In my university professors give students grades at the end of the semester. No surprise there, right? Students also give mid-semester feedback and end-of-the-semester feedback scores and comments to their professors. These scores impact our career as they can be used to justify whether we are offered a new contract or not. Department heads use student feedback scores and other quantitative measurements such as how many students register for our classes and average class GPA to determine whether or not we should keep our jobs.
Let's add this up. Teachers evaluate students (grades), students evaluate teachers (student feedback surveys), management evaluates teachers (stats), but when do teachers evaluate their bosses? I'm still waiting for someone to ask what I think about the job my bosses are doing. I'm not sure if no one simply cares or they are afraid of the answers and what they might mean.
Currently, there is no survey to ascertain how my bosses are doing. If there was such a survey, what should be asked? Here are some sample question ideas:
1. What has your boss/director/department head done in the past year to help you do your job better/more effectively including training, access to resources, or professional development opportunities?
2. How has your boss/director/department head motivated you to do more than the minimum requirements in your department?
3. How does your boss/director/department head congratulate you or show appreciation when you do a good job?
4. How does your boss/director/department head handle disagreements with faculty members?
5. How well does your boss/director/department head communicate with faculty members regarding departmental issues? Is your input asked for? If so, do you feel is it valued?
6. How satisfied are you with the level of communication with your boss/director/department head?
What do you think? Should questions only be asked that can be answered with Likert scale responses? Do you trust the policy makers in your school to read your written-out responses? Do you think a boss/director/department head would actually lose their position if they received poor feedback? Is it all just a waste of time?
Let's add this up. Teachers evaluate students (grades), students evaluate teachers (student feedback surveys), management evaluates teachers (stats), but when do teachers evaluate their bosses? I'm still waiting for someone to ask what I think about the job my bosses are doing. I'm not sure if no one simply cares or they are afraid of the answers and what they might mean.
Currently, there is no survey to ascertain how my bosses are doing. If there was such a survey, what should be asked? Here are some sample question ideas:
1. What has your boss/director/department head done in the past year to help you do your job better/more effectively including training, access to resources, or professional development opportunities?
2. How has your boss/director/department head motivated you to do more than the minimum requirements in your department?
3. How does your boss/director/department head congratulate you or show appreciation when you do a good job?
4. How does your boss/director/department head handle disagreements with faculty members?
5. How well does your boss/director/department head communicate with faculty members regarding departmental issues? Is your input asked for? If so, do you feel is it valued?
6. How satisfied are you with the level of communication with your boss/director/department head?
What do you think? Should questions only be asked that can be answered with Likert scale responses? Do you trust the policy makers in your school to read your written-out responses? Do you think a boss/director/department head would actually lose their position if they received poor feedback? Is it all just a waste of time?
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