Colleges and universities differ from most other organizations in that not everyone longs to be in charge. At corporations, government agencies, and even non-profits, staff members all seem intent on
Despite a great deal of research on course evaluations, institutional policies and practices are not always well informed by that research. Faculty are often not as informed as they should
So far in this series on end-of-course ratings we have discussed how to frame a conversation with a faculty member who receives average ratings semester after semester and how to
In Part 1 of this two-part series on strengthening the relationship between chairs and deans, we discussed prioritizing student success and satisfaction, capitalizing on the institution’s greatest
Editor’s Note: This article is the second installment of a three-part series on conversations about course ratings. Last month explored how to frame a discussion with a faculty member who
Talking with faculty about end-of-course ratings is generally a high-stakes conversation where merit raises, promotions, or permanent contracts are on the line or at least hovering in the background of
Several years ago, I wrote a post for my blog that listed things department chairs could say about teaching that faculty would love to hear. Of course, to be meaningful,
In viewing the organizational structure of our colleges and universities, there is a common hierarchy of faculty, chairs, deans, and higher administration that includes a president or campus leader and
Many of us either are asked to serve as chair of our department as a cyclical rotating chair or have made the decision to pursue the chair position on our
After the first two questions posed in a previous article on budgeting and finance, namely identifying the sources of academic income and how the department’s budget is established, have been
