Every department has them, and every teacher eventually gets them. The question is whether they are worth the 15 or 20 minutes it takes to fill them out.
Students fill out teacher evaluations every semester, yet many students do not know what happens after that.
Michael Markey, an accounting sophomore, said he does not think students take professor evaluations seriously.
Julie Lamia, a communication disorders junior, said she does not think teachers actually read the comments from students because some teachers never change.
Contrary to student belief, instructors and professors said evaluations do serve a purpose.
Stephen Banning, a mass communication associate professor, said a teacher may use evaluations to improve his or her performances each semester.
“It’s up to the individual to get their evaluations back and then decide how they want to use them to build on their teaching,” Banning said.
Banning said he never sees another instructor’s evaluation results, but the dean reviews them and talks to teachers according to those scores.
He said receiving constructive and objective criticism helps professors fix problems in their teaching styles, and if students get too personal in their comments or get mad for getting a poor grade, a teacher may not take the evaluation seriously.
“Students need to be thoughtful and think about each question instead of making a Christmas tree,” Banning said. “It’s important to have positive suggestions, so if there is a problem with something, it can be dealt with.”
Elsie Michie, an English professor, said in the English department, scores determine whether a teacher needs a mentor to sit in for classes.
“We have a mentoring system for teachers with lower scores,” Michie said. “They’re there to give advice and help the teacher.”
Michie said evaluations also are useful when teachers apply for sabbatical leave and are used for award nominations.
Carol Carter, a management professor, said she pays close attention to the comments on her evaluations and changes her methods if she gets an overwhelming response.
“I used to give my midterms in true/false, and the students didn’t think that was a good way to evaluate them, so I changed my midterms to more multiple choice,” Carter said. “If it’s a valid complaint, I listen to it.”
She said aside from giving the University evaluation forms, she asks students throughout the semester if they think certain things are effective. She said she wants her students to get everything they can from her classes.
“The class is there for them to learn,” Carter said. “I’m certainly not infallible, so if there’s something I can do to change my teaching, I want to do it.”
Alan Baumeister, a psychology professor, said evaluations play a very important role in preventing abuse on students, but they may encourage grade inflation.
“Teachers themselves are being punished or awarded from the evaluations,” Baumeister said. “Some faculty teach to the evaluation, knowing that their performance is going to be scored.”
He said evaluations matter, and students should take them seriously because teachers may use them to adjust the way they conduct classes.