How do Academic Faculty Members Perceive the Effect of Teaching Surveys Completed by Students on Appointment and Promotion Processes at Academic Institutions? A Case Study

Abstract

It is commonly thought that the promotion of faculty members is affected by their research performance. The current study is unique in examining how academic faculty members perceive the harm or damage to academic appointment and promotion processes, as a direct effect of student evaluations as manifested in teaching surveys. One hundred eighty two questionnaires were collected from senior faculty members at academic institutions. Most respondents were from three institutions: Ariel University, Ben Gurion University, and the Jezreel Valley College. Qualitative and statistical research tools were utilized, with the goal of forming a model reflecting the effect of the harm to academic appointment and promotion processes, as perceived by faculty members. The research findings show that the lecturers find an association that causes harm to their promotion processes as a result of student evaluations. Assuming that students' voices and their opinion of teaching are important – the question is how should these evaluations be treated within promotion and appointment processes: what and whom do they indicate? Do they constitute a reliable managerial tool with which it is possible to work as a foundation for promotion and appointment processes – or should other tools be developed, unrelated to students' opinions?