FACULTY: STUDENT EVALUATIONS SHOULD NOT BE USED IN PERSONNEL DECISIONS

The Faculty Senate at Southeast Missouri State University Wednesday recommended school officials not use an experiment with student evaluations of faculty in making personnel decisions.

The university plans to test three different types of student evaluations -- one a semester -- beginning next spring.

During a two-hour meeting at the University Center, faculty senators said they agreed with the concept that student evaluations should help improve teaching. But they voiced repeated concern that the evaluations would be used by department chairpersons in regards to personnel promotion and merit pay.

"I know far too much emphasis has been placed on student evaluations in the past," said faculty member Roy Farris, who teaches in the university's management department.

Provost Charles Kupchella said student evaluations are just one component of an overall system of evaluating faculty.

"One day soon we will have a comprehensive evaluation once a year of all faculty," Kupchella said.

Any permanent evaluation, he said, must give primary consideration to excellence in teaching and ultimately would be a factor in personnel matters.

He acknowledged, "There are some tensions in getting people on the right track."

Kupchella also said faculty need to be free to try creative approaches to teaching. The day of the traditional classroom teaching will be "a dinosaur" some day, he said.

The provost said he believes most Southeast faculty would be judged as effective teachers in any student evaluations.

Kupchella said he doesn't want to pit one faculty member against another in any evaluation system, but rather assess how they measure up to the "gold standard" of academic excellence.

Faculty Senator Dean Monahan of the English department said as a teacher "you aim high." As a result, a faculty member won't satisfy all students, he said.

Faculty senators said student evaluations are only valid instruments if used over a lengthy period of time.