In a quest to equalize teaching and research in the University's promotion and tenure process, the Executive Student Action Council held an open forum for students last night.
The panel fielded questions from the sparse crowd and moderator Barton Browning, associate professor of German. Despite the good intentions, some left without answers.
Linda Maxson, professor and department head of biology, said she was not surprised by the information garnered and had anticipated many of the questions and comments.
"There were no revelations," Maxson said.
Undergraduate Student Government Academic Assembly President Erich May said that although there were some good ideas and points made by the panel, it was redundant.
"We've heard the same lies that we've heard for the last two years," May said.
Some thought the discrepancies are rooted by the poor communication between the administration and faculty. Associate professor of political science Larry Spence said both faculty and administrators think teaching is a high priority, but both groups see the other one as putting research first.
"There isn't much balance," Spence said.
Increasing teaching loads is how some department heads show disagreement with faculty members, said Chris Saunders, USG president.
Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education John Cahir said those who bring in research grants may see decreases in their teaching hours, but added there is not enough said about faculty's research loads.
Whether current teacher evaluations are effective was also brought up.
Cahir said he believes the Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness forms do not provide adequate information.
"They shot themselves in the foot . . . they're terribly flawed," Cahir said.
Cahir said there is room for improvement in teaching because he believes professors don't work well together.
"I'm not naive enough to say there are not some problems," Cahir said. "If we don't make changes now, we are going to be making a mistake."
He added that he would like to see more collaborative learning for students, with more emphasis on peer collaboration.
