THE BATTALION
MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1979
Page3
tudents allowed to grade profs
By PAMELA RIMOLDI
Battalion Reporter
I Late in the semester many students get the chance to turn the tables
jid grade their teachers for a change, in the form of a teacher evalua-
m.
The various colleges at Texas A&M University have different poli-
and ideas about the usefulness of student evaluation of teachers,
'limes fo| . College of Liberal Arts weighs teacher evaluations heavily and
uent groij (quires every teacher to administer one to each class he teaches.
A teaching excellence committee formed within the College of
liberal Arts administers and processes the standardized evaluation
pliestha(4 | rm s, designed especially for the college.
The questions on the evaluations try to find out how the instructor
esented the course, how well prepared he was and how long he took
ose consft , grade papers. They also asked students to rate the quality of the
against e;.;; ctures.
Results of these evaluations influence decisions on future promo-
ptions and merit awards for the teacher, said Dr. Richard Bensel, a
ember of the teaching excellence committee. Although a teacher is
quired to administer the evaluation, he does not have to submit the
suits to the department, Hensel said.
Student reactions are valuable to a teacher not only because of
ndthenaS >ssible positive influence on promotions, Bensel said, but also as a
edback on how closely a teacher is meeting the objectives he set for
course. Through an evaluation, a teacher can see which aspects of
bilizing i
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the presentation of his course need improvement.
The College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture do not
require the teachers to hand out the evaluations. They encourage their
use to help the teacher see how he is coming across to the students.
Teachers in the College of Agriculture must submit some form of
student evaluation each year, but it is not necessarily a standardized
form, said Dr. Marriott Kunkel, dean of Agriculture.
Dr. Bryan Cole, assistant dean of the College of Education, said he
thinks the value of such student opinion is questionable because the
student may have a tendency to evaluate the personality of the
teacher.
A question which asks about the quality of the lecture can be
interpreted in many different ways, Cole said. If a student likes a
teacher he may say the lecture was effective. But if there is a personal
ity clash between the student and professor, the evaluation may
indicate the lecture was ineffective. This means that students’ opinions
can vary greatly, Cole said.
Teachers in the College of Education do use student evaluations
sometimes, and Cole said they can be useful when combined with
other measures of a teacher’s competence.
The College of Science doesn’t require the use of these evaluations
either, but in classes where they are used, the student is encouraged to
write constructive criticism besides simply answering questions with
limited choice of answers, said John Beckham, associate dean of the
College.
NOTICE
PUBLIC MEETING
The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Land Management, will hold an open meeting
to allow the general public an opportunity to
identify and discuss its concerns regarding
Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Sales A66
and 66 (Oil and Gas leases in the Gulf of
Mexico), at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, December
11, 1979. The meeting will be held in the
Stephen F. Austin State Office Building, Con
gress and 18th Streets, Room 618, Austin,
Texas.
Colleges expected to have
ecrease in enrollment
By MARCY BOYCE
Battalion Reporter
fore its recent shift “back to the
gtonPoslfMs, ” educators were questioning
juality of education.
But today, as enrollment baro-
rs indicate a leveling off and an
hent drop, quantity, not quali-
the issue. Higher education, in
ular, is feeling the pinch of stu-
shortages.
the end of World War II, the
SI labor force has experienced a
y influx of college graduates. By
one out of four 25 to 29 year
held a bachelor’s degree, corn-
led to one out of 20 in 1940.
|B|it despite expectations of an
ional 3 percent increase in the
[her of students enrolled in col-
during January the National
erfor Educational Statistics re-
ida'drop of 60,000 students.
With total enrollment at 31,331
us year, up from 30,901 in 1978-79,
■$ A&M University has not co
untered such a decline. But Asso-
Ite Registrar Don Carter says,
are increasing each year at a
■easing rate.”
During the early 1970s, enroll-
ent was climbing at about an 11-18
rcent increase each year. In 1976,
is fell to an increase of approxi-
itely 5 percent and this year was
liy 1 percent.
In the freshman class especially,
K trend is leveling, ” Director of
Emissions Bob Lay said.
Recording to Lay, a majority of the
ne can be attributed to the de
ling number of 18 year olds,
je the baby-boom peaked in the
60s, families are having fewer
ren and now, fewer are of col-
age, he said.
In fact, some predictions have in-
[ted that by 1990, the number of
Jear olds will approach a decrease
IplCI 25 percent.
les
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iations
And moreover, of those college
age, many choose alternative routes
to the university program.
“You don’t need an engineering
degree to become an engineer, ” said
Tony Whitehead, a student in an 18-
month electronics training program
at the Texas Engineering Extension
Service.
“Once you get your foot in the
door and make various contacts with
in industry, a college degree just be
comes a piece of paper.” Instead, it’s
ability that brings success, he said.
And others, like Sean Elledge,
said that while they get out of school
quicker, the jobs offered to gradu
ates of the training program are only
about $150 a month less than elec
trical engineers receive.
John Lancaster, who was an elec
trical engineering major at Texas
A&M for one semester, said that
upon “realizing that I wouldn’t see
anything really concerning electro
nics for two, maybe three years,” he
enrolled in the 18-month program.
Now, he said, he is concentrating
on practical experience, instead of
theory, which seemed to be the
emphasized at the University.
High school vocational programs
also emphasize practical experience.
And both Peggy White, a counselor
at Bryan High School and Joe Wiese,
a counselor at A&M Consolidated
High School, said they have seen a
remarkable increasing interest in
these programs, a few of which are
cosmetology, auto mechanics, in
dustrial cooperative training and
building trades.
“I think a lot of students are finally
waking up to the fact that college
isn’t for everyone,” White said.
Starting wages for blue-collar work
ers are beginning to look more and
more inviting to high school gradu
ates, she added. However, Wiese
said about 65 percent of the students
are still college oriented.
Lay said he feels those students
who are college oriented will not be
discouraged by its expense —
another reason researchers cite for
the downward trends in enrollment.
Pay raises have not necessarily kept
pace with inflation and increasing ex
penses of higher education. Lay
pointed out, but the state-supported
schools in Texas are among the most
inexpensive in the nation, Lay said.
However, in 1969 at Texas A&M,
an air-conditioned room with a tele
phone cost $173 a semester. This
jumped to $220 in 1974 and then to
$321 in 1979 — an 86 percent in
crease over 10 years. During the past
five years, a room in the Commons
area has increased 42 percent from
$350 to $496 a semester.
Moreover, the price of both the
seven-day and five-day board plan
has seen almost a 100 percent in
crease since 1969.
In spite of the fewer number of 18
year olds, competition by trade and
vocational schools and rising ex
penses, Don Wood, administrator of
planning analysis, said projections
indicate that enrollment here next
fall will reach 32,000 and then level
off at about 33,000 in 1984 or sooner.
Texas A&M will not see a decline.
Lay said, because an increasing
number of adults above the college
age, are presently returning to
school, will make up for enrollment
losses of the 18 year olds.
In addition, he said, more stu
dents have been returning after their
freshman years. And this enrollment
will also supplement a steadily in
creasing number of transfer students
from junior and senior colleges.
With a variety of fields repre
sented at Texas A&M and strong
programs which create demands for
the graduates, Lay said, “I feel we
will hold our own.”
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