Student Evaluation of Teaching
– May 16, 2019
Page 1 of 5
STUDENT
EVALUATION
OF
TEACHING
POLICY
Policy Type:
Academic
Initially
Approved:
May 16, 2019
Policy Sponsor:
Provost and Vice-
President,
Academic
Last
Revised:
Primary Contact:
Vice-Provost,
Academic
Review
Scheduled:
May 16, 2024
Approver:
General Faculties Council
A.
OVERVIEW
Student Evaluation of Teaching (“SET”) is the primary method that students use to provide
feedback about their instructor’s teaching. Faculty can use this feedback to help improve their
teaching and may incorporate SET results in various reports and evaluative processes. SET results
can become part of a full-
time Instructor’s annual report, are required in tenure dossiers, and may
be used in contract faculty appointment and re-appointment procedures.
B.
PURPOSE
The Student Evaluation of Teaching policy governs the administration of SET in credit courses at
the University and is aligned with related articles in the Collective Agreement between the Mount
Royal Faculty Association and the Board of Governors of Mount Royal University.
C.
SCOPE
This Policy applies to all academic units and Instructors delivering instruction in credit courses at
the University.
D.
POLICY STATEMENT
1.
Student Evaluation of Teaching
1.1
Student Evaluation of Teaching is one component of the
University’s holistic
approach to evaluation of teaching which integrates multiple methods of collecting
formative and summative feedback on teaching effectiveness.
1.2
There shall be a University wide Student Evaluation of Teaching system for collecting
data from students for all courses subject to evaluation.
1.3
The administration and use of SET shall be consistent with relevant articles in the
collective agreement between the MRFA and the Board of Governors.
1.4
The Associate Vice-President, Academic is responsible for the administrative
oversight of SET. Institutional Analysis and Planning (IAP) is responsible for the day-
Student Evaluation of Teaching
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to-day management and administration of SET in alignment with the Collective
Agreement, UTPC guidelines and University policies.
1.5
Chairs of academic units will ensure that instructors are informed of policies and
procedures relating to SET.
1.6
Newly-appointed faculty members (full-time and contract) shall be oriented to the
purposes of SET, processes related to SET administration, and how to interpret SET
results prior to receiving their first SET results at the University.
1.7
Members of Tenure and Promotion committees shall receive training in the
interpretation of SET results, such training to be integrated in tenure and promotion
workshops conducted by the MRFA and the Office of the Provost and Vice-
President, Academic.
1.8
SET instruments shall consist of both required and optional components:
a. Required
i.
Feedback on Instruction.
ii.
Feedback on the Course.
iii.
Student Background.
b. Optional
i.
Supplemental items as specified for each approved SET instrument.
1.9
The Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPoT) instrument shall be the instrument
used for SET in classroom-based credit courses. Instruction offered in non-
classroom settings (e.g. practicum, clinical, laboratory, other) may be evaluated
using a customized instrument approved by the Teaching-Learning Standing
Committee of GFC.
1.10
The minimum number of SETs to be conducted by an instructor will be as specified
in the Collective Agreement.
a. An instructor may elect to have more courses evaluated than those required by
the Collective Agreement. These evaluations shall be part of the faculty
member’s file, unless otherwise stated by the faculty member. These additional
evaluations shall be shared with the faculty member and the Chair, and the Dean
as appropriate.
1.11
The University will maintain a repository for all feedback collected by SET
instruments within the content management system in accordance with the retention
schedules included in the Records and Information Management Program Policy.
2. Administration
2.1
Academic Affairs is responsible for identifying all courses and instructors eligible for
evaluation each semester.
2.2
Academic units will confirm those courses and sections that are being delivered each
semester, and shall ensure that course and instructor information is accurate prior
to administration.
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2.3
Communication to students concerning SET shall address the following:
a. Students shall be informed of the purposes of SETs when they are invited to
complete their instructor’s SET and on the SET instrument itself.
b. Students shall be informed that their identity will be kept strictly confidential from
the faculty member being evaluated at all times.
c. Students shall be informed that, because they must log in to an electronic system
to complete their SET, their responses are not completely anonymous and that
the system administrator in IAP is able to link responses to individual students.
