the course, curriculum, and degree level.

Our effectiveness in guiding student learning may be less evident while the students are pursuing their degrees and more evident as measured by their successes in their professional fields. However, there are quantitative measures of correlated attributes that can be assessed during the academic program which are indicative of an effective learning environment, always taken in the context of qualitative assessment. A single parameter to assess teaching effectiveness or student learning does not exist.

Student Evaluations

Student evaluations of the course and instructor are a valuable insight into the learning environment and the relevance of course content. Student evaluations are important to establish some ownership for the students in their own education. We encourage faculty to review the previous student evaluations as part of the instructor’s self--‐assessment of their teaching as well as share with future classes how student evaluation feedback has led to specific course modifications. Student evaluations also inform the instructor about the learning environment and instructional methodology.

Teaching and Learning FTE

The Teaching and Learning FTE for each faculty member is not a performance--‐based measure and as such has limited value as a significant element in faculty evaluations. The FTE represents an activity measure and provides useful information for the unit administrator to effectively manage the unit’s teaching resources since they are responsible for assigning teaching and advising responsibilities for the faculty in their unit. It also provides reasonable insights into the balance of apportionment in a joint position, as well as the personal life balance of a faculty member.

The quality of the faculty member’s efforts, the impacts of their teaching and learning activities, and their commitment to continuous instructional improvement should be assessed by the Promotion and Tenure Committees and/or peer teaching evaluation committees.