How to get useful feedback on evaluations

As some of you have pointed out in the comments on previous posts, there is one not-so-secret way to get useful feedback on student evaluations. The (not really a) secret? Tell your students how important the evaluations are to you.

Perhaps some of you already do this yet your students are so awful and jaded that they still give you unhelpful feedback. Although knowing that I rate as a 4.4/5 for availability is useful, what I really look for are specific comments about teaching style, content, office hours, etc. These comments give me the most talking points for my tenure report.

A few days before I plan to hand out the evals I explain to the class who exactly reads them and what they do with them. Here at PermaU, first the head of the department reads them, then the dean, and then me. If there are any issues (good or bad), I will have a meeting with them, but that doesn't typically happen. I tell the students this, honestly telling them that for right now, I am the only one who will really use them. I explain that I really need honest responses in order to adjust my teaching in future semesters. I especially emphasize that if I am doing something that they like, that they should mention that in the comments so that I keep doing the same thing in future semesters.

Many of my colleagues complain that they get very few responses in the short answer portion of the evaluations, and some say that if they are doing an okay job that their students won't make any comments at all. I think their students just think that evals are only places to report problems not comment on successful practices. By emphasizing to my students that both "bad" and good feedback is useful, I think that students feel that the time they spend filling out the evaluations is well spent. (..and it doesn't hurt that positive feedback is good for my ego!)

After all, if you know that something you are doing doesn't matter, would YOU put time into it?

Is it really that crazy?

Although we (profs) would all hope that our students would be reasonable on evaluations, there will always be exceptions. I think Anon brings up a good point in the comments on my last post: tenure committees will ONLY have the evaluations, not necessarily the whole reason(s) behind the comment.

It might sound insane that a student would complain about lack of availability just because of a missing cell number (but not actually mention the cell phone part).

But consider this: a colleague at my previous institution got reamed on her evaluations the semester she returned after maternity leave. Over and over, students commented about her office door being shut during working hours.

The reason her door was closed, at scheduled times, for 20-30 minute stretches? She was pumping. Try explaining THAT in a tenure packet.

Should we lower the bar for contact time with students?

In my last post about texting with students (ugh!!), Anon 5:45 pointed out the following:

"...if you refuse to give out your cell phone number and accept calls or texts, you appear unaccessible compared to other faculty in the department. This can show up in student/instructor evaluations, which are considered in the tenure process (and I am pre-tenure)."

Well, crap. Already my teaching and research accomplishments are lacking relative to those of my colleagues. Now I have to worry about not being (technologically) available enough to my students?



In theory my tenure packet will be judged on its own, without comparison to anyone else's. I strongly suspect that in reality, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Now accepting texts?

I don't Facebook with current students. I don't put my home phone number on my syllabus-- pretty easy, since I don't have a home line.

I most certainly don't give out my cell number to my students.


I was at lunch with a colleague the other day. Her cell phone dinged, indicating the arrival of a new text. "Hmmm," she said, as she wrinkled her nose at her phone. "I'm being reminded that I have an advising meeting at two. The problem is, I don't know which student just texted me. I don't have their number in my phone."

I did my best to hide the "WTF??!!" from my face. The idea of receiving texts from students, let alone storing their numbers in my phone, is completely foreign to me.

I give everything to my job. I have to keep some lines drawn. Some parts of my life need to be kept my own, even if it just my cell phone. Students can reach me by email, and I can choose when to respond. I don't need them texting me on a whim.


Am I overreacting? Are texts from students an inevitable requirement of the job?

Bracing for finals

For those of us on semesters, the end is near! I'm not sure who wants this year over more: me or my students.

This time of year my students are pondering how many days one can re-wear their jeans, watching the last dollars dwindle on their meal cards, and doing one last (or four) keg stand.

I am prepping for finals by pondering grade distributions, watching my students becoming less and less engaged in class, and doing one last (or four) committee meeting.


At least I planned ahead in the grading snacks category. Nothing goes better with frantic exam grading than 75% off Cadbury eggs.


Are you ready for finals?

Taxing taxes

I usually wait until pretty late (um...say, the 13th of April) to do my taxes. I do N.A.'s taxes as well, and I would rather do them at the same time than do mine first and have to answer similar questions two months later.

When people find out that I haven't sent in my taxes yet, (and they always do-- what is up with that? Weird competition?) they express shock. I suppose this could be because I'm fairly organized in other aspects of my life (read: super anal), so the contrast is surprising.

But still.


Is it really that big of a deal to wait until April 15th to file?

Visiting Vixens

Last year, as many of you know, I was a visiting ass. at a small college. Now I'm well into my first year on the tenure track at a similar small college. I know that this year has been much, much easier as a direct result as my year as a V. ass. (Although it still sucks. Boy, does it suck.) While I wouldn't recommend a visiting position for someone who wants to go the R1 route, it could be a really good fit for someone wanting to go the small undergraduate college path.

Being a visiting prof (see * below) has all the advantages of being on the tenure track without most of the crap.

Crap that comes with the tenure track that you avoid as a Visiting Vixen:

- Committees. It is very rare to be assigned to a committee as a visitor. Do I really need to elaborate?

- Advisees. Yes, we all love advising students on how to find a path other than pre-med (insert eye roll here). They are also a huge time suck. It is very, very rare for Visiting Vixens to be given formal advisees.

- Faculty meetings! While some schools might think it's a good idea to attend, the presence of Visiting Ass.es is not usually required. Again, I don't think I need to explain why not having to attend faculty meetings is AWE-SOME.

- Research pressure! Research is rarely an expectation for a visiting prof. I got very little done beyond thinking and sketching out of a few research plans. If you want to go to a top tier small liberal arts college, you are going to want to get significant research done while a visitor. If you are aiming a little lower, and research done as a VV will be viewed as a bonus.

-Teaching pressure! A Visiting Ass. is just that. Visiting. Unless your position somehow can convert into a tenure-track situation, your teaching evaluations will never really be used for anything. I'm not saying that you should go in there and completely suck. BUT. Since you aren't going to be evaluated on what your students write, it can really give you freedom in the classroom. Try something new without worrying about what will show up on your teaching evaluations.



Again, if you want to have graduate students and do NIH R01-worthy research, visiting positions aren't for you. Do a post-doc. with someone awesome and get lots of publications. If you are wrapping up your PhD and want to work with undergraduates at a mid tier PUI, a Visiting Ass. position can be a great fit. If you are like me, having a year to work on your teaching and really sort out your research goals will greatly benefit you once the tenure clock starts.



*IF you have supportive, enjoyable colleagues who are willing to give you mentoring. And understand that you will be on the job market, like, the SECOND that you arrive at your temporary home. And will hopefully be traveling for interviews during November, December, January, and maybe even October and February, too.