Student Communication and Faculty Evaluations

The Robert H. Smith School of Business recognizes the importance of keeping all students up-to-date on the latest information and events. As a result, the Smith School has made a major commitment to use e-mail as the principle mode of administrative communication between the faculty, MBA Programs office, and the student body. Additionally, the Smith School web site and Networth provide students with up to date information along with convenient electronic links to many valuable resources within the University. It is the responsibility of the student to stay informed. E-mail accounts and the web site are important mediums of communication and students should check them frequently. E-mail group lists are established for communicating with student groups and messages sent to these addresses are also seen by the MBA faculty and staff.



FACULTY EVALUATIONS

Approximately four weeks after each term the course evaluations completed by MBA/MS students are available for review in the College Park, Shady Grove, Baltimore, and Washington DC MBA Offices.

The business school is the only college within the university that makes its evaluation of faculty members' performance in the classroom available to students. The practice, which started in Spring 1993, is part of our effort to be responsive and improve the program. Before the Spring of 1993, evaluations were viewed only by the individual faculty members and the department chair.

Historically, students have said that the feedback from the course evaluations was not incorporated into the MBA program. However, the evaluations do reach the appropriate academic administrators, and decisions related to hiring and merit pay are based partly on the course evaluation results. Because of confidentiality issues, it is difficult to openly identify specific examples where course evaluation feedback was used to influence personnel decisions. The fact is, however, that the course evaluation results have been utilized to determine whether an instructor should be reassigned or not rehired.

While the administration does receive the evaluation ratings, they do not receive the individual comments written by the students. As a result, students who have written feedback that they would like to provide should email the feedback to the Associate Dean.