Tracy J. Noga
Suffolk University
Joann Segovia
Minnesota State University at Moorhead
Abstract: Universities and colleges rely heavily on student evaluations to assess the performance of teaching staff. This paper seeks to reveal the determinants of quality in these evaluations. Prior studies have identified the importance of specific student beliefs about the uses and outcomes of evaluations. We use the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) (TRA) to place these findings in a larger motivational framework that includes students' attitudes and those of referent others. Results indicate that in addition to students' beliefs, a central determinant of intention is their perception of its significance to the instructor. As a result, it is imperative the students have not only a clear understanding of the purpose of evaluation results but an understanding of who uses the results and how they are interpreted. Accordingly, they will complete the evaluations with more careful consideration.
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