A Rasch model was used to detect and correct bias in Likert rating scales used to assess student perceptions of college teaching, using a database of ratings. Statistical corrections were significant, supporting the model's potential utility. Recommendations are made for a theoretical rationale and further research on the model. (Author/MSE)

A study at one school of business administration investigated the use, in a survey of graduating seniors, of open-ended questions to elicit information to help evaluate and improve teaching. Student concerns and faculty responses, methodology for textual analysis of student responses, and a comparison of this approach with more conventional…

A discussion of the ways in which liberal arts colleges honor exemplary teaching looks at five common practices (outstanding teacher awards, mentoring programs, articles in school publications, participation in national award systems, and merit raises) and makes recommendations for designing and strengthening reward programs and improving the…

This report highlights recommendations to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for new minimum standards in the areas of instructional programs, faculty and facilities. Part I describes prior attempts to address the question of minimum standards in the community colleges and responds to the Educational Policy Committee's…

Issues concerning the development of a teaching evaluation system are considered, along with the use of student ratings of teachers. In addition to briefly reviewing the beginnings of teacher evaluation, the following prerequisites for a successful faculty evaluation system are identified: the cooperation and support of many groups, strong…

The importance and issues of peer evaluation of teaching are discussed. It is suggested that a more tangible relationship between professional advancement and teaching effectiveness is necessary to motivate faculty to improve instruction, and that evaluation can provide essential information to a teacher to help improve teaching quality. Problems…

Over 80 citations of monographs, research reports, journal articles, books, and dissertations are included in this bibliography on college and university faculty. Topics include faculty research, evaluation, teaching, role, and perceptions. The earliest citation is from 1954. (MSE)

Eight of the most common faculty concerns about student evaluations of instruction are discussed: inconsistent student judgments, the perception that only colleagues are qualified to evaluate peers' instruction, student-rating schemes as popularity contests, unreliable and invalid student-rating forms, etc. Research shows that faculty concerns are…

The assessments of faculty performance for the determination of salary increases are analyzed to estimate interrater reliability. Using the independent ratings by six elected members of the faculty, correlations between the ratings were calculated and estimates of the reliability of the composite ratings were generated. (Author/MLW)

Research on the validity of student rating scales of teacher performance is inconsistent, and the issue of why the scales are used needs examination. Until their criterion validity is raised to correlations of .7 to .8 or construct validity can be established, results should not be used in making tenure decisions. (MSE)

Two general dimensions of teachers' behavior--the teacher's personal relationship with students and his emphasis on course content and learning tasks--are studied in their relationship to organizational leadership behavior. (Author/KM)

The faculty peer review system described assumes cooperation between employees and employers toward individual and departmental goals, and provides measures of change in objectives or behavior. Experiences at San Jose State are reported and a President's scholars review form is included. (MSE)

The correlation between teaching excellence and research efforts is investigated in a study done at the University of Maryland. Data suggest that productive faculty--as evidenced by their writings, addresses, and external funding--are among those identified by both their students and their professional colleagues as proficient instructors. (MLW)

Although teaching portfolios are now used widely in North American colleges and universities, origins can be traced to an initiative of the Canadian Association of University Teachers in the 1970s. Reasons for development of the teaching dossier are outlined, and the evolution of the concept is chronicled. Some unresolved issues in their use to…

Questions raised frequently by college and university faculty about use of portfolios to document effective teaching are answered. The questions address such issues as how the portfolio is organized, what it should reflect, how and by whom it is used, preparation time, the mentor's role, reliability, subjectivity, maintaining the portfolio's…