Mayborn school of Journalism position on SPOT surveys
Background
Texas House Bill 2504 established guidelines that public colleges must follow and in order to use student feedback and be open and honest with their students regarding course material (Add your source). This law requires universities to be transparent about the curriculum and the professors. This can help the students in understanding the course material and the expectations of the instructors. The University of North Texas made the decision to implement this law through a technique known as Student Perception of Teaching (SPOT) surveys, which gathers student opinions about the instructors' approaches. It allows the students to have anonymity.
Since 2015, Mayborn School of Journalism has used this system to review the course functions after each semester. (VPAA) These confidential surveys are distributed at the end of every semester. This helps the school with maintaining that transparency that is needed in the House Bill 2504 while also giving the professors that opportunity to reflect on their teaching methods.
Mayborn School of Journalism official position
The Mayborn School of Journalism currently supports Student Perceptions of Teaching surveys because they give students a chance to express their opinions about the course material and their experiences in the classroom. Spot evaluations are a useful tool for assessing the effectiveness of teaching, but more evaluations can be utilized. SPOT surveys are a useful tool when it comes to evaluating the teaching, but it shouldn't be the only technique relied on.
According to research published by Innovative Higher Education, the differences between men and women are significant . The men are seen to be awesome or fun rather than the women they are seen to be “ bossy “ Everybody experiences bias differently, and it can vary depending on factors such as the subject being studied, the professor's age, and the gender of the student. Because of this, researchers claim that it is impossible to completely manage every one of these aspects.
Although student feedback is important, using additional evaluation methods can provide a comprehensive assessment to both the students and the faculty. Evaluations like peer classroom evaluations, self reflections, and administration reviews. It will be easier for students to balance the curriculum if there are several ways to evaluate the quality of the curriculum.
One benefit of the SPOT assessments is that the students will remain anonymous, so there will be insightful feedback. This involves protecting student privacy, and instructors can modify the survey questions every semester to identify areas that need work. By combining the SPOT evaluation and other methods, the school can maintain the support of faculty development and student confidentiality. However, there are concerns that spot evaluations might not be the best method for assessing the efficacy of instruction. When it comes to the spot assessments, there are issues with responses and the bias of the criticism toward the teachers.
Points that back our position
Research indicates that in order to achieve greater results than relying solely on one, effective instruction should be delivered through a variety of ideas. Using a variety of assessments will help universities with finding out if the teaching is best quality for the students. Being able to combine the student evaluations and the other methods will help with gaining a greater knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the curriculum and teaching methods.
Student input is still essential as it allows students to express themselves without worrying about the repercussions. Students' perspectives can shed light on what needs to be improved by the curriculum and teachers. The wider range of evaluations will help with determining the most accurate rating when it comes to the areas of improvements.
However, research indicates that student assessments may not be entirely accurate because of bias and the impact of their own experiences. Because of this, having a variety of evaluation techniques will help the professors provide the most accurate score at the end of the day. This creates a more balanced and trustworthy assessment to determine the best assessment for teaching while still allowing the student input through the spot survey.
Additionally, having the chance to use various kinds of techniques for evaluation can help with faculty development while enhancing student education. Classroom evaluations can assist in getting faculty feedback on what could have been done better. Having a peer review in the classroom with people who are familiar with your teaching methods but are also working to improve their portfolios can provide a more comprehensive system by assessing and improving teaching performance.
Arguments
While it is true that the Student Perceptions of Teaching are mandatory due to the requirements from the state legislation, it is important to take in account the disadvantages to depending on just the SPOT surveys. The Mayborn School had an evaluation rate of 38.13% in the fall of 2025, out of 87. This can limit the accuracy of being dependent on the SPOT surveys. Since the fall of 2015, the response rates have remained low and steady; therefore, further tactics to increase the efficiency of teaching should be implemented.
Another issue is that research indicates that the professor's gender, race, and personality may have an impact on the responses. According to research, female academics are evaluated more harshly than their male counterparts (Boring, 2017). This implies that student assessments can reflect student perceptions rather than the effectiveness of instruction. Boring also found that assessments tend to favor lecturers who are more adaptable and engaging rather than those who want to improve students' comprehension.
Recommendations
The Mayborn School of Journalism should implement strategies to increase the effectiveness of its assessments. First, schools should raise the percentage of students who participate in SPOT surveys, encouraging the students through social media and reminding them of the deadlines. Professors can encourage students about participation by explaining the purpose of the evaluations and helping students with understanding how their feedback can contribute to the course improvement and future learning experiences. While some instructors can use extra credit as a
Colleges must then put in place a multi-evaluation system that includes peer classroom assessments, self-reflections, and administrative reviews. Faculty members would have access to outside perspectives and peer advice through peer evaluations. When it comes to self-reflection, it is crucial for all professors to consider their areas of improvement for the upcoming semester as well as their new objectives. Last but not least, an accurate score for teachers can be obtained by having the administration visit each classroom to assess the lecturers' methods.
Reference list
Boring, A. (2016). Gender biases in student evaluations of teaching. ScienceDirect.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272716301591
Faculty customized questions for course evaluations. (2025, September 12). Harvard Extension School.https://extension.harvard.edu/faculty-customized-questions-for-course-evaluations/
Horowitch, R. (2025, September 12). How teacher evaluations broke the university. The Atlantic.https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/teacher-evaluations-grade-inflation/684185/
Kolkhorst, L. (2009). State of Texas House Bill 2504. 81(R) HB 2504 – enrolled version – Bill text. https://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/HB02504F.HTM
Some faculty concerned over bias against female professors’ SPOT evaluations. (n.d.). TCU 360.https://tcu360.com/2018/04/11/some-faculty-concerned-over-bias-against-female-professors-spot-evaluations/
SPOT median, CEI, and response rates. (n.d.). University of North Texas.https://vpaa.unt.edu/spot/reports/spotmceirr.html
Student evaluations show bias against female professors. (n.d.). Georgia Tech Research.https://research.gatech.edu/student-evaluations-show-bias-against-female-professors
Student perception of teaching. (n.d.). Florida Atlantic University.https://www.fau.edu/spot/
Zaidi, H. (2023, April 27). SPOTs are good in theory, but flawed in practice. The Gateway.https://thegatewayonline.ca/2023/04/spots-are-good-in-theory-but-useless-in-practice/