The University Committee on Evaluation of Teaching has released a comprehensive status report on Virginia Tech’s evaluation of teaching system. (The report is available below.) It includes a lengthy set of recommendations—many linked to the committee’s campus-wide investigation of faculty perceptions, and further informed by the extensive published research on this topic.

The committee was formed in March 2007 and chaired by Dr. Terry Wildman, Director of the Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (CEUT) and Assistant Provost for Faculty Development and Academic Assessment. Dr. Wildman, who returned to his faculty position in the School of Education in August, said that one reason for the committee’s formation was encouragement from both the Faculty Senate and the Commission on Faculty Affairs. “This topic had been under discussion for quite some time but never quite reached a level of concern precipitating a full scale study. For those who may not know, the current system—particularly for gathering student input—has been in place for more than 30 years with little change. This is a long time without a careful appraisal of what we are doing, and quite frankly a lot of people are concerned that the system no longer meets our needs.”

In terms of highlights, the committee’s report includes sections on the large number of myths surrounding teaching evaluation, findings from a survey and focus group study with Virginia Tech faculty members, and 18 recommendations written to guide and inform an overhaul of the current system. In a separate document the committee also encourages more attention to student learning as the primary emphasis of instructional programming and how instruction is evaluated.

The committee met on the average monthly between March 2007 and January 2009. The minutes of their meetings are available as Appendix D of the full report. Support for the committee was provided by the Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Office of Academic Assessment.

The committee report and recommendations are available below in PDF-format. The full report may be downloaded as a single document, or, sections of the report may be downloaded separately.

• Full report with appendices (188 pages)
• Report without appendices (83 pages)
• Report, in sections:
  • Cover pages (2 pages)
  • Title page (1 page)
  • Table of Contents (1 page)
  • Acknowledgments (1 page)
  • Executive Summary (13 pages)
  • Section 1: Introduction (10 pages)
  • Section 2: Questions and Answers—Myths and Reality (13 pages)
  • Section 3: Faculty Perceptions (26 pages)
  • Section 4: Recommendations for the Evaluation of Teaching at Virginia Tech (14 pages)
  • Afterword (2 pages)

  Appendices:

• Appendix A: Evaluation of Teaching at Virginia Tech—Needed: A Re-framing of Attention to Student Learning: A White Paper (9 pages)
• Appendix B: Faculty Focus Group Findings Report (29 pages)
• Appendix C: Committee Charge and Membership (4 pages)
• Appendix D: Committee Minutes (53 pages)
• Appendix E: Faculty Survey (4 pages)
• Appendix F: Peer Institution Report (6 pages)