There are two primary reasons for asking you to complete this evaluation. The first reason for this rating is to provide feedback to help the instructor improve the quality of instruction. Written comments are particularly valuable in this respect. The second is to help UTC make decisions about faculty. The teaching competence of the faculty is one of the primary issues considered in decisions about retaining and rewarding faculty. The numerical ratings from the entire class will be combined and both the individual and combined ratings will be available to, and used by, the Provost, Dean, Department Head, and the instructor.
We ask that you spend at least 5 minutes responding to the open-ended questions below. These responses will be available to the Department Head but will be used primarily by the instructor to help improve the class in future semesters.
In short, these ratings are very important. Please take them seriously. The survey responses and comments are anonymous unless you include your name in the comments. Your instructor will not see any response until after the final grades are submitted.
Student feedback helps faculty members evaluate teaching effectiveness and serves as a part of their annual review. However, research has shown that unintentional bias can result in faculty who identify as women and people of color receiving less positive evaluations than other professors. Bearing this in mind, your evaluation should focus on your learning experience (course content, mode(s) of delivery, assignments, textbook) rather than the personal characteristics of the instructor.