Professors in higher education must be the favored candidate for selection to the most docile profession award. Over the years there has been a gradual and subtle power shift from professors running universities to students/ administrators controlling higher education. Much of this power shift has resulted from the misuses and abuses of the student evaluation of teaching (SET) data. As a result of students punishing difficult professors on their evaluation forms and professors engaging in impression management, there have been massive grade inflation and course work devaluation in higher education across the United States.
Several analogies to other professions are helpful. Can you imagine the revenue loss, the morale problems, and the lawsuits that would occur if the federal government began a compensation program for Internal Revenue Agents based upon the tabulated results of a questionnaire given to taxpayers to be filled out after they are audited. The questionnaire results would be maintained for viewing by the public at each agent's office, and the results would be published in the local paper as well as online on the world wide web. Much of the agent's merit pay, promotions, and psychological well-being would hinge on the results of these questionnaires.
Forget about the flat tax; this scheme is a better way to reduce federal taxes. The President should appoint a Commissioner of the IRS who would introduce this one change. Soon most audits would result in "no change" or refunds. In the long run, without a threat of being caught taxpayers would report less and less income on their tax returns. There would be a silent tax decrease.
Suppose the Big-Six CPA firms began a reward system based upon questionnaires sent to their employees' clients. The clients would fill out the questionnaires after the auditors finish the audits. The results of these questionnaires would be made available to the public, published in the newspaper, and the clients could select a particular auditor to audit their records. The auditor's pay, promotion, and psychological well-being would depend upon the results of these questionnaires. Can you imagine what would happen to the independence of CPAs? Soon auditors would ignore most generally accepted accounting principles in order to obtain better evaluations.
Airline pilots could have a similar measurement and reward structure. The airlines could distribute questionnaires to each passenger to be filled out after each flight. These questionnaires would be collected, tabulated, and published in major newspapers and online. Of course, since being on time at the final destination would be so critical to an airline pilot's evaluations, you can imagine how unsafe airline travel would become. Airline pilots would try to break in line on take-off in order to save time, or they would dart across active runways in order to save precious seconds to improve their evaluations. The chaotic skies caused by such an illusory performance evaluation system is similar to the chaotic evaluation process in higher education.
Higher education can not have its cake and eat it too. Unless all classes are highly regulated with common exams and departmental curves, a SET-driven climate will result in severe grade inflation over time because of the natural behavior of the two participants--professors and students. Student evaluation data is a poor surrogate for effective teaching (i.e., measuring learning). Enough of the students will select those courses where there is a greater possibility of receiving a higher grade. Other students will punish those professors who grade hard, resulting in a significant number of professors engaging in impression management by inflating grades and deflating course work coverage. These dysfunctional techniques are often anti-learning and cause an upward spiral in the average grades (e.g., a ratchet effect).
Higher education can not continue to ignore basic psychological and sociological principles by treating professors as second- and third-class citizens. As early as 1976, researchers found that a student expecting an "A" grade gave a mean rating of 3.95 and a student expecting a "D" grade gave a mean rating of 3.02--a drop of .93. If SET data is disclosed to the public in libraries and on the worldwide web, professors must bring defamation and due process lawsuits against these universities. One writer reviewed hundreds of evaluation forms used for personnel decisions and found no more than one or two could stand up in a serious courtroom hearing.
Suppose 100 employees work at the end of a factory assembly line to reject defective products. Their pay increases, promotions, and psychological well-being are based upon the total number of parts (nondefective or defective) that reach the shipping docks. Assume that the number of products manufactured and the actual number of defective parts remain constant. Over a period of time the number of defective parts reaching the shipping docks will increase. This illustrates the "dumbing down" of higher education today.
Based upon spiraling grade inflation, lost of independence and control by professors, and the dysfunctional behavior of many professors, can professors still be considered a profession?
Society for a Return to Academic Standards
"Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority."
-Thomas Huxley
Last Updated: 14 April 1997
