Undergrads think it's too easy to get tenure

[coendou]

My husband just alerted me to this article in a student newspaper:

http://www.newsrecord.org/news/news/sg-examines-uc-professors-tenure-1.2449007

It had us LOLing, and I'm sure it will you, as well.

The best parts:

Rooney will be

Comments

[joyousandjuicy]

I think undergrads advocating for better teaching is commendable.

[coendou]

I'm not sure I believe that "student evaluations should play as bigger role in the tenure process" is the same as "advocating for better teaching."

And I'm not sure that anyone who says it's too easy to get tenure really has room to be saying much of anything.

[lissiehoya]

I'm not sure I believe that "student evaluations should play as bigger role in the tenure process" is the same as "advocating for better teaching."

That was my thought exactly.

[fountaingirl]

Ah, but how are we measuring it? Engaged, energetic instruction that helps make complex concepts understandable? Or a 'fun' professor who shows lots of movies, gives plenty of extra credit, doesn't assign much homework, and curves all of the exams?

It's not all that uncommon for undergrads to equate 'good teaching' with 'class is fun and doesn't require much work.'

[brittdreams]

You've left out other things like, was the professor male or female, if female how did she dress, and what the professor's race/ethnicity was, all of which have been shown to affect one's teaching evaluations regardless of what is actually done in the classroom.

I want to be a better teacher. But, my students just want me to give them more extra credit. I don't and then they numerically evaluate me as an average to poor instructor then write on the narrative that they learned a lot. WTF. I don't trust people who can't realize that instruction might have helped them learn to decide whether or not I get to keep my job.

[max_ambiguity]

Don't forget "engaged, energetic instruction that comes from a white male rather than one of those fe-males or brown people."

[rimrunner]

We got dinged on our last accreditation review for over-reliance on student teaching evaluations, pretty much for this reason.

[rebeckler]

me too, no matter how awkwardly they advocate for it.