The advent of cell phone technology has given college students an instantaneous tool to critique their instructors.
They don't have wait until the end of the year to fill out a instructor evaluation form to alert college brass about a potential problem. Those channels are open at any time, even during classtime.
"If something really needs to be brought to our attention, it isn't likely going to wait until those evaluations take place," said Bryn Kulmatycki, the College of New Caledonia's academic vice-president.
"It hasn't happened here [at CNC], but I have received a phone call from a student right in a classroom about something that was happening right now. They can just pick up their cell phones and call, and we acted on it right there."
Post-secondary schools around the world routinely ask students for their opinions on instructors, although most institutions do not make it a requirement. Used for decades, student surveys on instructor effectiveness are probably the most widely-studied form of personnel performance reviews. Instructors get to see the results of the surveys and use them to improve their work.
In Prince George, UNBC utilizes online student surveys, which are more cost effective and offer quicker feedback. CNC still utilizes a paper format while it works out the bugs with its electronic system.
Typical questions ask students if they think teaching methods were effective, was the course useful, or if textbooks were relevant. Faculties use the evaluations as a guide to find ways to improve teaching and, if necessary, alter courses. They are also used to measure the degree of student engagement in a course and can assist students in course selection.
Students do not identify themselves on the questionnaire and because of that, their comments are very unlikely to lead to sanctions against an instructor. Kulmatycki says a student would have to formally lodge a complaint before any investigation would be launched.
"If there are issues brought forward by students, we take the concerns very seriously," said Kulmatycki. "But those are anonymous feedback comments, so you have to look at them in that light. You can say anything about anybody when you're not accountable for it. "
With the exception of extremely small class sizes, where confidentiality would be a concern, all classes at UNBC are evaluated by students at the end of each course. Student surveys have a small influence with college administrators in determining promotions and tenure decisions on individual instructors. All university professors undergo performance reviews based on their teaching, research and service to the community.
"Student feedback is only part of the evaluation," said Mark Dale, the academic vice-president of UNBC. "Normally, universities also consider things like a department chair's evaluation. Peer assessment is part of professional development. In some disciplines, a professor as part of their career package will have a teaching portfolio with a selection of exams they've given, and assignments they've done.
"It shouldn't be just what students have to say, although clearly what the students think is an important part of it. Teaching is one of the pillars of how people are evaluated for promotion and all those other good things. How much of the teaching evaluation is based on student surveys will depend in part on the mix of teaching that a person is doing, whether they are doing a lot of graduate supervision as opposed to undergraduate classroom teaching, and the mode of teaching they use. It's not a simple formula."
