Southern University has implementeda teacher evaluation program for students to literally grade their professorson everything from promptness to their clarity on defining objectives.
“Teachers have been evaluating me mywhole life,” said Jarvis Robinson, a sophomore political science major fromAlexandria, Va. “I think it’s coolthat we finally get to grade them back.”
Earl Doomes, associate vicechancellor for academic affairs, believes it is a good program to participatein. “What it does is providesstudents to give their assessment and add their input on the quality ofinstruction they receive,” Doomes said.
Doomes added that the evaluationsserve more than one purpose.
“The evaluations provide feedback toinstructors on how effective they are, and at the end, the summaries of theevaluations are looked at for tenure and promotions for faculty,” he said.
Doomes also said that theaccrediting agency requires the school to evaluate instruction and based uponthe results and feedback, are able to make necessary changes.
To gain access to the teacherevaluation, students can log on to the school website athttp://www.subr.edu. Click on theicon that says “Evaluation of Faculty by Students” at the bottom of the page.
Next, put your student ID or social security number andpassword in. New users can createtheir own password by using the “Create Your Password” link. Follow the directions on the screen.Some students have already evaluated their teachers.
“We’re trying to ask all professorswho have a lab that when the class is meeting, take 15 to 20 minutes to fillout the evaluations,” Doomes said.
Students are urged to participate inthe teacher evaluations. “The morestudents participate, the better the information will be and the better impactthis will have,” Doomes said.
