Penn State Student Feedback
Results from SRTEs provide one form of data used as evidence of teaching effectiveness. The SRTE survey is administered to students at the culmination of a period of instruction, typically the end of the academic semester. SRTE data are included in promotion and tenure dossiers and in annual faculty activity reports.
Penn State Policy AC-23 –
Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations
requires that the evaluation of teaching effectiveness for purposes of promotion
and tenure be based on both peer and student input. All units gather student
input using the SRTE. Some academic units choose to supplement SRTE data with
other student feedback
such as written answers to open-ended questions. All SRTE results are provided
to both the faculty member and to the academic unit or unit head.
Penn State Policy AC-40 –
Evaluation of Faculty Performance
provides the
process for an evaluation of the performance of each faculty member at least once
each year. Each tenured faculty member will be evaluated with an extended review
every fifth year after the most recent promotion decision. Academic units may
also use SRTE data as evidence of teaching effectiveness for the purposes of
evaluating faculty as part of the annual review process.
For non-provisional faculty, each college should develop clear and specific guidelines for the frequency of the use of SRTEs, whether the college requires all courses to be reviewed or not.