Student Evaluation of Teaching surveys: do students provide accurate and reliable information? (2015)

AbstractPurpose- This paper explores patterns of students' response behaviour of international students studying in an Australian university when filling out student surveys evaluating lecturers and courses. The study focuses on whether information obtained through the survey process can be relied upon to make management decisions.Design/methodology/approach- Data for this study was collected from the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Student Evaluation of Units surveys of 74 students across four different classes at a university campus in Australia which caters education solely to international students. The data was analysed using both descriptive and econometric analytical methods.Results / findings- The results of the study seem to suggest a reasonable level of diligence is lacking on the students' part in answering the surveys, raising a concern about the reliability of information. This tendency seems to be prevalent among all students irrespective of their gender and nationality.Implications- This study raises issues with respect to the execution process of student feedback surveys and stresses need for a careful consideration of the use of the survey information in making various management decisions.Key words: Student survey, Student evaluation of teaching, Student evaluation of units, student feedback.JEL Classification: I21PsycINFO Classification: 3560FoR Code: 1503ERA Journal ID#: 123340IntroductionIt is a common practice in Australian universities to conduct a Student Evaluation of Teaching survey and using the student feedback as an instrument for assessing lecturers' performance. Most university lecturers in Australia are evaluated using this process every year. The principle underpinning the survey is that the feedback enables universities to identify areas needing improvement, develop new teaching strategies, improve delivery quality and boost teaching outcomes. While the aim is noble, it is debatable as to whether the process used is generating reliable information consistent with its intended objective.Blower (2014) pointed out the severe implications of such a survey process on academics. He reported that some lost their jobs, while others are considering leaving the profession altogether, primarily because they feel they are subjected to 'continuous undermining and criticism' mostly for pretty lame reasons. There is even a suggestion that a number of high calibre academics receive criticism on minor issues such as their taste in clothing, accent (i.e. pitch in pronunciation) and style of delivery.The concern here is not about academics receiving negative assessments or criticism. There are bound to be some who are not meeting required expectations. It is imperative that such individuals are identified so university management can initiate appropriate measures to address the issue. This is what the Student Evaluation of Teaching survey process is designed to achieve. The concern however, is whether students give a considered response that contains accurate information about academics which can be reliably used for decision making purposes.While the issues highlighted with respect to student survey process may exist irrespective of institutions (university or private higher education provider) or type of students (local or international or mix), this study particularly focuses on a university which provides education exclusively to the international students. Two reasons underpin this choice. First, universities across Australia use a common set (if not identical) of student survey process which private higher education providers may not necessarily follow. This provides better representation. Second, international students differ from their local Australian counterparts with respect to their language, culture, system of education, and motivation and; we argue that this provides interesting context to examine the issues. …