A. Evaluations

     More than four of five colleges and universities (86 percent) use student evaluations to measure teaching effectiveness. In some schools, they are a major, and sometimes the only, source of faculty performance evaluation. But Peter Seldin, professor of management at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y., contends that student ratings should never be the sole determinant of teaching effectiveness.
     Seldin recommends a wider approach that includes evidence of student learning, observations of teaching by colleagues and reviews of instructional material.
     Also, he recommends that the evaluation form have 20 to 30 questions on teaching behavior, including:

• Are tests and papers graded and returned promptly?
• Is the instructor well prepared?

     Some instructors contend that student evaluations force them to engage in grade inflation. A student given a poor grade may retaliate with a negative evaluation, they say.
     Interview faculty members, administrators and students about the effectiveness of student evaluations. How does your administration use the results of the evaluations?

B. Admissions

     Colleges and universities have been changing their requirements for admission to accommodate some groups. Traditionally, colleges have used academic records—high school grades, scores on the ACT and SAT tests, ranking in the senior class, letters from teachers—as the major criteria for admission.
     Exceptions have been made for the sons and daughters of alumni, athletes and those with special talents, such as musicians. In the last two decades, the doors have been widened through affirmative action to accept members of racial and ethnic groups that have traditionally not attended college.
     Investigate the changes in your school's admission policies. Look at admission guidelines. Have they led to changes in the student population?
     Has the change in admission policies affected academic work and the curriculum? Has the school added remedial courses for the less-prepared students?
     Have students in minority groups found that the school meets their needs?
     The admissions office keeps records of how students in various categories fare in college. Obtain dropout and graduation rates for students in minority groups, students with high and low SAT or ACT scores, athletes, etc.
     Has there been any controversy about admission standards in the last few years? How has your school adjusted to recent legal decisions about affirmative action?

C. Politeness

     Courtesy is declining, researchers say. Rudeness has become common in the workplace. "Competition makes it more difficult to be civil," says Jeffrey E. Garten, dean of the Yale School of Management. A similar lack of courtesy is evident on campuses, say some faculty members, and merchants in college towns say the change is noticeable.
     Gregory S. Prince, president of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., says, "I think there is an overexpansion of the importance of individuality, and that can lead to a lack of sensitivity for the needs of others."
     Take the courtesy quotient of students on your campus by interviewing students, faculty members, administrators and merchants.