Argues that teaching portfolios are time consuming and have not been shown to improve college faculty teaching skills. Raises some unanswered questions concerning teaching portfolios and reviews what is known about effective teaching at the college level. Suggests that constructing the portfolio often becomes the focus instead of instructional…

Argues that the use of teaching portfolios can improve college faculty teaching skills and provide evaluators with useful information in promotion/tenure decisions. Suggestions are offered for portfolio content, portfolio design, and ways to create an institutional climate of acceptance. (DB)

This article argues that higher education's current preoccupation with student evaluations of teachers encourages student passivity and disregards the importance of the contribution learners must make to learn; students who grade faculty for four years are being taught to blame someone else for their failures. (MSE)