Transforming College Teaching Evaluation: A Framework for Advancing Instructional Excellence

An impactful approach to teaching assessment that boosts teaching practice while ensuring student success

More effective learning goes hand-in-hand with a commitment to instructional excellence, but institutional approaches to instructor evaluation often fall short in assessing quality. In Transforming College Teaching Evaluation, Ann E. Austin, Noah D. Finkelstein, Andrea Follmer Greenhoot, Doug Ward, and Gabriela Cornejo Weaver propose a thorough reform of teaching evaluation that strengthens teaching and learning processes, enriches faculty practice, and enhances the institutional culture of teaching and learning for long-term success.

This work understands that the academic department is the basic unit of change in a college and to truly transform teaching evaluation, department-level, college-level, and central institutional efforts must link together to drive reform. Leveraging data from the seven-year TEval study conducted at University of Colorado Boulder, University of Kansas, and University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the authors introduce a model for high-quality teaching evaluation that considers seven dimensions of educational practice, spanning the full array of teaching activities inside and out of the classroom. This framework incorporates a constellation of evaluative tools and data, such as faculty self-report, external reviews, and student surveys, and different approaches to evaluation that leaders can adapt to institutional needs.

For administrators and educators seeking to advance modern teaching practices and fair teaching evaluation, this book provides a robust plan for reorienting the faculty reward system toward excellence.

Author: Ann E. Austin,Noah D. Finkelstein,Andrea Follmer Greenhoot
Publisher: Harvard Education PR
Published: 11/04/2025
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9798895570159

About the Author

Ann E. Austin is University Distinguished Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University, and has served as interim dean of the College of Education and interim vice provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs. Noah Finkelstein is a professor and vice chair in the Department of Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Andrea Follmer Greenhoot is professor of psychology, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, and Gautt Teaching Scholar at the University of Kansas. Doug Ward is associate director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and an associate professor of journalism and mass communications at the University of Kansas. Gabriela Cornejo Weaver is assistant dean for Student Success and professor of chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.