Evolution of student evaluations of college faculty: Implications and consequences

Student evaluations of college faculty have been in place for about eight decades. However, these evaluations gained momentum during the 1960s and subsequently when the political climate across college campuses in the U.S. demanded major educational reforms to benefit students. The practice of having students evaluate their instructors has become a ritual at the end of each term in almost every college classroom across the nation. Student evaluations have evolved to become an important piece in judging the quality of college faculty for re-appointment, promotion, and tenure.;Using qualitative methods, I have studied forty non-tenured faculty members at two urban universities. The study shows that student evaluations have affected how instructors' teaching and grading practices. In addition, a policy of peer observation has been formulated. The consequences and implications of the evolution of student evaluations are that those evaluations have become a centerpiece in the faculty evaluation process and college teaching is not being adequately evaluated. The teaching of college faculty should be evaluated by their peers just like research is. Effective policies need to be formulated and implemented to re-conceptualize that undergraduate education's primary function is to enhance learning and not to satisfy student demands as if higher education were a consumer item.