University of Idaho faculty have the option to exclude teaching evaluations submitted for the Spring and Summer 2020 semesters, according to an email sent to UI faculty and staff Aug. 18 and several editions of The Daily Register, a UI faculty and staff newsletter.
Teaching evaluations can include a wide variety of items, from class observations and materials to peer and student reviews, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Diane Kelly-Riley said. The only evaluation type which faculty can exclude is the student-submitted end of course evaluation, which instructors encourage students to complete at the end of every semester.
“Teaching evaluations give us a sense of students’ experiences in the classroom,” Kelly-Riley said. “We take a look at what students think of the course content and the instructor’s delivery of that course content. That’s important information for the instructor to have and for the students to have input on.”
These forms of teaching evaluations are used in high stakes decisions regarding faculty’s employment, Kelly-Riley said. End of course evaluations are used not only in annual reviews, but in third-year reviews and tenure reviews, which can have an impact on whether UI will continue to employ the faculty member.
While this form evaluation is only one piece of the picture, there is research revealing this type of course evaluation is often biased against faculty of color and female faculty members, Kelly-Riley said.
“The potential for the unprecedented circumstances (of COVID-19) to enhance those biases are problematic,” Kelly-Riley said. “I think it was an issue out of fairness and equity that (the evaluations) were offered to people to be excluded.”
Faculty members may decide to exclude these evaluations because they do not feel the classroom experience students saw during the COVID-19 pandemic reflects on their typical teaching style. They may feel not enough students completed the evaluations for the information to be valuable in reviews and other reasons, Kelly-Riley said. The evaluations may not necessarily be negative, but they may not be useful either.
“It’s trying to allow faculty a little bit of agency in that high stakes evaluation setting,” Kelly-Riley said.
Kelly-Riley said student input will still be requested through end of course evaluations, however. The information is still visible to faculty members, department chairs and deans to view, which can help them update course materials and improve teaching. The exclusions would simply leave the evaluations out of upcoming reviews.
Students who view problems beyond basic observations like lack of preparedness, disinterest in course material and other similar issues should contact the dean of the faculty’s college or the chair of the faculty’s department, Kelly-Riley said.
“A lot of times, students will use course evaluations to disclose situations that are really concerning,” Kelly-Riley said. “But then, since they’re done anonymously, it’s difficult to take action on them. I want to stress there are avenues for students to do that.”
There is a possibility the option to exclude end of course evaluations from review processes will continue in future semesters as the pandemic continues, Kelly-Riley said.
Faculty members from the main campus and other UI locations alike can apply for teaching evaluations, Kelly-Riley said. Faculty can apply for these evaluations to be excluded by filling out the online survey provided in The Daily Register. The deadline for requesting these exclusions is Sept. 15. Those with questions can contact Executive Assistant to the Vice Provost Joana Espinoza.
This article has been edited to correct the headline.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]