Student assessment of faculty performance: An alternate approach

Penn State uses a standardized instrument called an "SRTE" (Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness) to obtain feedback from students at the end of each semester. A Likert scale reflecting level of agreement with several statements provides options ranging from one to seven. The results from this administration are summarized in numerical form and returned to both the faculty member and his or her department. This form of faculty assessment is limited in its ability to inform either circular or faculty improvements, particularly when problem-based, collaborative-learning, or other non-traditional environments are being used. This paper reports on a new approach piloted in Spring 2000 and currently implemented in the Engineering Design department at Penn State. Student teams are asked to write and sign a formal letter to the department head reporting on their experiences with both the course and the faculty. The qualitative feedback provided through this approach is rich and timely, aids in the interpretation of SRTE scores, and allows faculty to reflect on their performance on a deeper level.