The student voice of Midwestern State University
The Wichitan page 3 Reflections on a life
MSU awards a posthumous degree to deceased student Marcus Robinson.
page 7 Mustangs start 3-0 The No. 21 Mustangs remain undefeated after whipping Newberry (S.C.), 24-10
WEDNESDAY september 24, 2008
Profs slam Web-based evaluations Andrew Weitener For The Wichitan
Midwestern professors are concerned about the poor performance from online faculty evaluations now mandatory in all MSU colleges as of Spring 2007. Low turnout by students, they say, makes any data unreliable. Such data cannot, they argued in a September Faculty Senate meeting, be used for tenure and promotion purposes. In the past, evaluations were conducted in the classrooms with a monitor present, assuring nearly 100-percent participation. Approximately 25 percent of the student body responded with online evaluations last semester, prompting concern from professors. Online faculty evaluations originated with the colleges of Education and Health Sciences and Social Services during the Fall 2006 semester. The Dillard College of Business and College of Fine Arts incrementally began to utilize the program followed by a campus-wide mandate during the Spring 2008 semester. Online evaluations save the campus both money and time. With online evaluations the school saves an estimated $5,000 a semester in paper cost, handling, organizing, sorting paper evaluations, and time spent by the Information Systems department. Using online evaluations limits human error during the handling of the paper evaluations. Students can also do the evaluations on their own time. The organizing of and structure of the evaluations are now more concise and can be maintained with strict digital oversight. There is less opportunity to lose or missshuffle stacks of evaluations.
Chris Collins Managing Editor
Steve Hilton, the globetrotting assistant professor of ceramics, never stays in one place too long. The international man of pottery participated in residency programs in China and Thailand this summer. It was a great opportunity to learn and travel, Hilton said. This was the first time Hilton had participated in a residency program. It was a significant step in his art career, he said. “I’ve had a lot of work in other countries, but never a residency,” Hilton said. “I’ve had pseudo-residencies here before, but nothing as formal as the one in Jingdezhen.” Hilton spent about a month teaching and making art at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Art Institute, which is located in the porcelain capital of the
See “HILTON” on pg. 3
Despite the positives, professors are weary because of the lack of involvement. The evaluations have developed into a pattern, leading professors to conclude that students do not take them seriously. “One way that we glean whether it’s a good teacher is through student evaluations,” said Provost Dr. Friederike Wiedemann. At one point each professor must write a self-evaluation. It, along with the student evaluations and grade distributions are forwarded to the chair of the department. The department chair evaluates the faculty member and this evaluation goes to the dean of the college. Another purpose of the evaluations is for promotion and tenure of professors. Members of the faculty senate maintain that without proper involvement, online evaluations fall short and should not be used as a measurement in promotion or tenure. “The idea seems like a good idea on the surface, but has some pretty serious flaws,” said Dr. Robert Redmon, faculty senator. “We all agree that it is the same instrument so there is no difference in the validity of the instrument but there is a significant difference in the reliability because of the reduced return rate. I can think of one professor who was denied tenure completely upon poor student evaluations.” Redmon said this illustrates how important it is to have reliable data because it is used to make serious decisions. Wiedemann as well as the Faculty Senate are looking for ways to encourage student participation. Meanwhile, online evaluations will continue.
Fall enrollment edges up by 110 Russ Lawrenz For The Wichitan
Photos courtesy Alissa Donaldson n (Clockwise from top) Steve Hilton and Alissa Donaldson stand on the Great Wall. n Steve Hilton throws a pot on a “2000 year old” potter’s wheel n Steve Hilton with a “bump on head” in Jingdezhen, China
The numbers are in. MSU enrollment totals have officially been tallied. The Fall 2008 number of undergraduate and graduate students is 6,137, an increase of 110 from Fall 2007. The total number of undergraduate students is 5,404. This time last year was 5,350. There are 733 graduate students enrolled this year. Last year there were 677. Seniors outnumber other classes at 1,693. There are 1,186 juniors, 1,213 sophomores and 1,312 freshmen. Aside from seniors, all classifications are up from last year’s totals. There are 110 post bacca-
laureate students and 623 master’s candidates, both increasing from last year. Women are in the majority. A total of 3,541 females to 2,596 males enrolled. This puts the female-tomale ratio a little less than 2:1. The youngest student is 14; the oldest 67. Last year it ranged from 15 to 75. Statistically, the average age of MSU students is 25.2, slightly younger than last year. Some of the majors with the most students are nursing with 643, radiological sciences with 387 and early childhood education with 255. Some of the majors with the least students are physics with 10, humanities with 8 and reading education with 5.