Student evaluations give students one chance to return a passing or failing grade to their professors.
These evaluations, handed out at the conclusion of the semester for each class, provide information to administrators to let them know whether senior professors need to change or improve their teaching methods.
But many students fail to take these evaluations seriously.
Senior Jailyn Hagaman said that she didn't focus on putting earnest input into all evaluations.
“It depends on the professor and the class,” she said. “If the teacher has been here forever, then nothing’s going to change . . . It’s pointless.”
Les Manns, interim vice president of Academic Affairs, said that a formal review was not given after a professor's tenure review. Professors could opt to apply for full professorship, which has a review similar to that of tenure. Manns said most professors seek full professorship before their tenure review.
Yet, if professors do not apply for full professorship, student evaluations are the only measure of consistent feedback.
The first six years a faculty teaches at Doane are treated as a promotional review. Information is gathered to support professors’ abilities, including inspections of course work, in-depth student evaluations and a portfolio created by the professor containing reflections and peer evaluations.
Manns said that these portfolios require hours of work and time. He said his portfolio is thicker than a Webster’s dictionary.
After professors have completed six years at Doane, the evaluations process changes.
English Professor Betty Levitov, a 26-year Doane employee, said two components were in place for further evaluation of professors. One technique is student evaluations, and the other is the annual report.
The materials included in the report are a self-evaluation and description of the professor's involvement on campus.
Still, input from students affects a professor's evaluation.
And if students don’t fill out professor evaluations seriously, then it becomes very hard to figure out which professor should be reevaluated and which professor had a class of students that didn’t take the evaluation seriously.
“You can tell some students just fill in the dots and run out of class,” Levitov said.
But Levitov said she hoped to gain helpful input from students.
“I want to find ways to improve," she said.
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