Drawing on evidence-based best practices from other universities regarding the evaluation of courses and instructors’ performances in the classrooms, the Department, in collaboration with the Teaching-Learning Center (TLC), uses SAIL to evaluate its faculty. SAIL is the acronym for Students Assessing Instruction and Learning. It contains five parts: Part 1 has to do with student information, Part 2 has to do with instructor and classroom management, Part 3 has to do with instructor–student interaction, Part 4 has to do with the course and instruction, and Part 5 has to do with student learning outcomes.
The purpose of evaluating faculty using SAIL is two-fold. Data gathered from the survey of students are used to make changes and improvements in our program, curriculum, and course contents. Results are used to promote student learning outcomes in the Department.
The Department administers SAIL to students at the end of every semester, specifically in the week preceding the final exam. Data reliability and validity are assured through the following means:
- SAIL is filled out by students who are registered and actively involved in the class.
- It is administered by someone else, not the instructor teaching the course.
- Students voluntarily respond to the questionnaire and are required to write their names or ID numbers on the SAIL Form. In other words, participation in the survey is voluntary and responses remain anonymous.
- Students are not allowed to share their assessments of the course and the instructor with their colleagues at the time they are filling out the SAIL Form.
- Data analysis and presentation are done by three faculty members, the Chairman of the Department being one of the three.
Here is the electronically fillable SAIL – Students Assessing Instruction & Learning Form. Students are encouraged to access, fill out, and submit the form electronically.
