The increase in the number of nontraditional aged undergraduate students (25 yrs. and older) and students transferring between post-secondary institutions has raised the question of whether effective instruction is viewed the same by these different groups of students. This study addressed this question by analyzing the responses of these different groups to 23 instructional questions on a standard faculty evaluation form.

The purpose of this study was to determine if leniency and halo error in student ratings could be reduced by training the student raters and by using a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) rather than a Likert scale. Two hypotheses were proposed. First, the ratings collected from the trained raters would contain less halo and leniency error than those collected from the untrained raters. Second, within the group of trained raters the BARS would contain less halo and leniency error than the Likert instrument.

Research shows that there is a disconnect between student and faculty perceptions in a range of areas. One area that has not been researched is comparing student and faculty perceptions regarding desirable and undesirable traits in professors. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify what students perceive are the most and least desirable qualities in professors, and how those qualities affect their overall college experience. This study also identified what professors thought students perceive as the most and least desirable qualities in professors, and how those qualities affect students’ overall college experience. The findings indicate that the largest disparity in perceptions between students and faculty was faculty perception that students rate them based on class rigor and assigned grades, which were two of the least important qualities according to students. The largest similarity that faculty and students agreed upon is that students desire professors who are knowledgeable, passionate, engaging, and able to connect with students. Both groups also perceive that students do not like professors who are boring and monotone. In addition, students and professors agree that students perceive professors as playing an important role in their lives that affect their ability to learn, the grades they receive, and also impact their overall college experience and trajectory in life. The two groups differed when describing how professors’ undesirable qualities can negatively affect students’ emotions and self-confidence. Faculty and students were in agreement in a variety of areas, but they were disconnected in several areas as well. This is a problem as we move into the future. Cox (2009) said, “the traditional college student is no longer the typical college student” (p. 7), especially when it comes to state and community colleges. Professors would benefit from listening to students instead of assuming that their ratings are untrustworthy and based on how hard or easy the class was or what grade they received. The researcher asserts, along with others in the literature, that expertise in content area is no longer good enough to be an effective educator in higher education. Faculty also need to be experts in understanding students. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in online student perception of the quality of instruction between online instructors who did and did not complete faculty training for online instruction. There has been very little research identifying the factors influencing online students perception on quality of instruction, specifically at Florida public institutions. This research is important in establishing if public universities should require some level of training before an instructor can teach online. Experiencing poor quality of instruction can negatively impact an online student academically, which can, in turn, be detrimental to a university’s student retention and graduation rates. This study adds to the current body of research regarding improvement of the quality of instruction in online courses based on the online students perception of faculty and the completion of faculty training for online instruction. The results of this study demonstrated no significant difference overall in student perception of quality of instruction between online instructors who did and did not complete faculty training as measured in courses with five or more student respondents. Additional results revealed that multiple academic colleges demonstrated a significant difference in student perception of quality of instruction. This study also discovered a slight negative effect of online faculty training on other areas of student satisfaction that did not include quality of instruction. Recommendations for future research are provided, including those for the improvement of online faculty training, university policy, and faculty and student preparation for online teaching and learning, respectively. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Advisers: David Boote, Debbie Hahs-Vaughn. Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-153).

This study was conducted to develop a statistical model of the influence of course characteristics on student ratings of instruction. Unique to this study was the inclusion of the student participation rate as a variable. Other course characteristics studied were: expected grade, attendance, grade point average, sex of students, reason for taking the course, academic field, student level, course level, major, and class size. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was employed using two measures of global ratings of instruction as criterion variables: 1) a single item rating the overall "favorable impression" the instructor had on the students (global), and 2) the average of twelve items rating the instructor's effectiveness (overall). Course averages or proportions were calculated for each variable. A model was developed using 1989 Fall Term data (952 courses), and tested using 1990 Fall Term data (1,052 courses) from Oregon State University. Results of the regression analysis showed that approximately 20% of the variance found in the equations could be explained by five variables: expected grade, participation rate, attendance, sex, and grade point average. Expected grade was by far the best predictor accounting for 13% to 14% of the variance (at least r=.36 with criterion variables). Participation rate accounted for as much as 3% of the variance (roughly r=.2) and contributed significantly to all four equations. A correlation of -.42 was found for participation rate and class size. Results suggest participation rate has a relationship with student ratings of instruction and further study is warranted. Reason and academic field also explained small significant amounts of the variance in at least one equation each. The results were determined to be reproducible; equations generated with the 1990 test data were very similar to the 1989 data. Very high correlations were found between the global and overall criterion variables (r> .95); the single item variable produced the same results as the average of twelve items. A significant correlation of more than .5 was found between academic field and sex of student. The 80% unexplained variance is discussed. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-106) and index.

Thesis (MSc(R)) - University of Glasgow, 2008. / MSc(R) thesis submitted to the Faculty of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Department of Statistics, University of Glasgow, 2008. Includes bibliographical references. Print version als available.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1996. / Includes tables. Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Harold F. Abeles. Dissertation Committee: Lenore Pogonowski. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-108).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1994. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 13, 2006. Dissertation Committee: John R. McCarthy (chair), Ronald S. Halinski, Larry D. Kennedy, David L. Tucker. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-89) and abstract. Also available in print.