By Amelia Thomas
After decades of privacy, teacher evaluation results may become accessible to BYU students in the not-too-distant future as student representatives, faculty and administration are discussing whether the old system is ripe for a change.
?There is some perception that student ratings were always meant to be private. That is a long-standing tradition here but I?m not so sure it?s reasonable anymore,? said Richard Williams, associate academic vice president.
Although many BYU patrons believe that such a change, controversial to some, is a far-flung idea with small prospects of becoming reality in the near future, Williams said the likeliness of its implementation should not be lightly dismissed.
?What?s happening at other institutions tells us it?s possible,' Williams said. 'I would think of all places it should be possible is here where we have a tendency to trust one another, to be honest, and to act with integrity.?
So far, the idea is still in its early phase. BYUSA president Adam Larson and vice president Chrissi Sant said no decisions ought to be rushed into without first considering carefully what the best solutions may be.
?It is not very wise to implement something without good prior research,? Larson said. ?We?re trying to figure out the best way so that it is beneficial for both faculty and students - in no way do we want to harm any relationships or harm the academics here on campus.?
According to Larson, the main purpose for making teacher ratings accessible to the public is to enhance the academic experience for the students at BYU by providing them with better information about courses and instructors before they register for classes.
?It?s a way of streamlining the information,? Larson said.
Brent Barclay, director of student leadership, said Larson and Sant are mainly interested in increasing the preparation of students going to a class through making information accessible. However, Barclay also believes a change would benefit faculty.
?I think over time it should provide faculty members with a more prepared student,? Barclay said.
Yet, making teacher evaluations accessible to the public is a somewhat sensitive topic to faculty. Bruce Brown, co-chair of the BYU Faculty Advisory Council, said he is aware that many members of the faculty have concerns about releasing their teaching evaluations to students. Nevertheless, Brown said he would be in favor of making teaching evaluations available to students, stating that educators should expect a certain level of scrutiny of their performance when entering the profession.
Professor Jay Goodliffe of the political science department said he would not be opposed to the idea of making teacher ratings accessible to students.
?In general I?m for opening things up, so I?m happy releasing the evaluations,' Goodliffe said. 'I think on balance it would probably be better, but I can?t say that for sure.?
Goodliffe pointed out that there is already an informal information system in place.
?You hear by word of mouth whether someone is a good teacher or not,? he said. ?It might be more efficient to put it all publicly ? maybe someone has an undeserved reputation.?
However, Goodliffe said he is not certain whether making ratings accessible to students would actually enhance teacher quality.
?I don?t know that it would change teacher quality,' he said. 'It might give students more information.?
Goodliffe believes a main reason for lack of effectiveness is that teacher evaluations are not really a true reflection of teacher quality.
?In my opinion, teaching evaluations are more student satisfaction ratings than they are evaluations of how good someone?s teacher is,? Goodliffe said. ?Students would then have a better idea of how satisfied they will be at the end of the class. I don?t think it would tell them necessarily how much more they would learn.?
However, Williams explained that although he would agree that faculty peers are best at evaluating whether a professor is knowledgeable, whether his or her teaching materials are up-to-date, and whether the tests he or she distributes are effective, he believes students are best at evaluating elements of their learning experience.
?There?s a perception that student evaluations are merely popularity votes that don?t reflect if someone is a good teacher. I don?t share that view,? Williams said.
Sant said she believes students are absolutely qualified to rate their instructors since they are the ones who come to class on a regular basis.
?I feel that they are qualified,? Sant said. ?I think that the general BYU student has a good head on their shoulders and can make wise decisions and give honest feedback to the people that deserve it.?
Although both Brown and Williams said they recognize there are instances when students may give good professors lower ratings than they deserve because they have an adversarial, less-than-fuzzy teaching style, they believe that BYU students are responsible and will rate their professors fairly consistent with the quality of their learning experience.
In the past, some members of the faculty have brought up the argument that if professors must agree to make their ratings accessible to students, students should be required to release their names when submitting evaluations. The idea is based on the notion that if students truly believe in creating an environment intended to promote increased responsibility among faculty, then students should be held to those same standards of responsibility. Although she believes the suggestion is both valid and interesting, Sant is not in favor of abandoning the principle of student anonymity.
?Students are able to give honest feedback without their names attached to it,? Sant said.
Williams said he does not think it would be fair to require students to release their names because it is not a relationship between equals in power.
?I think the damage that any one student could do to a professor with an off-the-cuff comment is pretty minimal compared to the damage a professor could do to a student,? Williams said. ?I would rather rely on the integrity of our students.?
Larson and Sant said they are aware that there are services such as www.ratemyprofessor.com available; however, they do not believe such a website can really substitute for a system within the university, emphasizing that only a minority of BYU faculty members are rated on the website and that there are too few comments posted for each of the instructors listed.
?It?s just not a consistent and accurate way of telling about a course or about a certain professor?s teaching style,? Larson said.
Williams agreed, saying it is preferable that information is released through a BYU-developed system that has been put together from the best research and can boast large samples and better data.
?The question is whether we use the system developed at BYU and have some control, or use a system that is just on-line at whoever?s Web site and leave it to chance,? Williams said.
Moreover, Larson said he believes the right and honorable way to do things is to work with the administration to find out what can benefit both faculty and students.
?I feel it?s important that it?s an ethical system that?s implemented,? Larson said.
Williams explained that he hopes releasing teacher evaluations will create an environment characterized by mutual trust and cooperation between students and faculty.
?What I would like to see is a cultural agreement at BYU between students and faculty, where students promise to fill out the evaluations, to do it with integrity, and to be honest and fair, and faculty promise to read them, believe them, and use them to change,? Williams said.