Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Evaluation Process

Abstract

We explored how students view the teaching evaluation process and assessed their self-reported behaviors when completing student evaluations of teaching (SETs). We administered a 28-item survey assessing these views to students from a cross section of majors across 20 institutions (N = 597). Responses to this measure were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Students also answered an open-ended question about their views; responses were coded into 21 categories. We found that students generally held positive views about the evaluation process and that, overall, these positive views were consistent across type of institution, academic discipline, class standing, and respondent gender. However, compared with small and midsize institutions, community college students were more positive about the usefulness of SETs, and seniors reported greater willingness to provide specific feedback (such as by providing written comments) when completing SETs compared to sophomores and juniors. We conclude by providing suggestions for improving the evaluation process based on our findings.