2.4
If at any point, an individual involved in administering SET instruments believes that
student feedback may indicate a threat to the safety and/or well-being of the student
or a member of the University community, the Associate Vice-President, Academic
will engage the appropriate University resources to address the concerns.
2.5
Instructors, in consultation with their Chair and IAP, shall choose the timing of the
Student Evaluation of Teaching with a view to affording students reasonable
opportunity to respond within a pre-set response window for each semester.
a. The default response window for full-semester classes shall normally be the final
20 business days of the teaching semester.
b. The default response window for non-standard courses (online courses, block
courses, spring or summer courses, 1.5 credit classes, etc.) shall be adjusted by
IAP in consultation with the AVP, Academic.
3.
Reporting and Disclosure of Results
3.1
IAP is responsible for summarizing and distributing the results of SETs to all
appropriate recipients.
3.2
All SETs are reviewed by IAP
to comply with Alberta’s Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, as amended. The identity of individual student respondents
shall be kept strictly confidential from the instructors being evaluated.
3.3
Results from SETs shall not be disclosed to faculty until final grades of the relevant
semester have been released.
3.4
Instructors and their Chair (or Supervisor) shall discuss SET results when requested
by either party. Signed copies of the resu
lts shall be filed in the instructor’s official
personnel file, and tenure dossier as appropriate.
3.5
Results from SPoT’s Instruction items (Section A) and associated student
comments, as well as results from SPoT’s Student Background items (Section D)
are reported to the individual faculty member and Chair, and shared with other
audiences (e.g. tenure committees) as stipulated in the Collective Agreement. This
report shall be called the Official Report.
Results from SPoT’s Course items (Section B) and associated open-ended
comments are normally reported only to the instructor, for formative purposes. For
purposes of cyclical program review or program accreditation, aggregate and
anonymized course item results may be provided by IAP upon request of the
academic unit chair and with approval of the dean.
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Results from Supplemental items added by the faculty member (Section C) are
reported only to the instructor, for formative purposes.
The report
containing results from SPoT’s course items and supplemental items shall
be called the Individual Instructor Report.
3.6
Instructors, through their Chair and with approval of the Dean, may request IAP to
remove discriminatory and vexatious comment(s) from the Official Report and the
Individual Instructor Report. The comment(s)
, and the student’s quantitative
responses, will be removed from the data and the reports updated. The comment(s)
will be retained for a period of one year by IAP, after which, the file will be deleted.
3.7
Within 10 business days of receiving the Official Report, faculty members shall have
the opportunity to provide written responses to SETs to help contextualize the
results.
3.8
At the end of each academic year, an annual report will be submitted to GFC by the
Office of the Provost that summarizes SET related data, trends and issues, including
but not limited to student response rates.
4. Exceptions
4.1
In situations where SETs must be conducted in a class of less than five students, the
Instructor will consult with their Chair regarding appropriate alternatives to the
standard SET.
4.2
The Teaching-Learning Standing Committee of GFC shall review and recommend to
GFC any SET instruments or forms that are developed, or revised, for the purpose
of assessing alternative (non-classroom) forms of teaching including but not limited
to clinicals, practica, laboratories, library instruction, educational development
(ADC) and counselling.
E.
DEFINITIONS
(1)
Instructor:
means an employee teaching credit courses and performing
related duties
(2)
Policy:
means the Student Evaluation of Teaching Policy
(3)
GFC
means General Faculties Council
(4)
University:
means Mount Royal University
F.
RELATED POLICIES
• Records and Information Management Program Policy
G.
RELATED LEGISLATION
• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Student Evaluation of Teaching
– May 16, 2019
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H.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
●
UPTC Form 300
– Instructor Feedback
●
SPot instrument
●
Collective Agreement between the Board of Governors of Mount Royal University and the
Mount Royal Faculty Association
I.
REVISION HISTORY
Date
(mm/dd/yyyy)
Description of
Change
Sections
Person who
Entered Revision
(Position Title)
Person who
Authorized
Revision
(Position Title)
01/29/2020
Editorial
Template Update
Policy Specialist
University Secretary